I saw him

"People call you mulalu, what's your real name?"

"Girl! what happened to your nose?"

"Thats a long name to remember, I'll just call you mulalu."

"Small girl, you don't get to dismiss me like that, why is your face all strapped up?"

"Now that we are playing this game again, answer my question and I'll answer yours. What's your real name?"

"Call me Iseru."

"Like the bird?"

"Yes.

So what happened to your nose?"

"I fell face first on a maram road, there you go."

"So, you just walked out of your father's house to throw yourself on the road, yet you call me the mulalu?"

"No, not the way you normally do, you know, this one is among those they call accidents."

"A bicycle?"

"No, Bola."

"The boy, let me guess.

He ran into you?"

"Yes."

"Why does this sound so familiar?

Anyway why are you here so early?"

"I'm an early riser, done my chore and we agreed with my friends to met here."

"I see."

"My dad asked me yesterday whether I believe the Ingwe ever existed."

"What did you say?"

"I did not answer, I knew it was a trick question. Was he really there?"

"Ingwe Mukhongo, the last on the mask. He was. I saw him."

"Ah! Iseru, you saw the mythical creature?"

"It was the eighth month, the season the Ingwe chose his predecessor, the same season the seventeen boys from Bunyala were attacked, the same season the leopard met the lion, the same...You get it, it was an eventful season.

Mushevi approached me and asked me to carry his whistle and Mutiti(circumciser drum.) He told me that every time he raised his fist I should blow the whistle, while chanting loud, 'Ingwe Mukhongo, Ingwe Weru Mukhongo.' I was young.

So in the middle of the night, when everything was silent left for the crickets, when nothing seems moving left for the fire flies, he woke me. He was quiet, like a Mushevi is.

He whispered, 'Nonda.' (Follow me.) In my ear.

I followed him, to the sloppy bushy end of the village, took a tiny route towards the forest, the route became smaller and smaller until it was no more, I didn't know where I was, so I just followed him.

We went deep into the forest, my heart racing out of my chest. At some point in the quest, Mushevi started saying.

'Ingwe khusaba witse, mwatsa nuyanza hamba, hamba bana bobo bakhulanganganga, hamba usubuli basheve, hamba ukhusabili bulamu...(Ingwe I beg you to come, find delight and come, come your children are calling, come allow me initiate them, come wish us well being...)"

"Haya! This guy already started singing this early." Said a small boy approaching us.

"Iseru, bola ngwe khutsune liulu."(Iseru, say 'ngwe' and I'll pinch your nose.)

"Bola." I said standing up, this boy is so naughty, injures me now being disrespectful to older people I'm talking to, he does not know what's coming to him, he's got what's coming to him.

"Ngwe." Said Iseru behind me.

"Enh! You said ngwe." The boy came ranning past me to the old man and started jumping around, the old man tried to catch him threatening "nakhurumula so."(you know I'll hit you.)

The boy continued jumping around, saying 'uboli ngwe?'(you said ngwe?), then suddenly poked the old man's ribs with his index finger, the old man smiled and jumped back.

"Mwana yibi, nakhurumula lukuma."(boy, I'll break your skin.)

"Bola." I called again

He jumped towards him and poked his other side, then the other, he continued poking him until he started to laugh heartily. Iseru lost his will to catch him and tried to cover his ribs. In the same vein he fell to the ground attempting to deny him access. Bola sat on his waist and started tickling him aggressively. Iseru was hysterical. He laughed so hard that he fart. Bola sat up straight, looked into Iseru's face weirdly then pinched his nose.

Bola turned towards me.

"How you doing?"

"Just fine."

"How bad did he say it was?"

"By he you mean your dad?"

"Yeah, him."

"Your father didn't say much, he just apologized for your mishap, and gave me a week to heal."

"Come let me show you something." He said pulling me by my hand, I pulled back.

"Wait." I said.

"What is it?"

"Mulalu, Iseru was helping me with a question dad had asked me, let me get the answer and we'll go."

"Ooh! OK."

We both turned towards Iseru.