Chapter nine

CHAPTER 9

From the hillock that mothered Thayu river, one could afford an aerial view of the vast Butita land, tranquil as it looked and isolated from the world, one could form a perfect example of a scientific isolated system. The river snaked down the valley slowly marked by overlying vegetation, actually one could not see water except for a little stretch which was used as a bridge. A group of boys could be seen playing hide and seek from the pastures where they commanded large herds of cattle, afew people were tilling land while one or two people loitered aimlessly around the village. Eddy watched all this and kept on scratching her head. How could a village be so isolated with the changing times? Did the government care about the illiteracy of these people?

Despite the departure of colonial government, the new government had never shed light into this otherwise forgotten ridge. There was no school, not a single hospital, not even shops. People just lived. Maybe she was the light Butita needed, but could they trust a lady?

She looked at their home and all the land they possessed, afew girls who were coming and moving out after a short discussion with her mother who could be seen from the hill. She knew they needed education, which explained the reason they still found time to come over despite telling them a day before that they would not be having classes the following day. She too was a human being and she needed time to cool off. Then a thought struck her.

What if she involved the village craftsmen, blacksmiths, masons and professionals from every sector. In the city, there were polytechnics which taught all forms of skills and maybe that could do. The problem was convincing those said individuals to abandon their busy schedules for a stray woman's skuul, like they called it. Teaching under the baobab was also difficult especially when it came to rainy seasons. All that weighed heavy in her mind, she even thought of running to the city again, but no. The palace looked extraordinarily magnificent in the afternoon sun, her birthright.

Eddy came back home beat and hungry.

"Where have you been all the morning, I guess you are seeing some son of Pharaoh". Hannah wasn't that cool in welcoming her daughter who had left all the house chores to her.

"I don't need any son of whoever who is not educated, one who would force me to be circumcised", Eddy returned coolly.

"Remember they are still the only options around, and besides, I don't need those city chiwawas as my in-laws".

"I'm still very young mum, there's alot to worry about rather than men whose task has been running away from responsibilities". Eddy was getting abit uncomfortable.

"It's not too early dear, the earlier the better, I also need grandchildren before my poor bones lack the energy to hold a baby".

"You're only afew seasons shy of forty, women are even getting married at your age nowadays".

"Yes, in the city. Not in here where the girl's population can't make a half of the men around".

"Girls are there, it's only that your old men won't get comfortable with one lady, one man gets five wives and you still expect a steady population of single ladies?"

"That's the culture, it dictates that a man is not a man enough with just one wife", Hannah fought the argument.

"Enough of it, will you get me something to eat or let me die of hunger", Eddy was really hungry, she looked weak.

"I'll let you die then I'll succumb to loneliness".

"Milk and brown ugali please, make the milk hot and ugali sour", Eddy liked joking with her mother.

"At your service, her majesty", her mother answered wearing the voice of city restaurant waiters, heading to the kitchen.

It was not until the evening when Tande called in, she was a young, tall girl with formed features. Beautiful with soft shiny hair which had been polished with castor oil made locally. Tande was Eddy's best friend and she usually spend much time at Eddy's place when she was free, having excelled exemplary in tailoring classes, she was now helping as a professional. Tande's mother used to work with Hannah at the palace and the two were still good friends.

"So now madam Queen, where is the work you've been doing after telling off the girls today", Tande wore a jovial face.

"What else could she do, she went all the way to the hilltop, drank in the beauty of land and walked slowly to her palace, like a royal", Hannah was quick to add in the same mood.

"Can't you give someone a break", Eddy complained. " You think that teaching this people is as easy as sowing afew seeds during the rainy season and starting to prepare your barn?, I also need to calm my nerves".

"Then maybe you should visit Thayu river very early in the morning, it's abit cool there", Tande was a hard nut to crack when it came to bullying.

"Leave my queen alone, she needs afew maidens which we've not yet been able to mobilize", Hannah continued.

"You're suffocating", Eddy said wafting hands by her nose. They all laughed out loud.

"I have a suggestion, maybe we could expand our training, we need to fully catch the attention of boys. We can't just operate with girls and one or two boys". Eddy was serious.

"You know the boys are busy darling, will they let cattle die of hunger for crotchety or will they take animals to the pastures", Tande asked no one in particular.

"Exactly the point, maybe we could get a blacksmith once a week, a mason another day, carpenter, craftsman..."

"How will you convince them to put down their tools for nothing? " Hannah asked, more concerned.

"That introduces the bitter part, we will have to charge students a little for the professionals. I think they will understand, nothing goes for free in this era". Eddy had it all planned.

"I also used to pay a huge sum for keeping you in class, they have had enough of free service by now", Hannah observed.

"Then the subject of venue, we cannot continue teaching under a tree, you can imagine paying a whole blacksmith to deliver afew skills then rains start falling". Tande was now worried, her smile had faded.

"Leave that to me, darlings", Hannah replied confidently. She admired these two ladies which she treated equally as sisters. And she'd give everything to see them achieve all they wished, being the only closest children she had of her own.

Negotiations began in earnest the following day, in a country where adults sang Christmas carols at the middle of the year, land was not considered as of much importance. One rich man from the other ridge, bwana Mapesa - who was rich considering his multitude of twenty wives and a school of children who's number wasn't clear. Counting the children one had was considered an omen and though one knew the exact number, it never went past that. Mapesa offered a generous offer for the part, about a quarter of the whole plot, of Hannah's land which she intended to sell. To her, the land never meant alot when her daughter was struggling with a venue to feed young children with knowledge. She intended to sell a section of her big land and use it to construct a solid building for studies. So the following day a large herd of cattle, about thirty heads, was driven to theur compound. Currency had not eaten into bowels of Butita land yet, people used to exchange a good for another or service.

Eddy was all smiles, a polytechnic indeed! She knew enough that enlightenment was the only key to unlocking the possibilities which lay idle in the land, the only key that could catch the attention of the government. She had already negotiated with afew professionals who agreed to spare atleast one day in a week for a small reward. Ofcourse they never did so because of importance, they did so because they still respected Eddy for her royal blood.

"Construction begins tomorrow, I need a building as long as the city fortress, like the grant mosque of Jamia", Hannah remarked despite knowing very well it could cost all the village's worth to construct such an abode.

"Or as big as Club 410, maybe", Eddy returned the favor with equal girth.

"You talk of clubs because that's where you spend your evenings after school", Hannah observed.

"I was a smart student and that's why I emerged the top at the approved school"

"You went there because you were not smart, remember"

"That's gone mum, we're now in this god-forsaken suburb where we share rooms with goats, rats ant cockroaches. Eddy resented the village life, unlike when they lived in the city, she was now spending nights in the same room as goats and sometimes chicken. Rats were so much at home in the huts that she could now tell which rat was male or female, or which cockroach was pregnant or not. Bedbugs were so frequent that she could tell their ages at a mere bite.

"It's still home, we don't pay for the house and we don't buy food"

"We also don't see the doctor and we can't sell our produce for hard cash", Eddy was good with arguments.

"Okay, you win. So what design, the masons will be here at the first light tomorrow. Maybe at cock crow"

Eddy thought hard, she had not yet settled on any particular design.

"We need a large building which can hold about fifty, sort of manyatta design", she suggested.

"We could have used wood and iron sheets but then the closest thing to a hardware we have is in the city", Hannah complained.

"We can use grass for now, maybe the future will unfold something different", Eddy threw in mind far away.

"Do you think we have a future? I mean, it was better while we waited for the white man to leave, now he's long gone and we have nothing to look forward to", Hannah looked dark than before.

"We never have a future until we see it in the past, mum"

"I hear the government erected an administrative post in the neighboring kingdom, maybe there's an hope"

"Yes there is, it's just a matter of time"

The following day started with a warm sensation created by yellow rays which were struggling with a light fog. It was early in the morning and smoke could be seen from different homesteads around the village, the compound smelled of cow dung. Afew calves were mooing to alert their boss that it was time they met their mothers. Tande was just coming in from the gate accompanied by Alei. Alei was a young man of about twenty six seasons, a friend to Tande. He had a great admiration for Eddy but could never show it openly. So upon hearing about the construction, he offered to help without question.

" Good morning, Eddy"

Good morning Tande, pleasure to have you, Alei" Eddy returned Tande's greetings.

"Pleasure is all mine, friend", Alei answered shyly. Despite being of senior age to Eddy, he still felt butterflies on his stomach every time they met. Eddy had a dominating figure, from her dark eyes which shone the moon during the harvest season, neck which could fit a thousand and ten necklaces, twin breasts which stood at attention just above the one inch waist not forgetting hips which resembled some dancing costumes. If elegance was a person, then it could probably make Eddy. The young lady was beautiful per excellence.

"Look at who's cows have not been milked", Tande started.

"It's not even eight, surely", Eddy protested.

"Maybe I could help, cows tend to like my angelic voice", Tande offered.

"Your masai fakason voice", they all laughed at the mention of the old king's tractor. The two ladies started milking while Alei sat at a wooden bench absorbing the warm rays.

By the end of that day a solid structure towered with a brand magnificence. Polished with cowdug dotted with white ballast, the building could be mistaken with a modern structure from afar. It had cost Hannah a whooping 20 heads of cattle to settle all bills but that never hurt a bit, the impeccable structure gave a strong sensation of satisfaction than she had experienced before. Parents had accepted to contribute afew favors at the emergence of each new moon, they welcomed the gesture after seeing how skillful their children were becoming. Afew had even moved to the city after excelling in crocheting lessons and one had actually visited in a months time, laden with gifts of all kinds. She reported to have secured a job with one of the cloth companies in the city. School was to resume the following week with crocheting taking place on Monday, hair and beauty following on Tuesday, masonry, wood art and blacksmithing taking place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday respectively. The weekends would be resting days where students would help their parents with other chores. The thought of giving a two day break had been borrowed by Eddy from the city life where civil servants took a break from work on Saturdays and Sundays. Back here in the woods, it bribed parents to atleast see that Eddy was not taking their children completely, but only afew days. Ingenious!

Fache was teaching masonry and young boys really liked him, he was a cheerful person and possessed the skill of giving stories. Ability to construct and give a story was a very valued skill for a man, or else how could you win a girl if you couldn't even construct a simple lie.

"So guys, this is how you hold an hammer, pta pta pta", he said to the group of about thirty boys who sat unflinching before him.

"The hammer is like that thing between your legs, see. You use the head to drive a nail into whatever object, an interesting organ is it?" They all burst out laughing.

"The saw is used to screw wood, just the way you screw up everything when you see a beautiful girl and instead talking pleasantly to them you place your tail between your legs between your legs like a stray dog", The boys again broke into a hearty laughter. Masonry was one of the best lessons and the trainer was a different person altogether. There was no single girl in the masonry class and that made Fache's task even more interesting. In that the boys felt very free.

Ofcourse they liked the other trainers but their was one Chuma. He was the blacksmith and hardly made a joke, Infact he used to chase boys who never understood from the class. He had fought in the second big war and was always complaining about how the British government had never rewarded their efforts. Chuma was heavily built with a protruding mustache and premature bald. He used to walk like some army guy matching at a national celebration. Though the boys disliked him, they still admired his well polished skills.

*****

Alei walked slowly towards river Thayu where he spend most of his free time admiring the cool breeze and the sight of crystal clear water flowing slowly and silently. The sun was almost setting and from a distant the voice of cattle which was coming from the pastures could be heard, he was thinking about Eddy. The one human being who had completely taken over his mind, he was always looking forward to the days Eddy would come into their class to supervise how training was being done. He almost enrolled in crotchety classes but that could have humiliated him, crocheting was reserved for ladies. Alei reminiscenced her beauty, her voice, her walking style and everything. He was looking forward to the day he could introduce his real intentions to Eddy, but then fear.

On the other side, Eddy had taken some time off to cool by the riverside. It was a Saturday evening and she had not alot to do at home. She watched a dragonfly move closely above the water level, some enkileleo-crab, was making some rounds from the bottom of the stream. Water was flowing slowly hardly making any sound. She was seated at a flat rock by the river with her legs partly submerged in water. The atmosphere was so rejuvenating that she hardly heard a thing until late when she heard the sound of dry leaves being disturbed. She shot up like someone demented with a strange spirit ready to run, that's when she saw Alei standing nervously behind her. Her heart was pumping like the one of those drums at a cultural festival. She went to where Alei was and wrapped her arms across his waist, letting her head rest on his chest. Ofcourse he did this out of desperation and not affection, atleast that will be good to know for future reference.

Alei had never felt something of that sort before, his heart was now trying the famous eneos challenge one Kipchoge tried. So she was also in love with him? How could it happen? How could... "

" Are you going to say something, buddy. You almost scared me to death you brat", Eddy was breathing with relief. She was releasing Alei slowly.

"Eerr.. I... I'm sorry I never knew you were here", Alei was really struggling.

"Next time let a little noise accompany your movement", Eddy released Alei completely with relief.

Alei felt as if he had just released her forever, why did he not atleast hold her tight abit longer? How could he lack atleast a soothing word? How could he fail to deliver atleast a peck to this angel? He hated himself and the very motive that had brought him to that river, but deep down he felt really amused. He could not believe who had just been lying on his chest afew moments earlier, or maybe it was a dream? Alei was acutely confused.

Afew months after reopening of the polytechnic, rumors started circulating. How could a woman lead such a large group? Who was she anyway, someone who was brought up in the city where all types of ills thrive every day? Such a lady who was almost past marriage age and could never be seen with a man, was she even circumcised? Any woman who wasn't circumcised posed great danger to the community and could invite a catastrophe. All this was gaining weight with days. Eddy caught the air of the whole thing and dismissed it as mere stray man's word. But was it really that light? The question remained the test of time, atleast for that period of time.