The Chief's Wife, Jones M [ebook reader with android os .TXT] 📗

not even close to reaching the village.

The both of them were still walking, pushing past tall grass, branches and leaves on their way.

"I don't get it," Njumwa stated. "We should be there by now."

Mwamba did not comment as they both moved past the surrounding vegetation.

About a minute of walking later, Njumwa spotted something in the distance.

"Mwamba!" he yelled, and that had Mwamba in alert. Their eyes zeroed in on a banana plant growing far in the distance. Bananas were only grown near villages, and that meant...

"We must be close," Mwamba stated as they rushed towards the growing plant. As they ran, he made a silent prayer that what he was seeing was real.

Once they had reached the plant, they found themselves staring at a field of growing crops. Vegetables and fruits such as onions, potatoes, oranges, mangoes and the lot were growing along the flat ground in front of them.

A smile broke onto Njumwa's face.

"Let's keep going," Mwamba suggested.

"Wait," Njumwa spoke. "I'm tired, and I'm sure you are too. Can't we just rest for a while?"

Mwamba went to speak, wondering why the boy wanted them to stop when they were so close to reaching his home, when Njumwa cut him off:

"And don't you need to come up with a lie in case people recognize you and start wondering about your presence?"

Mwamba reluctantly agreed.

The two of them sat under a nearby baobab tree to rest their sore feet. They quenched their thirsts, each drinking from the gourd that Mwamba had brought from his village. Once they were done, they resumed their walk towards Njumwa's village.

The stars were slowly becoming conspicuous by then as the sun disappeared in the horizon. Mwamba and Njumwa had made their way through the plantation, careful not to step on any growing plants. The plantation was large, and it took minutes for the two of them to make their way through.

Once they were past the growing crops, Mwamba and Njumwa found themselves walking into another tree-populated area.

"You have got to be kidding me," Mwamba commented when he saw what was in front of him. Njumwa paid him no mind as he continued walking further.

"Njumwa!"

"I know this place. This was the route I passed when I left the village. Trust me when I say we are close."

Mwamba sighed, knowing he had no option but to follow the boy. Some minutes filled with more walking later, he found out Njumwa was right.

The two could see the village from where they stood. It was a couple of meters below them, and fortunately, the area was not that steep. A couple of fires had been lit outside some huts to illuminate the surroundings of the village. The light was enough to uncover a couple of trees hidden in the dark. Moreover, at the far end of the area, a river was flowing.

"We are here, Mwamba," Njumwa said with a smile.

Mwamba could not believe it. They had actually reached the village. He was happy, but then he was also worried about meeting Mwanyumba.

"Let's go!" Njumwa said with excitement. Mwamba smiled at him as he followed the boy down the path to the village.

As they descended into the village, Mwamba felt a cold breeze. It was nothing new to him; it was just that the area was much colder than his village at night. Was it because of the different climate on the hill's side?

"Hey! Someone's approaching!" Mwamba could hear a male voice announce once he and Njumwa had walked past the first hut. A few people came out of their huts to witness what was happening. In fact, a man who was taller than Mwamba approached the two.

"Who are you?" he asked. Mwadime's son was tongue-tied, and he felt a bit frightful once he spotted the dagger the man was trying to hide behind his back.

"I'm--" Mwamba went to speak.

"Njumwa!" a feminine voice yelled as approaching footsteps were heard. The three turned to the person. A woman soon tackled Njumwa into a hug.

"Mother!" Njumwa sighed in relief as his shoulders relaxed. The woman looked like Njumwa, but there was a difference in their facial structures.

"Where have you been?" the woman questioned, close to tears. "Anything could have happened to you!"

"I'm so sorry, mother," Njumwa replied with his eyes tearing up. 

"What is going on?" another male voice yelled as approaching footsteps were heard. Mwamba turned to the source. A couple of young men, no doubt warriors, approached Njumwa and Mwamba with spears in their hands. Moreover, some of the village people had followed them.

"Wait! This is my lost son!" Njumwa's mother pleaded.

"Njumwa?" one of the warriors called out.

"It is me," the boy replied. The warrior's face broke into a smile, and he too collapsed to embrace the boy in a hug.

Mwamba did not know what to make with the bold display of affections.

"I thought you were lost. We all thought you were dead!"

"I was lost," Njumwa replied, "but this man helped me find my way back."

At once, every eye turned to Mwamba. Mwamba felt uneasy with the attention he was receiving.

"Thank you," the warrior told Mwamba. Mwadime's son had no idea of what to do, other than to nod.

He had been hoping for a silent entrance into the village, but that had not happened. As seconds passed, more people began to approach them.

"What is happening? Why is there a crowd forming over here?" a feminine voice called out. Mwamba felt that he knew the voice. But whose was it?

"Seriously. What--" the person was speaking as she made her way through when she cut herself off at the sight of Mwamba. Mwamba mirrored her shocked expression.

'What the--'

Mwamba had to blink to make sure that what he was seeing was right.

"Mkanyika?" he finally called out in disbelief and shock.

 

Chapter Fourteen

 

It was one tense evening in Mwanyumba's home.

After Mwamba had spotted Mkanyika, he had been led to the chief's hut. Mkanyika had followed, and she was present with her father, a couple of the village elders and a few warriors.

Two benches were present, each placed opposite one another. While one of the benches was occupied by Mwamba, the other one was occupied by Mwanyumba's people. And by the look of their expressions, there was no doubt that they knew what had happened.

Silence had fallen once everyone was in the hut. It was so thick that one could hear the moon rise. The air was filled with tension, and the level of awkwardness was huge. Mwamba didn't mind it, seeing that he was the one making everyone feel uncomfortable.

He did not know what to make of the situation. Mwamba could not comprehend how and why Mkanyika was in the village. Her village; back at her own home.

In one piece.

He had questions, and he was unsure of how to start. From all that, one thing was certain:

He was extremely pissed off.

Mwanyumba decided to break the silence with an uneasy laugh as he shifted on the bench.

"Ah, Mwamba! This is quite a surprise! I wasn't expecting you," he started, but Mwamba said nothing.

"How is your father? How is the village?"

Someone sighed in the room.

"Father, you are just making things more unbearable than they already are," Mkanyika stated. Mwanyumba decided to shut up, knowing his daughter's words were true.

"So, now you know that I'm here," Mkanyika decided to address Mwamba herself.

"I--" Mwamba started speaking, not knowing how to begin. "How--?"

"I wasn't really kidnapped from your village," she said, lowering her eyes to the ground before looking back at Mwamba. "It was all a ploy to get myself out of a marriage I didn't want to have."

Mwamba took his time to process the words.

"I am so angry right now," he commented.

"Look. I know that you were looking forward to marrying me--"

"No," Mwamba cut Mkanyika off. "I am so angry right now because I have wasted my time. I've wasted days looking for you when you were actually here. I almost got myself killed because of you!"

There was a short moment of silence in the hut that lasted a few seconds.

"Do you know how worried I was? Do you know how the people at my village were concerned about your well-being?"

"Mwamba--"

"We thought you would be raped! We all thought those men would torture you before killing you. In fact, I started thinking you were going to be sold off as a slave to another village! We all thought so many bad things would happen to you."

"I--"

"Do not even get me started with how everyone worried what your father would do if he discovered you were missing," Mwamba cut her off.

"I didn't expect anyone to start looking for me!" Mkanyika yelled back, glaring at Mwamba. "I thought everyone would give up and think I was dead!"

Mwamba snorted.

"You were going to be the wife of a chief. Of course, people would start looking for you! Should have known all of that would have been a waste if we had the idea that you were here."

Mkanyika went to yell back, but then she bit her tongue and sighed.

"Why are you enraged?" she questioned. "Yes, I know you wasted your time and effort looking for me. But if I remember correctly, you too did not want this marriage."

"You are right. But I was willing--"

"Really? Even with the knowledge of that friend of yours being in love with you?"

Mwamba hesitated for a moment before saying: "Yes, I would have. I would have done all that for the sake of my village."

He looked around, noticing that the chief and the warriors were still present. They were yet to say something.

"Well, I'm not you, Mwamba," Mkanyika said. "If I wanted to marry someone, I would have done it for love."

"I could have loved you."

"No, you wouldn't," Mkanyika opposed. "You would have gotten bored with me, and you would have regretted that decision for the rest of your life."

"Mkanyika--"

"You don't even know the kind of love I'm talking about. It's not the kind between family and friends. I'm talking about the kind that makes you want to spend every day with someone. The kind that makes your heart beat every time you see the person; the kind that makes you go crazy and sad if you are not with that person. The kind that makes you think you wouldn't be able to live if that person doesn't love you back, or even dies.

Do you think I'm that person, Mwamba?"

Mwadime's son was silenced. There was no way he could answer that question. 

"Okay, I think we've talked enough for tonight," Mwanyumba decided to intervene. "Mwamba, I know you must be tired from all that walking you have done to reach here. I could have someone prepare a hut and a meal for you. You should rest."

Mwamba did not know how to respond to that. He had been yelling at Mwanyumba's daughter, and right in front of him. He was shocked by his kindness.

"We will talk further in the morning," the chief stated, and Mwamba soon found himself being escorted out of the hut.