The Bridge Home

by Matthew Williams

“Thank you,” he said timidly. “For saving me. How did you know I would go with you?”

  “You do not always need to talk to someone to understand their story. Sometimes all you need to do is pay attention. When I first saw you with Lael and his men, it was clear that you were scared. A person speaks with their body before they ever speak with their tongue. I decided to follow you to see if I could learn more about you and when the fighting broke out, I chose to act.”

  Akiiki paused. “Why was that man so angry with Lael?”

  Obasi thought for a moment. “Lael didn’t pay his share for the fruit and water that he took. Lael’s reputation is based on fear and intimidation. In more comfortable times that is enough to discourage people from standing against him, but in times of struggle, when children are dying from hunger and thirst, people no longer fear the will of dangerous men. Instead they fear for their own lives and the lives of their loved ones. Their fear then turns to resentment when someone threatens the wellbeing of their family and eventually their resentment turns to anger which ultimately leads to violence.”

  “Why did the rest of the people join in on the fight?”

  “That I do not know. The will of a single person is normally clear if you choose to look. The will of many people however, is more often blurred by confusion and the urge to follow. Perhaps many of them had been wronged in some way by Lael, or maybe they simply saw in Lael all of the ways they have been wronged in their lives and chose that moment to release their frustrations.”

  “I hope they killed him,” Akiiki said under his breath.

  Obasi turned looked at him.

  “Ah my Prince, you are so young,” Then, with a sigh, he continued, “But I suppose the world is filled with youth. Tell me, why do you think Lael attacked the palace and took your father’s life?”

  The question was a dagger in Akiiki’s chest. He froze and stared at Obasi with a vacant look in his eye.

  “Because he hated my father,” the words tasted foul as they crossed his lips.

  “That may be true, but where do you think that hatred came from? We are not born with hatred in our hearts.”

  Akiiki shrugged.

  “It grew out of the fertile soil of revenge. When a person feels like they have had something stolen from them or feel they deserve something other than what they have been given, rightly or wrongly they search for someone to blame. Once they find someone to place their blame upon, revenge creeps into their hearts and replaces the natural soil within us of trust, understanding and love, with anger, resentment and doubt. When the time comes in our lives to bear the fruit of our actions, the fruit is often rotten and poisoned. Then we blame others for the state of our own garden, watering our plants with the same resentment and doubt in which they were raised. Unfortunately, too many people have vast gardens of rotten fruit and instead of tending to it themselves, they attack others to find solace,” he paused and looked at Akiiki.

  “Now, do you wish to be one of the people who live life resenting their poisoned garden or do you want to be one of the few who enjoy the fresh fruit of life?”

  “But how can I live that way after what Lael has done? I hate him, and I do wish that he was dead. How am I supposed to forgive him?” Akiiki asked as anger and sadness swirled within him.

  “It is only natural to feel that way after experiencing something as traumatic as the unexpected death of a loved one, but there is a path of healing, a path of understanding, that lies before you. It is up to you to choose to walk it. It will be difficult, even frightening at times, but if you let me, I would be honored to help you on your journey.”

  Akiiki, thought for a moment and then nodded.

  Obasi flashed a quick smile and his eyes beamed with passion. “It is done then! Let’s go. We have no time to waste if we are to return you to your rightful place on the throne,” he rolled out of the comfort of the shade and began to dismantle the tent. When he was finished, Akiiki reluctantly followed him into the blazing sun.

  “You mean you are going to take me back to the palace?” Akiiki asked as he walked along side Obasi in the hot sand.

  “Of course. A prince does not belong in the brush, he belongs on the throne. But I’m afraid the palace is many miles away, and it is too dangerous to return to the market, so we must make our way west to the coast and follow it north until we reach the great wall of the capital city.” Blocking the sun with his hand, Obasi turned and looked off in the distance. “We must reach the ocean as quickly as possible, I have only enough water to last us for another day at most.”

  Within Akiiki, hope waned against the oppressive heat as they walked. For the first time since his abduction, the thought of making it back home danced in his head. He imagined his mother’s warm embrace and his sister’s smile, but every moment of hope was followed by an intense flurry of doubt, which quickly jolted his mind back to reality. He quickly buried his thoughts under the heat and effort of every step.

  Relief from the heat came as evening winds settled around them and the sun began its slow decent towards the horizon. They stopped to make camp, and Obasi dumped the contents of a small pouch into the sand.

  “No more sleeping in the cold,” he said as he looked up at Akiiki. He braced a flat piece of wood in the sand with his foot and placed a stick into a small notch on the wooden board. Then, he slowly began to rub the stick with both hands. Akiiki watched as Obasi diligently worked his hands together down the stick, resetting his hands to the top when he ran out of room. He worked tirelessly for hours until finally, as the last of the light of the sun started to recede, small wisps of smoke began to rise from the wood. Obasi carefully pulled a small bundle of twigs from his pack and picked up the smoking board. He dumped a small coal into the nest of twigs and began to blow gently. Flames leapt in his hand and he slowly put the burning ball underneath the tent of branches he had constructed. Gradually the small flames grew until they flickered high into the air. They sat in the sand until the sun set and only the soft glow of the fire kept the shadows at bay.

  “Ah, it looks like the moon is hiding tonight,” Obasi said as he looked up towards the sky. Akiiki tilted his head back and gazed at the small sliver of moon in the darkness.

  “Do you know the story of the sun and the moon?” Obasi asked. Akiiki shook his head.

  “Long ago, life was measured not in days and years but in eternities and it was the stars themselves that battled for their position in the sky. Two of them, what we now know as the sun and the moon, fell in love with one another. The moon was the largest and brightest of all the stars and she attracted many suitors. She fell in love with a young star that had only begun to find his light, the sun. He was small and dim, but he slowly gained the moon’s trust by soothing her burning soul. Slowly over generations, they drew nearer and nearer, pulled by the ever-tightening strings of love. They had many children that still light up the sky to this day.” Obasi paused. “But even stars do not live forever. Over time the moon became tired and weak. Her glow began to fade as the fire within her cooled. The sun wished for nothing more than to help her regain her former glory, but try as he might, he could not save her. Then he decided he would find his own light and warmth to protect her from the cold. He searched and searched within himself and eventually found his inner light, but it came with a cost. The hotter and brighter he shone, the farther away the moon drifted, until only the memory of their love existed between them. Jealousy and resentment festered in the moon’s heart, and eventually, the sun’s warmth drew another suitor, the earth. Now the sun and the earth live in harmony with one another, and the moon rises every night to peek around the earth to try and steal a glimpse of her former lover.”

  Akiiki looked up at the moon. “Is that true?”

  Obasi smiled. “Who knows? That was the story I was told as a child. But the point of a story is not always simply whether it is true or not. Sometimes a story can help us understand ourselves. You see, within each of us is the sun
and the moon. We strive to be around those whose warmth comforts us and gives us safety, but sometimes the fire within us can also drive those closest to us away.”

  A cool breeze blew across them, whipping the flames of the fire. Obasi grabbed a few more branches out of his pack and placed them by his side. “Tell me my young prince, have you found your fire?”

  “I don’t think I have one,” Akiiki said shaking his head.

  “Nonsense! Everyone has a part of themselves that can be a shining light in this world though it can be difficult to find, especially in youth. It will take some time, but I’m sure you will find the piece of you that is meant to shine.”

  Akiiki stared into the flames. “I hope so.”

  After a moment of lingering silence, Obasi shuffled in the sand and laid down on his side, facing the fire. “We have a long journey tomorrow to make it to the coast. There we will refill our water and your training will begin.”

  “My training?” Akiiki asked turning his head towards Obasi.

  The light from the flames flickered shadows across Obasi’s face as he grinned. “Of course. How else do you think someone finds their light? Now no more questions, we must make it to the ocean tomorrow, get some rest.”

  ***

  The next morning, a gentle mist hung low over the sand, and small droplets of water trickled down Akiiki’s skin as he moved to sit up. He turned and saw Obasi kneeling over a hole in the sand. As Akiiki moved closer to Obasi, he saw four large plates lining the inside of the hole that ran into a large bowl.

  “The ocean is closer than I thought,” Obasi said as Akiiki approached his shoulder. “We are already receiving its small blessings,” he took each plate and held it vertically over the bowl. As the last drops of water splashed into the shallow bowl, he put the plates by his side and handed the bowl to Akiiki.

  “Drink. It’s not much, but any gift from the earth is worthy of our highest thanks.”

  Akiiki took the bowl and drank the water in one small gulp. The water was pure and refreshing, and he was left with a sense of calm that loosened the fog from his sleepy eyes. Obasi packed the bowl and plates away in his pack and took a small drink from his pouch.

  “Are you ready?” he asked as he turned towards Akiiki.

  Akiiki nodded and they began to make their way through the cool sand.

  The soft grey sky added tranquility to the air as they walked, and with each step, the promise of reaching the sea grew inside of Akiiki. As the light from the sun crested upon the horizon, the faint smell of salt drifted in the breeze.

  They made it to the top of a large dune where they stood and looked out over the ocean. Though the sea was not new to Akiiki, he felt like he was looking at it for the first time. The sun painted both the air and water in dark oranges and soft yellows that warmed not only the air, but also parts of Akiiki that had turned to ice.

  “One of mother nature’s finest works of art,” Obasi said in a whisper, as if he were afraid of scaring off the moment. “There are few things as beautiful and powerful as a sunrise over the ocean.”

  He took out a large clay pot from his pack. “Fill this with water and bring it back. I will get started on a fire. Today we will enjoy the bounty of the sea.”

  Akiiki made his way down to the ocean’s edge with the pot. A small thin layer of water ran over his toes as he stood in the damp sand. He shivered and moved towards the waves until the water covered his ankles. He filled the pot with water, and lugged it back up the sand to Obasi, who was busily working with his sticks to make a fire. Akiiki put the pot down and sat in the sand as he watched Obasi work.

  By the time Obasi finished, and Akiiki saw the small flames from the fire, the sun had risen high in the sky. Obasi added a large mound of sticks to the fire and placed the pot in the embers. He placed a cup in the center of the pot and took out a large flat piece of dried clay that sloped gently in the middle to a point. He put the lid over the pot so that the point was directly over the cup and turned and smiled at Akiiki.

  “Now, I’m not sure about you, but I could use a bath!” he stood up, removed his dirty shirt and started to make his way towards the water. Akiiki hurried after him and when they both reached the water’s edge, Obasi looked at him.

  “When I was a boy I used to imagine I was king of the ocean. I know it sounds foolish but till this day my heart still skips a beat when I have a chance to dance amongst the waves,” then, with a flash, he darted towards the water and disappeared under a small wave. Akiiki moved more casually into the deeper water, letting his body adjust to the cold as he went. When the water was up to his waist, he took a deep breath and dove under an oncoming wave.

  The world went silent around him as he weightlessly floated through a new world. The rocking of the small waves over his head lulled his senses to a halt, and he lingered for a moment in a state of calmness that he hoped would never end. His problems and stresses, worries and fears seemed distant and strangely insignificant. He drifted with the current until his chest began to burn, and he found the sandy floor with his feet and stood up.

  With a deep breath, he rubbed the water from his eyes and looked around. Obasi was nowhere to be found. Instead, as he looked around, he was greeted only by an endless ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see, and a sea of sand that also stretched beyond the limits of his imagination. His stomach dropped as he became aware of how alone he truly was, and a rush of panic swept over him that held him in its grips until a sound made him turn his head.

  Obasi splashed out of the water and stood shaking his head. Beads of water whipped off his long black hair and into the air, tiny jewels shimmering in the light. Obasi looked at Akiiki and rubbed his eyes.

  “I had forgotten how refreshing the ocean can be on a hot day. Now, let’s see about lunch,” Obasi said as he made his way towards the shore. Once on the shore, they stood so that only a thin sheet of water brushed past their feet with each wave. As a wave receded quickly back towards the sea, Obasi plunged his hands into the sand and scooped up two large handfuls of mud. The wet sand fell through his fingers as he cupped his hands and he rinsed them in the water. He opened his hands to reveal a fistful of small crabs, their tiny white legs squirming in his palm. Akiiki stared in amazement before Obasi looked at him with a smile.

  “Do not get your hopes up, it is not much. They are little more than shell and sea water, but they fill your stomach. Go ahead, just stick your hand in the sand and grab as much sand as you can hold.”

  Akiiki waited until the water rushed back past his feet and stuck his hands into the wet sand. Clumps of mud fell onto his toes as he brought his hand up. Slowly, he shifted his fingers back and forth, allowing the sand to fall from between his fingers. As the sand trickled out of his hand, he felt the soft movement of life in his palms. Tiny feet tickled his fingers, and he almost dropped the sand in surprise.

  Obasi grinned at the look of surprise on Akiiki’s face. “Very good! Now, let’s go check on our water.”

  They made their way back to the fire, which had died down in their absence. Using a small rag, Obasi lifted the top from the pot and they both dropped their handful of crabs into the boiling water.

  “Water and a meal from one pot,” Obasi said happily, “The bounty of the ocean never fails to amaze me.”

  Akiiki looked at the cup in the middle of the boiling water and noticed it was half full of water. Looking curiously at Obasi, he asked. “Are we going to drink sea water?”

  “No, no,” Obasi said. “As the water boils, the steam collects on the top and drips into the cup,” he used the rag to carefully pull the cup from the boiling water. He poured the water into two smaller cups and handed one to Akiiki. “Here, taste for yourself.”

  Akiiki blew gently on the water and sipped. His first sip burnt the tip of his tongue and he recoiled, but with the next sip he tasted the freshness.

  “You see? Not a hint of salt,” Obasi said as he drank carefully from his
cup.

  Obasi put the large cup back in the boiling water and covered it with the top. “The world can sometimes seem cold and unforgiving, but if you search and listen, you will find that nature holds no secrets.”

  Tilting his head back, Obasi finished his water with a satisfying sigh and stuck his cup into the sand. “We will spend today resting both our bodies and our minds. If we are to start your training tonight your mind must be well rested.”

  “What kind of training is it?” Akiiki asked.

  Obasi paused. “We are all born with an ability to see and hear the lessons of mother earth. However, as we become more aware of ourselves and the world around us, we gradually become more and more selfish as we struggle against others for a path towards peace and happiness. Luckily, with a little effort we can learn to live according to the lessons of nature.”

  “How?” Akiiki asked.

  “There are many ways to return to the natural order of life. My father was a shaman in a small fishing village very far from here. From a very early age he taught me to experience the world in different ways. Unfortunately, no tradition is safe from the winds of time, and eventually people in the village became weary of his powers. He was banished after an outbreak of disease took the lives of many of the villagers, including my mother. The village elders believed he was to blame, and I was given the choice to stay in the village or leave with my father. As much as I loved my village, I could not abandon my father, so for many years we wandered through the desert as he taught me his craft,” he stopped and looked at Akiiki with big brown eyes.

  Akiiki stared back at him. “Do you mean magic?”

  Obasi chuckled. “Magic is a term for sleight of hand or trickery. What I am speaking of is real.”

  “Will it hurt?” Akiiki asked nervously.

  “No, no, of course not. It is not dangerous at all,” Obasi assured him. “It will however stretch the boundaries of your mind and blur the line between the spiritual and physical worlds. At first it may be difficult, as your mind struggles to find a part of itself that has laid hidden for so long, but as you gain deeper insight into the ways of the world, you will see that it is unnecessary for you to forge ahead in life blindly. You simply must find your purpose and follow the lessons mother earth has yet to teach you.”