Chapter 9 The Elephant Graveyard

It was now one and a half moons since Kui had been brought to the cave. She had learnt a lot about herbs, under the tutelage of the old woman. Time seemed to drag. Every day was like the last. Her days were filled with a routine. Wake up and clean the hovel. Then go fetch water. Afterwards prepare breakfast for herself and the old hag. Then wait dutifully for the days' scheduled class, something that was dictated by the old woman. Perhaps it wasn't nice to call her a hag, she though. The lady was kind for the most part. And fierce if she felt Kui was slacking even slightly. She was driven, and did not suffer fools. Kui was forced to dance a merry jig to catch up, nay, even keep up.

 Today they were to visit an area of the forest that she had never seen. Kui could admit freely to herself that she was not looking forward to the journey. Likely she would get very tired. The old woman was an early riser. She appeared all ready to travel. Kui packed for both of them, as usual. She was expected to carry food for the journey in a pack that she tied to her back cross wise. A few hours later found them deep into undergrowth. Some of which Kui considered impassable. The lady sometimes had to slash her way through with a blade she carried together with her staff. About midday Kui was exhausted. Battling her way across creepers the size of a leg and overgrown grass and ferns was no small task. And this for hours and hours. Already her stomach was rumbling. And the thirst! Though she and the old woman both carried skins of water, past experience told Kui that no drinking till rest time.

 They fought their way through the creepers, the woman displaying stoic patience. At one point a branch the woman had casually moved out of the way whiplashed and struck Kui on the bosom. Her yelp of pain caused birds to fly away in a rush. The woman did not even look back. Kui sulked. Some hours later they came to what seemed to be the lip of a small valley. Dense vegetation covered the inside of the valley, but in the distance they could make out clearer areas. The old woman proceeded to carefully pick out a path down into the valley, all in silence. She never made small talk in their journeys. After a while they approached what was the first of the clearer areas. To Kui's surprise and astonishment, the place was filled with elephant skeletons in various stages of decomposition. Some bones were bleached white by the sun, others seemed to be carcasses not long dead. And they were in the thousands. The two stopped next to a gigantic set of ribs and just stared. The old woman did not seem surprised at the sight. "What is this place?" asked Kui. "It's an elephant graveyard. Sometimes when old and useless elephants reach a stage when they can no longer sustain themselves, they journey to this place to die. Lethargy consumes them which causes them to be unable to move and they starve to death." She answered softly.

 She gestured with her stick as if to emphasize the point, taping a rib. "The forest ants and worms do the rest".

 The place had an eerie fog surrounding it, painting a gloomy picture. At the far end was what appeared to be a rocky outcrop that was covered in creepers and vines from the surrounding forest. They made their way towards that outcrop and past into the forest. Kui was glad to leave the grave yard behind them. The place gave her the creeps. They trudged on through the snake infested forest, keeping a sharp eye lest they step on a sleeping reptile. The forest was full of strange shouts. Insects and small mammals competed with each other to shout. Monkeys screamed in the distance, amid whoops and coughs of baboons. At one time they heard the roar of a distant lion. Even the forest stopped to listen to that one.

 On and on they walked until they came to a small waterfall. The place was so cleverly hidden that Kui could not have been able to get there on her own. All around this waterfall was dense foliage and mighty trees with huge creepers hanging between them. The waterfall cascaded down to lap gently at a pool that was just divine. Peace shrouded the place and the grass and ferns surrounding it made it look lovely. The old woman smiled as if they had arrived home. "You may take a bath and eat something. We will be here for some time."

 Kui could have shouted in glee. She put aside her pack that by now seemed to weigh a tone, and quickly stripped. Jumping into the water she let herself sink deep then flapped her legs to come up for a breath. Turning on her back, she let herself float dreamily. The atmosphere was so calming. Her hands flapped casually, just enough to keep her from sinking. As always during such moments, her mind turned to her love, Mukwa Njugu. She wondered what he was up to. By now he would have returned to the village. Would he be bothered that she was not to be found? Would he come looking for her? One never knew with him. Moving to the edge of the pool she grabbed a handful of sand and stones and scrubbed herself thoroughly. Afterwards she sat on the side of the river to dry. The old woman who had been gone for a while now returned and chose a shaded spot. She sat down and pulled the water skin to her. Uncapping it she took a long drag. At that moment Kui realized how thirsty she was. She also took a long drink and some packed meat, making sure to serve the old lady first. They ate in silence.