9 His Promise (1/2)

Seasons and moons passed. Ochieng was already eighty seasons old. That was forty eight seasons since he left his clan. He sat at the entrance of the cave that he inhabited in the middle of the forbidden land.

He was thinking of arduous times he had gone through in this foreign land. The land he was an alien in was now his home. He remembered the first unfortunate beast he met on his journey here. He remembered how compulsive he was in his revenge for Le Lwenje.

Sibuor Mudho who was his enemy in the past was currently his best friend. The lion, after the Le Lwenje ordeal had been blinded. When it found its way home, it was fitted with artificial eyes that the intelligent members of its clan improvised specially for it.

Ochieng' remembered how forty seasons ago, while he was wandering in the southern parts of the forbidden land, he met a white horned python. The python was known to be the king of the southern part of the forbidden land.

The python started a fight with him but when it discovered that he could be a 'Mogwedhi' human, it took him with it. Mudho being worried about him, it used its special sense of smell to get him. When it found him, he was too exhausted to recognize it.

Having lived for two years together, the boy had a special place in its heart. It decided to start a fight with the python. The fight was so intense that the recuperating Ochieng couldn't help but stand where he couldn't be harmed to enjoy watching the scrap.

In the end, the lion killed the python but it was left with a serious wound on its left shoulder. Ochieng wanted to help it walk but its size and weight could render his efforts useless. They had barely walked away from the python's residence when they were surrounded by around fifty twelve feet long yellow horned pythons.

Mudho having an injury could not protect them. Ochieng on the other hand had recovered a little from the battle with the white horned python; a battle that lasted for less than a minute because Ochieng was defeated, he had to face the fifty or so beasts by himself.

The two years he had stayed with Mudho had given him enough strength to fight weaker animals. He had trained the ways of fighting by following the teachings of his ancestors through dreams. Pursuing such teachings had made him the man he was.

He went at those beasts without any fear. He swayed his sword and every python fell by every swing. The scene was eye catching. The lion could not help but wonder how the young boy had grown stronger...

He was replete with a feeling of nostalgia when he began to think about his family. He remembered how his mother Anyango adored him. He remembered how his father used to hate it when he left his side.

'I wonder how they are doing now... ' he sighed.

'I wonder if they can still remember me. I wonder how father behaved when he found I was not at home when he came from Kisum... '

'...I wonder... I wonder... I wonder...' and without knowing, tears started rolling down his cheeks.

”What is troubling you that much? ”