The Bridge Home

by Matthew Williams

  “You are our prisoner now. If you try and run, we will find you and kill you. If you try and yell for help we will kill you and whoever comes to your aid, though I do not think many here would come. Your family is hated here, there are men who would treat you far worse than we have if given the chance. Do you understand?” A man said in a quiet but powerful voice.

  Akiiki’s throat was dry and hoarse and when he opened his mouth to speak, fear stole his words.

  “Do you hear me boy?” The man shoved him in the back. He rolled onto his side in the sand and nodded.

  “The only reason you are not dead is because you are more valuable to us alive. Once they find your father’s body they will send men looking for us and the only thing that may keep them from killing us is the life of a prince. But make no mistake, each of us was willing to die back at the palace, as we are ready to die now. If you prove more trouble than you are worth, my men will not hesitate to send you to meet your father in the heavens.”

  A deep thread inside Akiiki began to unravel. The thought of his father had been lurking under the clouded surface in his mind, a dark shadow in muddy water. As the man spoke, his words gave life to the shadows, and sharp pains in Akiiki’s chest made him heave as his body shook uncontrollably.

  The man moved closer, his presence a large and consuming mountain across a vast barren land-scape.

  “Oh, I see. Did you think we risked our lives to assault the royal palace simply to leave your father alive? Poor boy, you have so much to learn. Your father is responsible for the death of many in the brush. His life, and all the lives of those in your precious palace have been prized over those of us who live on the outskirts of the kingdom for too long. Now you will see what it is like to live a life of struggle, where death is always watching,” he untied the scarf from Akiiki’s eyes.

  Akiiki was surprised by the gentleness of his hands and opened his eyes to the soft blue sky of morning. His eyes adjusted to the light quickly as he stared at the man who blocked out the sun. He was shirtless with broad shoulders and even in the shadows, Akiiki could see the deep scars across his chest. His face was young but hard, with eyes that seemed to see through Akiiki.

  “Now look around you,” the man said. Akiiki turned his head from side to side. Desert stretched for miles in every direction with no end in sight. “There is nothing here for you. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. My men are hunters and fighters and there is no water for miles. Our journey has only just begun, and it will be easier if you can walk,” he took a blade of sharpened bone out of his belt and cut the rope that bound Akiiki’s hands and feet. “If you run, we will catch you. Like it or not we are your best chance for survival out here.”

  Akiiki nodded silently and the man regarded him for a moment with piercing eyes, before he stood up and walked over to the small boat where three other men waited. The four men talked quietly amongst themselves before one of the other men looked at Akiiki with a sly smile and began to make his way towards him.

  He was much shorter than the other man and walked with a threatening limp. He had a scar across his face that, as he stared menacingly, threatened to haunt Akiiki’s dreams.

  “General Lael told me to bring you water,” he said, his voice full of rage. He took out a pouch from his belt and held it out towards Akiiki. Akiiki felt the tension in the air between them, but thirst overwhelmed his caution as he reached for the pouch.

  The man raised his hand and brought it down across Akiiki’s face with a sharp crack that thundered through the air. Akiiki fell back into the sand and as the shock of the blow wore off, a numbness spread across his face.

  “I told him there was no point in wasting our water on you. You will be dead in a week out here, without someone to cook and clean for you and help you wipe your soft little ass. But he thinks you are of more use to us alive than dead, so for now you live,” he tossed the pouch in the sand at Akiiki’s feet. Water slowly seeped out and into the sand. Akiiki quickly fumbled to his knees, his head still ringing from the man’s blow, and grabbed the leaky pouch. The water was warm but refreshing, and as he drank he started to recognize parts of himself that he thought he had lost in the fire of fear, doubt and sadness. Another blow from the man knocked the pouch out of his hands and into the sand.

  “That’s enough. Lael has allowed you to drink our water, but do not get greedy. Out here in the brush men must fight every day to survive. Things are different here than in your cozy palace. We do not drink to quench our thirst, only to survive. Consider this your first and only warning, if you take more than your share of our food or water you jeopardize our lives, and as our prisoner, that would be a foolish thing to do,” he picked up the pouch and tied it back onto his belt before walking away.

  Sitting in the cold sand, Akiiki’s head throbbed as the worlds spun around him. Small drops of blood dripped into the sand between his legs and he wiped his nose with the back of his hand as he watched the men unload the boat.

  The men worked until the sun was almost directly overhead and the gentle warmth in the air gave way to a fuller and more sinister heat. Once all the supplies had been packed, a different man came over to Akiiki.

  “Your highness,” he bowed and pointed in the direction of the other men. The sinister grin on his face made Akiiki shiver. Akiiki stood, and though his legs were weak and his steps unsure, he made his way towards the men.

  Lael led the way as they marched inland, through the hot desert sand. Akiiki rolled his sleeves up on his arm as the intensity of the sun’s rays grew stronger.

  They walked in a silence that slowly became as oppressive as the heat. Only the occasional order from Lael kept Akiiki’s mind from wandering into a desert more barren than the one through which they walked.

  After walking for hours, they came upon a dead tree that stuck out of the ground like a corpse. Its bare branches and dark splintered trunk stood out against the red sand, and Lael rested his hand on one of its branches. The branch splintered off the tree with a crack and he studied it for a moment.

  “We will make camp here tonight,” Lael said as he looked at Akiiki.

  A fierce wind blew across their face as Akiiki watched two men cut down the tree with small axes, while the other picked at a dried bush, breaking off small sticks and dead leaves. Once they finished, the man who had given Akiiki the water, knelt over a small piece of wood and took a small mirror out of his pack. Carefully he angled the mirror so that the sun reflected off it in glimmering flashes. Then, as smoke started to rise from the wood, the man placed the dead leaves and small twigs from the bush into the smoke and small flames licked at his fingertips. After he had used all the smaller tinder, he added the larger branches of the tree and the flames leapt into the air as the fire grew.

  The men gathered around the fire and warmed their hands as they talked quietly among themselves. Akiiki watched from a distance and shivered at a chill brought on by the setting sun. Sitting in the cold sand, he tried to fix pieces of himself that seemed broken beyond repair. He searched through his memories for hope and strength but found only the dark valleys of despair and doubt as he laid down in the sand with his back to the men.

  “It will get cold tonight boy, it would be wise to take advantage of a warm fire,” Lael said from behind him. His voice was soft and strangely thoughtful. Akiiki trembled, both from Lael’s words, and the cold wind, but remained still. There was a light shifting in the sand behind him as Lael moved nearer.

  “Listen to me boy, I commend you on your pride, but I have seen men much stronger than you die because of their foolish pride. Out here there is only survival and death. True pride is a gift reserved only for the living, you would do well to remember that. We have a saying in the brush, ‘A dead man’s pride leaves his children hungry’. If you choose to freeze to death that is your choice, but death is not nearly as honorable an undertaking as life,” the footsteps slowly faded away as Lael made his way back to the fire.

  The sky c
ontinued to darken until even Akiiki’s warm robe could not stop the biting wind from passing through him. With Lael’s words still ringing in his head, Akiiki stood up and made his way towards the fire. He sat in the sand opposite Lael and stared blankly into the flames.

  “A wise decision boy. If you survive this journey you may find yourself a life out here in the brush,” Lael said.

  One of the men spit loudly into the sand.

  “Apparently, Nassor does not agree,” the men chuckled as the fire crackled.

  “Now if we could only get the little fucker to talk,” the man closest to Akiiki said.

  “Patience Zikomo, we haven’t even given him a chance,” Lael stared at Akiiki. “So boy, here is your chance to speak. You may ask us whatever you like.”

  A strong breeze chilled the air as Akiiki took a moment to think. “Why are you doing this?”

  “Why are WE doing this?” Lael boomed. “Your father gave us no choice. For years we have plowed our fields and raised our cattle just to have your father’s men come and take part of it back to the city. These ARE your father’s men are they not?”

  Akiiki was silent.

  “For too long the lives of my people have been wasted feeding those who sit in their pretty little houses and get fat. We haven’t had rain in nearly three years. Our fields have dried up and all of our livestock are dead. There is barely enough food for our women and children but still, your men come expecting payment. I could no longer sit back and do nothing as another person died in my village from starvation,” the passion in his voice lingered into the following silence.

  “The powerful are always ignorant of the struggles of the powerless because it is only on the backs of the weak that the strong are elevated into a life of comfort. It is time that they learn that the true strength comes not from themselves, but from the people who break their backs in the fields so that they can live their lives in such leisure,” Lael’s piercing stare made Akiiki turn away.

  Lael stood up. “It makes no difference if you understand. In your world, you snap your fingers and your food is brought to you. In our world a man only eats what he finds or kills for himself. I do not regret killing your father, my only regret is that I allowed so many of my people to die before I did,” he walked away into the darkness, leaving Akiiki around the fire with the other men.

  Akiiki could feel the tension from their cold hard eyes as the man Lael had called Zikomo spoke quietly. “We should kill him now and be done with it.”

  “We have our orders. Lael said not to hurt him unless it is necessary,” Nassor said as he looked at Zikomo.

  “Lael is in a foul mood and will want to start early. He will drive us hard tomorrow. You know how he gets when he is mad. As far as I am concerned it is necessary.”

  “Calm yourself Zikomo,” said the third man as he stared at Akiiki. “Let’s get some rest and surely Lael will be in a better mood tomorrow. The boy will not survive out here for long, it is only a matter of time until he angers Lael or dies of thirst.”

  “You have known Lael longer than either of us Farajii. Do you really think he will be in a better mood tomorrow?” Zikomo asked.

  Farajii grinned. “It is unlikely, but either way we have our orders.”

  Nassor and Farajii stood up and quietly made their way into the shadows and out of sight. Zikomo stared silently into the glowing red embers of the dying fire before following Nassor and Farajii into the darkness.

  As Akiiki sat alone in the cold sand, a pressure settled over him as heavy as stone. A sharp chill rattled down his spine, and just before he lost himself under the immense pressure, an emptiness appeared within him. As anger and frustration rushed into the new chasm of his heart, a hatred for Lael took hold within him. Like a calm reassuring friend, his hatred comforted him with the thoughts of revenge. He toyed with the new idea for hours, tempering his actions with fear, until exhaustion crept its way through his mind. Laying down in the sand, he closed his eyes and began to cry. In the silence, his sobbing echoed for miles. He took a few deeps breaths to steady the storm within him, and after the brief summit of revenge, his night ended in the weary valley of despair as he fell asleep.

  ***

  His new nightmare began as a dream.

  The sun shone down on the grass of the palace courtyard. Its warmth kissed his skin as he stood at the edge of a large cliff that looked out over the ocean. Birds chirped behind him and the wind blew into his face as he took a deep breath and looked up at the peaceful blue sky.

  Then, drowned by the wind, a familiar voice whispered his name. As he listened, his father’s voice grew louder and louder, until it rang in his head. He turned, hoping to see his father, when the voice disappeared.

  He fell into the void of silence, consumed by a weightlessness that tugged at his soul. Time felt endless and immediate as the sky fell away from him. The impact of the landing jolted him awake with a gasping breath.

  ***

  The first light of morning crept through what remained of the night’s dark shadows as he opened his eyes. With shallow breaths, he sat up and looked around. His eyes slowly adjusted to the lack of light until he noticed movement in the distance. Squinting his eyes, he saw Lael and his men walking back and forth in the sand.

  The sight of the men brought back the fearful memories of the day before, but also calmed the terror of solitude. He rubbed his eyes as he watched the men scurry back and forth between their supplies. They moved in silence, shadows in the distance, until one of them stopped and turned toward Akiiki. They were too far away for Akiiki to see the face, but even in the frigid morning air, he could feel the ice in the man’s stare. The man turned and whispered something to one of the shadows next to him, before making his way towards Akiiki.

  As he came nearer, Akiiki noticed the small features that turned shadow into man, the broad shoulders, the dark scars across black skin, and the hardened look of a stranger’s face. Lael stopped and tossed a pouch into the sand near Akiiki.

  “Drink. As soon as we are packed we are leaving. I hope you have not forgotten our discussion from yesterday.”

  Akiiki was silent. He grabbed the pouch and put it to his lips. After a quick sip, he tossed it back to Lael’s feet. The side of his head ached, and he rubbed it softly with his hand.

  “Come with me,” Lael said as he turned around. Akiiki followed Lael towards the other men.

  “So, the little fucker made it through his first night,” Zikomo said as he flashed a large smile.

  Lael ignored the comment. “We have only enough water for perhaps another two days. We must make it to the market to refill our supplies. Each of you know the way. If anything happens, you are to make it there yourself. The boy is my responsibility. Your orders are to return to the village safely, with or without me and the boy. Do you understand?”

  There was a shared moment of confusion as the men paused and shared nervous glances. Eventually they nodded toward Lael.

  Lael grabbed a pack out of the sand and slung it across his shoulder. “Good. Let’s go, before the sun rises and the heat comes.”

  They made their way through the sand until the sun was high in the sky. Akiiki walked with his head down, focused on the sharp dangerous edges of his new-found hatred, as well as the sense of purpose it created within him.

  Suddenly, the men ahead of them stopped at the top of a small dune and stared off into the distance. Akiiki held his breath as he and Lael approached.

  As Akiiki looked out over the desert, he saw a small village where dozens of women, men and children walked amongst small huts of dried wood that peppered the horizon.

  “I didn’t expect to see the Ta-hati this far west. The drought must have driven them here,” Farajii said as Lael approached. “Do you think we should turn around and move east to avoid them?”

  “They have already spotted us. If we turn around they will become even more suspicious than they already are,” Lael’s eyes didn’t
leave the village as he spoke. “We must go and let them know we mean them no harm before they send their warriors to greet us,” his voice was absolute. The men nodded.

  As they approached the outskirts of the village, men and women stood up from their chores, and children stopped their games, as the village came to a halt. Akiiki pleadingly searched the new faces for help, but all he received in return were grave looks of fear and suspicion.

  When he looked up towards the center of the village, he saw two people moving through the crowd towards them with long purposeful strides. The taller of the two was a man with dark skin covered in patterns of red clay. He carried a long spear by his side and as he got closer, Akiiki saw the burning focus in his eyes.

  The other was a woman. She was bare chested, with broad shoulders and a head of short red hair. Her skin was dark and seemed to drink in the sun with ease. The village fell silent as Lael stepped forward to meet them.

  “You are a long way from your village Lael,” the woman said. Something in her voice made Akiiki tremble. She paused and looked at each of them.

  Lael let a silence pass between them before he spoke. “It seems both of us are far from our homelands. Tell me Hathai, what are the Ta-hati doing this far west?”

  “It is none of your business why we are here,” she snapped. The man next to her straightened his back and Akiiki saw his grip tighten around the spear, though his face remained unchanged.

  “I meant no offense,” Lael said as he eyed the man standing next to her. “This boy wandered into our village a few nights ago and I was sent to return him to his birth tribe. We didn’t expect to run into your tribe down here. Is he one of yours?”