“I bet you hated that.”
“No. She always took good care of me. I only wish I could have known her well before she died. When I was very young, I remember her grooming me. That seems so long ago. At least I could hide from her then." She looks to one side. "Cut it out, Auntie! You know I'm only teasing." Suddenly Asumini laughs. "In your dreams!"
Hearing only one side of this, Metutu felt odd. Still when Metutu sat his stick down for a while, it ended up moving mysteriously. “She is shy with newcomers, but she wants you to respect her existence. That’s her subtle way of saying ‘hello.’”
“Oh.” He looked around uncertainly. “Hello to you too.” Something dawned on him at last, and he burst out laughing.
Asumini looks at him strangely. “You think this is funny?”
“No, I think you are! Your father said Asumini scavenged carcasses for fat before the hyenas stripped them clean! I thought he meant you!”
“Are you so sure he didn’t?”
Metutu stared at her. “You are kidding--aren’t you?”
She grinned. “Well, I might be.”
CHAPTER 13: THE FACTS
Metutu was excited about his new religion, but the very ones he wanted to discuss it with were the ones he could not tell. Wandani had never discussed religion with him. Telling his father was out of the question, and he was afraid of horrifying and saddening his mother. So without a proper forum, his new ideas surfaced as moods.
He had locked away inside him the secret plan to go with Busara to the open savanna, wade through the waves of grass, and there see a real lion. He wanted to live the stories about the night sky, standing on Pride Rock and seeing for the very first time the sparkling canopy of stars. He wanted to hear a real roar.
He passed his mother. “Hi, Mom!” He gave her a big kiss. “Isn’t it great to be alive!”
“Yes, it sure is.” She kissed him back. “Did you learn anything interesting today?”
“It was so neat!”
Without further elaboration, Metutu climbed into his bunk and looked at the trunk of the tree. A knot that had always reminded him of a rabbit’s head stared back with unseeing eyes.
“Well, Mr. Bun,” he thought, “I’ll ask him the next time I see him! Yes, we’ll think of SOME excuse for Mom and Dad. We’ll call it an extended field trip or something.”
It would not be easy. But if Aiheu answered prayers, there would come an excuse to cement their ties and strengthen their new bond! “Aiheu, light of lights, creator of the universe, I’m the new one that met you this evening. Find a way through love!”
“I have some fresh fruit,” Neema called up to him.
“Not right now, Mom. I’m not really hungry.”
“Did you eat at Busara’s?”
“Just a little.”
“You’re a growing boy. You need your nourishment.”
“OK, just a little.”
She climbed up with a couple of melon slices. “Now you finish these, you hear?” She looked him in the face and smiled. “How are you feeling, fuzzy love?”
“Fine, Mom,” he said affectionately but distracted.
“Want to talk about it?”
He laughed. “What part of ‘fine’ do you want me to explain?”
“You know what I mean!”
As honestly as he dared, Metutu said, “Busara is a great teacher. As much as I love Dad, it’s great to hear someone that can talk all day without mentioning Old Maloki ONCE.”
She looked about, then laughed softly. “You really shouldn’t say that,” she intoned in a whisper. “But I almost envy you.”
“Besides that, I like Busara and Kima.”
“And you already like Asumini?”
“Of course. A lot.”
Neema smiled and nodded. “She is very likable. Just the sort of doe that would make a fine wife and mother someday. I think a curious sort like you would like an intellectual like her.”
“Well, uh, I guess so.”
“Just like your father likes politics and he got a politician for a wife. My vote doesn’t carry far beyond this tree, but he spends half his life here.”
“You know how to call the shots, Huh Mom?”
“Don’t underestimate me. But I would never misuse that power. If anything, I try to help your father and keep both of his feet on the ground when he starts going wild. Choosing someone who really loves you and that you can trust is the key to happiness. If I can venture an opinion....”
“Sure, Mom.”
“I think the gods made you and Asumini as a matched set. If I saw the two of you married, I could die without worries or regrets. Makedde is married to his work, and Makoko will get by somehow. He’s durable. But Metutu, you have a loving heart. Without love, you would die like a sprout in the dry season.”
“I can get along.”
“I don’t mean it as an insult. I think your heart is made to love and be loved. It’s God’s gift to you. If you turn your back on that gift, there will be consequences. Whatever you do, and wherever you go, look for love to follow you. When I am gone, and your father is off on some mad scheme, I know that Asumini will be holding your hand. And when I look down and see that, it will make me so happy.”
Metutu kissed her. “That’s very nice, Mom. But stick around for a while. I don’t want you leaving any time soon.”
“No sooner than I have to,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I’m still rather young. Maybe I want to play with my grandchildren first.”
Neema climbed down and gathered up the rest of the fruit. “Kinara, dear? Have you eaten?”
He came around the tree. “Oh, that looks good! Is Metutu back yet?”
She kept her voice down and motioned Kinara away to the privacy of the deep forest.
“When you look that way, Neema, you’re up to something.”
“Our little boy had come back a buck, and he needs someone to have the talk with him.”
“What do you mean?”
“Asumini. That’s what I mean. Just look at him. He’s so jumpy if you touched him he’d jump sky high. Metutu needs to hear the facts from someone who knows, not from his young friends. When I was his age, I thought I’d get pregnant if a boy kissed me.”
“Fine. I’ll have a talk with him sometime.”
“Sometime today.”
He returned to the tree but did not see Metutu around. Acting on a hunch, he went to the creek where he found Metutu skipping rocks. “Why, he’s still just a child!” Kinara sighed.
“Metutu?”
“Yes sir?”
“No calling me sir. Today I’m not just your father, I’m also your friend. And we need to talk heart to heart, OK?”
He sat on bank by his son, their feet in the smooth, cool water. Putting his arm around Metutu’s shoulder, he started out rather obliquely. “Now then, you remember when your grandmother died? We all grow old and die someday.”
“No fooling?” Metutu covered his face. “Even me?”
“Now don’t you poke fun. Let’s understand each other: I know all about Asumini.”
Of course Metutu thought Busara was keeping his lioness a secret.
“You may find your friendship with her a little different than the ones you have with your other friends. You may feel strange urges you don’t understand. You want to touch her, to kiss her, to be with her.”
Metutu is a bit taken aback. “Well, I think she’s really neat. I’d like to see more of her--to be able to touch her and feel her soft fur. To look in her hazel eyes. Sometimes I even wish I could lay my head on her side and go to sleep just listening to her breath.”
Kinara squeezed his shoulder. “I know the feeling, son. But you need to know where this is leading. Encourage her and she’ll be all over you like green on leaves. Your mother and I felt that way, but we decided to respect each other and wait till after we were married before our level of intimacy spread that far. Things can quickly get out of control.”
Metutu was aghast. He
suddenly realized where this was going. “Oh, you mean Busara’s daughter!” Starts to laugh.
“Is there ANOTHER Asumini?”
“What brought this on, dad?”
“We’ve seen all the classic signs. Restlessness, poor appetite, mood swings. If that’s not it, what is?”
Metutu laughed. “Let’s see. I started training with Busara. He’s really neat. I got to go in a cave for the first time. I’m excited about life. I’m going to be on the council someday. No denying that Asumini is pretty, but really Dad....”
“But what about this business with the touchy-feely stuff. Like laying your head on her side and going to sleep?”
“I was talking about a lioness!” Metutu laughed uncontrollably. “Don’t worry, dad--we respect each other’s feelings and we’ll wait till after we’re married before our level of intimacy spreads that far. We don’t want things to get out of control.”
The little joke was lost on Kinara. “A lioness?? She’ll eat you in one bite!”
“No, Dad. She’s dead.”
“Oh, that changes everything.” He began to nervously scratch his head. “You want to cuddle with a DEAD lioness!”
“Not a dead body! A guardian spirit! Her name’s Asumini too.”
Kinara took in a deep breath, closed his eyes, and let it out slowly from the mouth. “Thank the gods.” He looked at Metutu and smiled. Metutu smiled back. “I love you, son. We can talk when we want to. Just take me aside and say ‘Dad, I’d like to talk.’”
“That’s nice, Dad. I love you too.” Metutu looked up with a wry grin. “Did mother put you up to this?”
“She sure did. That obvious, huh?”
“Well she was really acting kind of odd.”
“When I tell her, she’s going to flip.” Kinara rubbed the top of Metutu’s hair. “I had a different name picked out for you. Metutu was a mistake. I was going to name you Mawata, after your grandfather. Let’s be honest, son. You may not have Makoko’s looks, but the beauty from inside is so great that it doesn’t matter. Don’t you dare tell anyone I said this, but of my three sons, I have always loved you the most.”
“Oh dad!”
“Let me finish. You inspire love in people, and someday some female is going to latch on to you. You need to know about these things so when Asumini, or whomever it is, throws you off balance you’ll know what to do. There’s no need to rely on rumors, not as long as I’m around.”
Kinara talked with Metutu in the quiet of the forest about the renewal of life, and about love. It was one of the few times Metutu had ever seen Kinara as gentle or as shy, and years later he would look back on that talk and smile.
CHAPTER 14: ALL THAT GLITTERS IS NOT GOLD
Metutu headed to Busara’s cave, feeling a little upset and longing for some inner peace.
Kima came out to greet him affectionately. “Come in, my son! Look Busara, it’s Metutu!”
Busara came out and threw his arms around him like an old friend. Already Metutu felt his anger melting away like wax in the hot sun. “I was just thinking about you, and here you are! Have some fresh grapes with us and let’s talk.”
“About what?”
“I can sense that you were upset with someone. Not us, I hope?”
“Certainly not!”
“Your father again?”
Metutu took some grapes, blessed them, and began to eat them a couple at a time. “I don’t mean it wrong, but I really hate politics. I love my dad, but I can’t stand what he does for a living.”
“Hfff! Can it be that you have lost your faith in politics?” Busara offered him some cold water which Metutu gratefully accepted. “So what is it this time? Old Maloki again?”
“Isn’t it always?” Metutu scratched his head. “I mean, why don’t those two just try to get along? I don’t believe Maloki is half as evil as my father says he is.”
“Well you knew they were like that. There’s something else, isn’t there?”
“Yeah.” Metutu put his head in his hands and sulked. “Dad tells Chidu one thing, then turns right around and tells Bugweto exactly the opposite. So I asked him about it, and he told me that God is the source of all truth, and that when he wants something done, he can change the truth.” He looked pained. “I let it drop, but any way you look at it, he just plain lied. I remember my mom always telling me not to lie, but I can’t remember my dad saying anything except that I should not lie to HIM. I never know when to believe him anymore!”
“I see.” Busara put his hand on Metutu’s shoulder. “This disturbs you. But there is more to it than that. Much more.”
Metutu felt he had said too much already. He quietly took a couple of grapes and chewed them very slowly.
Busara smiled understandingly. “You are worried that one day you will take his place, and that lies will not bother you. That the means will be justified by the end. It makes you feel dirty somehow just thinking about it.”
Metutu met his glance intently. “Is lying part of being chief? Can’t I be honest and still do the right thing? Do you really think God changes the truth?”
Busara sighed deeply. “Lies are fruits that are ripe and beautiful on the outside but have a worm inside! The same is true of someone that cannot be trusted. I trust God with my life and the life of my family. I know that his words to me will endure forever incorruptible and perfect. Now if you’ll pardon me for a moment of honesty, I think you’d make a terrible chief.”
Metutu looked down. “I see. Then what am I fit for?”
Busara gently raised Metutu’s chin to look him in the eyes. “Last night I had a vision of you bowing before Mano and Minshasa. Mano kissed you and said, ‘Arise, my true son. Your father was chief of a small village, but if you are faithful you will rule in splendor and might with the great kings in the sky.’”
“Me?? Are sure it wasn’t just a dream?”
“A dream?” Busara patted his cheek. “Son, your whole life to this point has been a dream. Now it is time you awoke.”
“What would Aiheu have of me? What must I do?”
“You have just taken the first step. Always ask what Aiheu would have of you. Make it your morning and evening prayer, your first thought on waking and your last as you fall asleep. Next, you must go on a vision quest and open your heart to the Creator. When a cub cries to his mother, he is fed. When you cry to God, he will not leave you empty. Guidance will follow.”
“You want me to be a shaman?”
“What I want is not important. I pay little heed to what I want, yet everything I truly wanted is here for me. It is a simple trade. You worry about what Aiheu wants, and he will worry about what you want. I tell you son, once the staff of a chief is in your hands, it is so hard to let go of it. You’ll spend the rest of your life in regret, but you’ll cling to it as a vine clings to a tree. I tell you a higher purpose awaits you, one that will never bring you to shame.”
“If I am not the next chief, who will free our people?”
“Someday the people must free themselves. And if Aiheu wills it, so shall it be. You can run from God, but you cannot hide.”
“But what can I offer him? I don’t feel like a child of Mano. I want to do this, but I’m frightened.”
Busara laughed. “And you’re the only one? Maybe the world is vast, and on it you are just a tiny spot. But is it not better to be a bright spot among the stars than a dark spot on the ground?”
Metutu sighed. “You always say the right thing. I’ll do it.”
CHAPTER 15: AT ODDS
“When Koko had managed to reach in the basket unobserved and remove a totem, he felt very clever. Now he had power from the gods! Such mischief he might work against all his enemies who laughed at him! And he stole away chuckling to himself. But the gods soon stopped him and demanded the return of their property. And they condemned him to death, but being fair-minded allowed him to choose the method of his execution. Without hesitation, Koko said, ‘Old age.’
“The answer imp
ressed the gods, and they knew no ordinary ape could have stolen a totem. So they let Koko go on his way and keep the totem, but only to use for good. They warned him that the day he cast a spell of harm he would surely die, and not of old age! For that reason, Koko became a great healer--the first shaman. And though he worked no harm, his enemies ceased to laugh at him, so his days were long and happy in the earth.”
-- “LITTLE BROTHER CHAKO”, SECTION 7B
The Council of Elders was upset. The rivalry between Kinara and Maloki who lived just across the creek had always been a source of controversy, but it was usually handled on a personal basis and rarely involved the entire council.
Chango and Bugweto had been to the creek for water. Everyone knew how much Maloki had been charging for water rights, for he had claimed to own the creek right up to the opposite bank. But when some of his people were pulling fruits from the breadfruit tree that hung out over the water, that was too much.
“It is rooted on our bank! It is our tree!” Kinara charged. “This is an outrage!”
Azima, Maloki’s son, was equally adamant. “We only pull fruit that hangs out over the water. There is no way you could pick that fruit without trespassing!”
“We are not trespassing when we pay rent!” Bugweto shouted.
“The rent is for water. For water! You may pick all the fruit that hangs over land. That is legal. That is fair before the gods! Must I remind you that we had an honorable agreement?”
“At your rental fees, there are no honorable agreements,” Kinara said, his arms crossed. “However, we have with us an unimpeachable voice where the law is concerned.” He nodded at Busara. "Everyone knows that his word is impartial and honest. So, what say you, Scribe?"
Busara looked thoughtful. He walked between Kinara and Azima who were standing dangerously close. “Once there were two brothers. They both fought long and hard over a great prize for five days and nights. They did not eat or sleep. Finally on the fifth day, they both collapsed exhausted. And while they were asleep, a stranger came in and stole the prize.”
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