Yoké later on ignited the fire and warmed his food for us and we ate. I told him that the food was delicious and he was so happy to hear that. He started telling me that when we get married he would be the one cooking for us since I do not know how to cook yet. He said he would then start teaching me how to cook. When we finished eating he brought the water from the hut and he washed the bowls while I rinsed them. When we were done, he put the bowls back inside. We then sat by the fire side by side and I laid my head on his shoulder. "Where do you want us to build our hut once we get married? We can build it anywhere you'd like." "I like it up here. Just us two, so far from everyone else." I told him. "Just us two? What about our little ones?" I started to laugh. "Which little ones?" "The ones which you and I will have. I want our first child to be a girl by the way. A beautiful baby girl with your hair." I tried to imagine a baby girl with Yoké's smile, his eyes and my hair. "I
"I don't blame her too." I said. "She has every right to be scared for her life. Look at poor Sona, his was just taken away from him just like that." "But I will try my best again to talk to her tomorrow at the well." Uma said. "Thank you." I said. "Don't say thank you. Bring me the corn that Yoké owes me." "You'll never get it." Yoké told him. "Rena do you see the man that you would like to marry one day? He doesn't even know how to return things he owes." "In brotherhood there is no owing." Yoké told him. "Anyway, you two are not even afraid to sit here like this after everything that happened. I told you two not to sit like this. You two are something else." Yoké got up and went inside his hut. "So when are you going to confess your love to Gamu?" I teased him. "Never. I don't love her." Yoké came back with a flute and sat back down next to me. "I thought you would have changed your mind by now." "No way. I need someone that will love me more than anything. You see the
We didn’t wake up at the crow of the rooster. When we heard it Yoké drew me closer to him. “Don’t mind that rooster.” He continued his sleep with his arms wrapped across my chest. I smiled and snuggled into his arms. After a little while I was woken by someone’s looming image over us. I opened my eyes and it was Uma. He had his hands to his waist and he was shaking his head. I smiled and attempted to sit up, that’s when Yoké woke up. “Are you forgetting that we go farm every morning at the cry of the cock.” Uma was asking Yoké. “Or was the cock not loud enough this morning?” Yoké laughed. “Rena ignore him.” He laid back down on the sleeping mat with his arm covering his eyes. “So today you are not going?” I asked him. “He can’t not go. The last time he didn’t go too. We don’t want the elders to start keeping their eyes on him.”“Rena come here.” Yoké drew out his hands. “And the last time you didn’t go because of Rena too. That day that Furah asked you to take care of her.”“I
When we got to the turn which leads back to the huts she didn’t take it. I didn’t ask her. I continued following behind her. She was not saying anything, not even looking back. “Gamu…” She didn’t respond. Didn’t even stop walking. “The way to the huts is the other way. Where are we going?” “To the river. She said before you come you must first bath.”"Did you bring my things?” I asked her. She looked back at me and rolled her eyes. I didn’t ask her anything after that.When we got to the river I bathed and changed into the same clothes I wore yesterday as it turned out, she didn’t bring anything for me. After that we went to the well and she filled two buckets with water, picked them up in each hand and then started to leave. She left the other bucket and I knew what that meant. I’ve never taken water from the well before but I’ve watched them draw water countless times so I had an idea. I used the handle and released the bucket into the well and watched it as it was going down
We sat around the wooden table eating the delicious vegetables that Gamu had made. As we ate in awkward silence I was only thinking of one thing: Furah’s last words. Each time I looked across the table toward her I was sure that maybe I had misunderstood her. She didn’t look like the person I was with in that chamber. She didn’t look like the person that told me what she had just said to me.The chief on the other hand wore an unshakable frown that I knew oh-so-well. I would always wonder how one person could hate me so much that he refused to speak whenever I was around but today I finally understood his hate. He hated me for trying to take his daughter’s place in their life. He hated me for sleeping in his daughter’s chamber and wearing her clothes. Perhaps I brought back the memories of his beloved daughter each day. Being called by her name each day… I understood his anger, it was pain. I suddenly remembered that Yoké had asked me to come back to him. He had to know what Furah had
“Why are you talking as if you support this ceremony?” I asked him. He looked at me. “I don’t. And you know that.” “So why aren’t you supporting me?” “Because it’s you, Genesis. I know how dangerous what you want to do is. I don’t want your life in danger. You only have one of it.”I sighed and looked away. “Especially that they don’t consider you one of us, they won’t even want to listen to you. It would be like just showing all of them that you are a threat and then watching them try to eliminate that threat in the village.” “I won’t be alone. I will try to gather as much villagers as possible. If my life means nothing in front of the elders, the rest of the villagers’ life will mean something.” “Don’t do this to me Genesis.” Yoké covered his face with his hands. “Please.”“Besides, Furah said she already knew a few people whose family had died the same way and probably wouldn’t mind joining.”“Genesis I know our elders very well. I know how serious they are about keeping us in
Shortly after we got to the well, Uma showed up with two buckets. When I saw him with two buckets I already knew that Yoké wouldn't be coming to the well and I knew the reason very well. "How are you, Rena?" Uma asked me as he got close to us. Gamu was busy filling up our first bucket. Uma only greeted me and I really didn't want to upset Gamu in any way before it made matters worse than they already were. I had to find a way to make them two speak to each other. "I'm good Uma. How are you?""I'm well, just a little tired. They assigned me to uproot the weeds today. That's the worst task at the farm.""Gamu, let Uma fetch water for us." Gamu looked at Uma but Uma looked away. "Will you?" Gamu asked him. "Or are you too tired?" Uma didn't reply, just looked back at me. "Won't you ask me about your Yoké?" It was such an awkward moment and I had to answer Uma back to cut that moment short. "Where's Yoké anyway?" I asked him after a gulp I'm sure they all heard."I don't know what
When we were about to reach the hut Gamu suddenly stopped. "Rena, Furah is there, help me put this bucket on my head quickly."I looked toward our hut and I saw Furah seated outside the hut. We stopped and I helped her quickly lift one of the buckets on her head. "You didn't even put a wrapper." I told her. "Your hair will become sandy." She then carried the other two buckets in each hand and we continued. "Rena." Furah called me once we reached her. "Yes Furah." "Let's go, I was waiting for you."When we were away from the hut I looked back and saw Gamu standing and watching us. "Where are we going?" "Where the uprising will begin." She said. "I found someone who agreed to have us in their hut for any discussions based on the uprising." My heart lit up. "Who was it?" "Sona's mother." We walked a little while more and then reached the hut. Furah clapped thrice. "Who seeks me?" A woman's voice answered. "It is I, the chieftess." We heard scurrying and then the curtain was d