Mosana - Part IV
EPISODE 4
THE rumours were true.
I was dragged to the front of the house where I saw the dead bodies of the guards who had been standing when I went into the bathroom. I looked around in fear at the guru bai. There were three of them. God, they were so white. And in the light of the torches, they looked particularly devilish. Although they looked like men, they wore strange clothes and spoke a strange language. Something began to click into place when I saw Dajnu lying on the ground, a big red gash in his chest, blood trickling out.
The village was being captured.
Hope began to blossom in my heart. I wasn’t dead yet. These men were discussing amongst themselves in that strange language I didn’t understand. Probably on what to do with me.
I slowly began to rise from my knees. In a flash, one of them pointed the big wooden stick at me. It was a rifle, but at that time, I didn’t know that too. I sank back down quickly, raising my hands in surrender. I had guessed that the big stick was what had made all those terrible noises and killed the soldiers. I didn’t want to end up like Dajnu.
I tried again. I called their attention first. With my hands still raised, I got up from the ground once more. Slowly. They watched me rise, but still pointed their wooden sticks at me. I said in my language, Ta ma ni nu le.
I want to go with you.
They didn’t understand.
I walked toward them, slowly. They raised their sticks higher but I kept walking. Until I had one of the big sticks pointed right at my belly. Then I repeated myself.
Ta ma ni nu le.
They looked at each other and then back at me. I pushed against the gun at my belly and said it again: Take me with you.
One of them said something to the other and laughed. But he put down his gun and took my hand. Then he led me out of the compound. What I felt in that moment was… exhilaration. Like I was stepping out of darkness.
They led me to the village square. In the square they had gathered all the women and children. I wondered where the men were. Hopefully all dead, I thought to myself. Everyone sat on the ground, crying and wailing. I was the only one with dry eyes. I looked around for my mother, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. I wanted to check behind the crowd, but the white man held me fast.
They began to select the young girls and boys from around my age upward, as well as women who were still agile enough. The old women, small children and pregnant women were left. Then they began to herd us. The man that had taken my hand kept me by his side as we trekked with the captured villagers.
We walked miles and miles before we reached the Great River. There we camped with the white man’s people. There were a lot of white devils. My people were terrified of seeing so many at once. Some tried to run, but ended up getting gunned down. After that, no one tried to move. I didn’t think they wanted to kill any of us; it didn’t look that way. Because when anyone tried to move, they simply threatened such a person with the gun, and the person sat right back down. They didn’t shoot immediately. It was when someone actually started running and didn’t heed their shouts that they gunned them down. I was happy to cooperate.
At night they fed us something white and fluffy. Most of my people didn’t eat; they were too grief-stricken. I on the other hand, had my fill. The thing was delicious. I sat down next to the white devil that took me. Actually, he kept me by his side. He gave me some of the portions others refused. There was enough to go around.
As I sat and ate, I observed where I was. I looked at the faces of the white devils. As I looked, I observed that they looked like us in that they were human too and not devils as rumours had portrayed, only whiter. They had long noses, narrow faces and thin lips. But unlike us, they didn’t have the same colour of hair. There were different hair colours: blond, black, brown. This intrigued me. I even saw one man with hair so red, I burst out laughing when my eyes fell on him. The man beside me looked at me sharply and I stopped.
Next I moved to their clothing. They wore the same thing. It was weird, what they wore. Everywhere was covered, including their feet. Only their head and a bit of their neck could be seen. At first I thought they didn’t have our kind of feet, until I saw one take off his shoes. Even their feet were white. From the way they spoke, and the manner in which they organised themselves, it didn’t take me long to guess that they were soldiers. They behaved like our own kuyunu, but these white ones had softer expressions. I couldn’t understand a word they said, but I enjoyed their camaraderie.
They watched us closely. Each time we camped, they had us in the middle of the camp and surrounded us with their tents. My people slept under the open sky, including me. I don’t think the white man that took me was allowed to take me into his tent. I knew they complained about me. When we were sitting together once, and the white man was trying to communicate with me, one of his comrades walked up to him and spoke harshly. I didn’t understand, but I could guess. The white man that took me looked at me and back at his companion. He said something back and the other man walked away angrily. I understood why his friend was angry. I was given preferential treatment. I wasn’t chained in a line with the others, I ate more than my ration of food, I even moved around a bit, just to stretch my legs. The other soldiers didn’t know what to make of that. So they challenged the white man that took me. But he protected me. He knew I wasn’t going to run. Why he kept me close I didn’t know, and I didn’t care to ask. I was content with simply exploring my surroundings. It was a degree of freedom and I was glad for it.
One day the white man told me his name. Or tried to. I got what he was trying to say after some days. When he started pointing at his chest, I thought something was wrong there and he needed help. But he was smiling, so I was confused. No one smiled when they were sick. He kept repeating the gesture until I understood. What he repeated over and over sounded like ed-wod.
Edward. He was trying to say he was Edward.
I couldn’t get his surname, but he made it simpler for me by saying I could call him Ed. Just Ed. So I called him Ed. He smiled when I finally got his name. It was a nice smile. I smiled back. I couldn’t remember the last time I did that. I pointed at my chest and told him my name too. He understood. I liked the way my name sounded in his voice. Mosana. It was strange (as he didn’t say it with the correct intonation), yet gratifying.
We trekked for days until we got to the ocean. The first time I saw the sea, I was awestruck. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, even though it scared me. But that wasn’t all. On the sea was something magnificent. A ship. At the time I didn’t know what it was, but it struck awe into me just as the ocean did. It was huge and had flags everywhere. I was amazed at the wonder of wood on water. Ed smiled at my dumbfoundedness and gently ushered me into the ship. I looked around as much as I could, as if to swallow everything up with my eyes. I saw the same reaction on my face in the eyes of my people. By now, everyone had stopped crying. With open mouths, we all boarded the ship. They loosed our chains in the ship, but we were all kept somewhere that was like a center hold in the depth of the ship. It was dark and a bit damp.
I didn’t see Ed throughout the journey. Someone else came to give us food and water once a day. Sometimes, a little extra was added in my plate. I knew that was Ed’s doing, so I knew he hadn’t forgotten me where I was.
Down in the ship, I did nothing but eat and sleep. Sometimes I sang. But I mostly slept. That was because of the way the ship swayed. It always lured me to sleep. Sometimes I would hear the waves. I wished I could see outside.
Finally, after some days (I don’t know how many), I felt the ship stop. A few minutes later, my people and I were evacuated from the hole we were in and I stepped into the sun. It blinded me for a couple of seconds, but when my eyes became accustomed to the light, the first thing I saw made me smile. Once again, Ed separated me from my people and took me to be by his side. I was ecstatic to be near him again, but I couldn’t express it. He didn’t understand my language.
Ed was the first man I ever liked or trusted. He kept me safe and I grew to love my new life. But all that was about to change.
THE rumours were true.
I was dragged to the front of the house where I saw the dead bodies of the guards who had been standing when I went into the bathroom. I looked around in fear at the guru bai. There were three of them. God, they were so white. And in the light of the torches, they looked particularly devilish. Although they looked like men, they wore strange clothes and spoke a strange language. Something began to click into place when I saw Dajnu lying on the ground, a big red gash in his chest, blood trickling out.
The village was being captured.
Hope began to blossom in my heart. I wasn’t dead yet. These men were discussing amongst themselves in that strange language I didn’t understand. Probably on what to do with me.
I slowly began to rise from my knees. In a flash, one of them pointed the big wooden stick at me. It was a rifle, but at that time, I didn’t know that too. I sank back down quickly, raising my hands in surrender. I had guessed that the big stick was what had made all those terrible noises and killed the soldiers. I didn’t want to end up like Dajnu.
I tried again. I called their attention first. With my hands still raised, I got up from the ground once more. Slowly. They watched me rise, but still pointed their wooden sticks at me. I said in my language, Ta ma ni nu le.
I want to go with you.
They didn’t understand.
I walked toward them, slowly. They raised their sticks higher but I kept walking. Until I had one of the big sticks pointed right at my belly. Then I repeated myself.
Ta ma ni nu le.
They looked at each other and then back at me. I pushed against the gun at my belly and said it again: Take me with you.
One of them said something to the other and laughed. But he put down his gun and took my hand. Then he led me out of the compound. What I felt in that moment was… exhilaration. Like I was stepping out of darkness.
They led me to the village square. In the square they had gathered all the women and children. I wondered where the men were. Hopefully all dead, I thought to myself. Everyone sat on the ground, crying and wailing. I was the only one with dry eyes. I looked around for my mother, but I couldn’t see her anywhere. I wanted to check behind the crowd, but the white man held me fast.
They began to select the young girls and boys from around my age upward, as well as women who were still agile enough. The old women, small children and pregnant women were left. Then they began to herd us. The man that had taken my hand kept me by his side as we trekked with the captured villagers.
We walked miles and miles before we reached the Great River. There we camped with the white man’s people. There were a lot of white devils. My people were terrified of seeing so many at once. Some tried to run, but ended up getting gunned down. After that, no one tried to move. I didn’t think they wanted to kill any of us; it didn’t look that way. Because when anyone tried to move, they simply threatened such a person with the gun, and the person sat right back down. They didn’t shoot immediately. It was when someone actually started running and didn’t heed their shouts that they gunned them down. I was happy to cooperate.
At night they fed us something white and fluffy. Most of my people didn’t eat; they were too grief-stricken. I on the other hand, had my fill. The thing was delicious. I sat down next to the white devil that took me. Actually, he kept me by his side. He gave me some of the portions others refused. There was enough to go around.
As I sat and ate, I observed where I was. I looked at the faces of the white devils. As I looked, I observed that they looked like us in that they were human too and not devils as rumours had portrayed, only whiter. They had long noses, narrow faces and thin lips. But unlike us, they didn’t have the same colour of hair. There were different hair colours: blond, black, brown. This intrigued me. I even saw one man with hair so red, I burst out laughing when my eyes fell on him. The man beside me looked at me sharply and I stopped.
Next I moved to their clothing. They wore the same thing. It was weird, what they wore. Everywhere was covered, including their feet. Only their head and a bit of their neck could be seen. At first I thought they didn’t have our kind of feet, until I saw one take off his shoes. Even their feet were white. From the way they spoke, and the manner in which they organised themselves, it didn’t take me long to guess that they were soldiers. They behaved like our own kuyunu, but these white ones had softer expressions. I couldn’t understand a word they said, but I enjoyed their camaraderie.
They watched us closely. Each time we camped, they had us in the middle of the camp and surrounded us with their tents. My people slept under the open sky, including me. I don’t think the white man that took me was allowed to take me into his tent. I knew they complained about me. When we were sitting together once, and the white man was trying to communicate with me, one of his comrades walked up to him and spoke harshly. I didn’t understand, but I could guess. The white man that took me looked at me and back at his companion. He said something back and the other man walked away angrily. I understood why his friend was angry. I was given preferential treatment. I wasn’t chained in a line with the others, I ate more than my ration of food, I even moved around a bit, just to stretch my legs. The other soldiers didn’t know what to make of that. So they challenged the white man that took me. But he protected me. He knew I wasn’t going to run. Why he kept me close I didn’t know, and I didn’t care to ask. I was content with simply exploring my surroundings. It was a degree of freedom and I was glad for it.
One day the white man told me his name. Or tried to. I got what he was trying to say after some days. When he started pointing at his chest, I thought something was wrong there and he needed help. But he was smiling, so I was confused. No one smiled when they were sick. He kept repeating the gesture until I understood. What he repeated over and over sounded like ed-wod.
Edward. He was trying to say he was Edward.
I couldn’t get his surname, but he made it simpler for me by saying I could call him Ed. Just Ed. So I called him Ed. He smiled when I finally got his name. It was a nice smile. I smiled back. I couldn’t remember the last time I did that. I pointed at my chest and told him my name too. He understood. I liked the way my name sounded in his voice. Mosana. It was strange (as he didn’t say it with the correct intonation), yet gratifying.
We trekked for days until we got to the ocean. The first time I saw the sea, I was awestruck. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, even though it scared me. But that wasn’t all. On the sea was something magnificent. A ship. At the time I didn’t know what it was, but it struck awe into me just as the ocean did. It was huge and had flags everywhere. I was amazed at the wonder of wood on water. Ed smiled at my dumbfoundedness and gently ushered me into the ship. I looked around as much as I could, as if to swallow everything up with my eyes. I saw the same reaction on my face in the eyes of my people. By now, everyone had stopped crying. With open mouths, we all boarded the ship. They loosed our chains in the ship, but we were all kept somewhere that was like a center hold in the depth of the ship. It was dark and a bit damp.
I didn’t see Ed throughout the journey. Someone else came to give us food and water once a day. Sometimes, a little extra was added in my plate. I knew that was Ed’s doing, so I knew he hadn’t forgotten me where I was.
Down in the ship, I did nothing but eat and sleep. Sometimes I sang. But I mostly slept. That was because of the way the ship swayed. It always lured me to sleep. Sometimes I would hear the waves. I wished I could see outside.
Finally, after some days (I don’t know how many), I felt the ship stop. A few minutes later, my people and I were evacuated from the hole we were in and I stepped into the sun. It blinded me for a couple of seconds, but when my eyes became accustomed to the light, the first thing I saw made me smile. Once again, Ed separated me from my people and took me to be by his side. I was ecstatic to be near him again, but I couldn’t express it. He didn’t understand my language.
Ed was the first man I ever liked or trusted. He kept me safe and I grew to love my new life. But all that was about to change.
________________________________________________
Hey you!
I'm so, so, sooo sorry. You won't believe the week I've had. I didn't believe it too when I couldn't post on Sunday. And today is Tuesday! It was supposed to come latest yesterday, Monday. I thought about you guys all through. I'm sorry, but it couldn't be helped. I'll try not to let this happen again. Please forgive me (You could tell me that in the comment section, if you've forgiven me :D)
Alright!
So, lovers, two things:
One, because I kept you waiting, I made this instalment a bit longer (you might have noticed). So enjoy :) And I promise part 5 will come unfailingly next Sunday (cross my heart).
Two, let's play a little game. I want you to guess what happened to Lissena, Mosana's mother. Is she dead or did she escape?
Hehehe.
If I get enough responses, I'll decide if the winner gets a prize. So light up the comment section and tell me what you think.
That'll be all for now.
xoxo,
Ava.
I've forgiven you. But you should have shared me this link earlier. I never knew something like this was going on. I've been enjoying the story ever since.
ReplyDeleteAlright I would like to guess that she (Mosana's mother) and was probably killed by Edward.
Thanks for this story once again
That she died and was probably killed by Edward
DeleteHey. Nice try. But no, that's not what happened. I'll tell you, since you're the first person to guess.
DeleteLissena was killed with a bullet that was meant for Nvibe, her husband. He used her to block the bullet while trying to escape the raid on their village and she was hit. Nvibe was killed too tho, by another random soldier.
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