Isingo

"

The boy looked full of malice, naked with a glass bottle in one arm, towering a few centimeters above the shortest boys sitting around the marble court, three players tide down by the competitive bano game, battling it out with the price being accumulation of marbles with the question on every boy's mind being, who will go home with all the marbles? Being a knockout game, run out of marbles off the court you go, most of the boys if not all forming the spectators at least had a marble now shared among the last three, when a player is eliminated he is jeered at but the remaining three are applauded. just as I thought the infant with all his might planted the glass bottle, shuttering it into pieces across the head of one of the boys sitted, the boy jumped on his feet to confront the assailant only to meet a non apologetic infant who did not acknowledge his mistake, the incident left an explosive laughter on the court exactly the distraction I needed to steal one of the marbles from the court. Those on the court seemed too preoccupied to acquire all the marbles but that one marble was missed, the owner lamented over it but found himself with way more marbles to complain. One of the trio was eliminated, it was a good fight he fought so he was congratulated, leaving the court with two players one most likely to win holding over 30 marbles with the other with 3 trying his luck which ran out real quick, he was applauded for being the first runners up, a position coveted by many.

" who's better than me, me."declared the champ.

"Y'all can't do nothing to the champ,from 10 marbles to 45, yet I'm still hungry, this leopard needs more food, anyone here with any more marbles to feed this Ingwe? ooh! Wait, I have them all." His cocky character was known, after all this is not the first time he won, it is said he has all colours of marbles kept as his collection. I touched my pocket to feel the marble I had, I picked it out and raised it above my head,

"I have a marble." All eyes on me,

"Wow! Who do we have here, Wasike, wana try your chances, don't mind if I do." Said the champ throwing a marble to the court signifying acceptance of the challenge.

Having nothing to loose I went for it, before I got to the court, the original owner of the marble I was bragging of laid claim to it,

"Bro, you had your chance, give me a shot." I pleaded.

"Ok, you owe me one." He said with a straight face.

I was first in the hole, on the flat clean court he took a spot and placed his marble, with my left hand thumb in the center hole, my marble held firm on my middle finger with my right hand, aimed and pulled the trigger it landed straight on the Champ's marble and just like that I had two marbles, it was on.

The game went on for about 45 minutes, I had lost track of the number of marbles accumulated only pushed by the desire to get more, nothing else in the world made sense beyond that court, the spectators had turned from giving mere applauses to overboard Cheers after every strike, 43, 44..., he gave me a hidden spot, then called for the hardest maneuver, find the marble, expose it leaving your marble at the spot of impact 'isale,itoche' I braced my self, took a deep breathe pulled my finger, further than before that it hurt, everything silent, I let go, the marble flew through the air, landing with precision on the marble but instead of exposing the marble, it broke the marble into two.

The cheers became louder than before

"Amurulitsikhu." (he's taken them all.)

They said amongst themselves, some parted me on the back.

I cleared my throat, everyone listened to the new Champ.

"Isaba, Isaba, lelo musalili, munyala shindu tah, sali Nyasai, lelo nimutsi he? Sikami tsa" (accuracy, accuracy, you guys are in big trouble, this you won't survive, just pray to your god, where will you go to? For your sake just kneel.)

The speech was preceded with cheers that ended up attracting unnecessary attention, two older boys came running to the court.

"Who won?"

Everyone pointed at me.

"How much are you worth?"

"46."

"Nice." Said the other boy.

"Wait, 46 what?"

"Marbles."

"Oh!" Said the other boy disappointedly

"Not a mean achievement, but we deal with shillings, now clear off the court its our turn." He said pushing me off the court.

"Dude, respect the champ." I reiterated

"Wow! Champ you say, does champ's face want to smell cow dung?" He said slow raising me to the toe by the color of my shit then threw me off the court.

"Hey boy, just walk off and count your spoils." Said the other boy.

I could not let it be instead ended up saying, "nusamushi manya shipwondo shia mama wo." (You as ugly as your mom's underwear.)

The boy infuriated, slapped me across the face, picked me up by the back of my color with one hand, the other raising me up by the belt at the back, carried me out to the open mugomari field where boys and men were herding cattle. I knew what was coming so I covered my face.

Without warning he emersed my head into a heap of freshly laid, warm wet and stinky dung, I held my face even tighter, he walked with me around the field 'feeding me isingo. (dung)' as he put it, then finally threw me to the furthest end of the field.

I sat myself up and tried to clean off the dung that made it all the way my nostrils, it burned, in and around my ear. My hair specially dyed with dung. I touched my pockets for my priced possession, they were not there, probably scattered around the field.

"Hey" said a boy approaching cautiously.

"What do you want? Just walk off, my ear is full of dung I can't hear you."

"Call me DD, Stanley did the same to me last week."

"Boo Hoo, poor boy." I said sarcastically.

"No, I mean he did it to me and since then I have been thinking how best to serve my revenge."

"I'm listening." I said blowing out dung from my nostrils.

"With my brains and your finger we have a chance."

"You have a brain?"

"No, you do not want to piss me off."

"What will you do? Feed me dung?"

"Look around, do you see anyone speaking to you, they are all laughing at the champ whom they were cheering, ask me why?"

"Dung."

"Yeah dung, go home and Stanley will have grown his legacy from you while for you your greatest achievement will be forever overshadowed by Stanley's legacy."

"So, what does your brain tell us to do?"

"Grow your legacy above Stanley's."

"How do we do that?"

"How many marbles do you have?"

I felt my pockets.

"None."

"OK, I saw them fall, I salvaged 10."

"Good boy, how do we use them?"

"We make money."

Before I woke up another boy came running my way, it was the owner of the triumph marble I stole.

"My marble..." Before he could finish the statement the boy slapped him across the face, the small boy took off crying.

"Come."

I followed the boy.

"You asked me for marbles, I'm with the champ here and he is willing to part with ten of his precious possessions, give a deal he will accept."

"No, he is no longer my champion, isingo khu bweni (dung face)."

"That is exactly why he is selling his ten marbles, to get back to the bully."

"You don't say. How much?"

"Enough for just a shot."

"I have 15 shillings, will that help?"

"More than enough, here you go."

He said handing over the marbles, then received three, five shillings coins.

"Good doing business with you."

"Wasike let's go to the court." He said handing me one five shillings coin.

"What's the plan here?" I asked

"We play.

Go to the court and declare your worth, here, I will be honored if you play with this marble." He said handing me a marble that looked like a baby goat's eye.

Soon as I got to the court Stanley confronted me.

"Hey dung face, want another ride"

"Are you offering? coz I would not want to pass that for anything but in the mean time I'm here for the game."

"Gat money?"

"As a matter of fact I do.

I HAVE 5 SHILLINGS."

"Welcome to the court." Said one of the older boys on the court.

"I have 5 shillings, I say dung face will hit 30 ksh, who Say's otherwise to place a wager?" Said the boy I was with to the spectators, few boys went his way.

I chose a spot and placed my marble

"Isale, itoche."

further away from all the five boys on the court, the game rules had changed, get hit part with a shilling, run out of shillings you are out.

We took turns, hence knowing whom you follow was the important thing, strategy, take all chances but start with the easiest and the closest.

After a hit to get the shilling you must land in the center hole, every successful strick awards you another shot.

It felt like forever but my turn finally came, I made a hit and into the hole, a shilling was thrown my way, I pocketed it, from the hole aimed at the nearest marble, I hit it, another coin was thrown my way, aimed at another got a hit, aimed at the hole but just about made it, standing at the brink of the hole, I was two shillings richer.

My marble was hit hard that it ran out of the court, leaving the assailant at the hole side, he got in the hole, I fished a coin and threw it his way, found my marble and chose another spot, I was hit again, and again and again, before I could see the light of my second round I was out.

Stanley laughed mockingly.

Before I got off the court, the boy came and pressed another 5 shillings coin in my hand.

"I'm still in." I stated.

The second round came, the whole world around me seized to exist, all I saw in my world was a circular court, four marbles scattered randomly on the court yet all I can do in this world is aim and hit.

I aimed and hit got a coin, aimed and hit, got a bonus, aimed and hit and the game became interesting.

A player was knockout, then another, then another. Soon we were two on the court, I listened to the outside world, it was chanting

"Isingo, isingo."

So I took that chance and looked at the remaining player, to my shock it was Stanley, sweating as though he was tilling land.

This must be me growing my legacy beyond Stanley's.

He made a hit I threw a shilling his way but did not capitalize on his bonus.

I made three successful hits and he taped out.

I listened to the outside world.

"Dung face, Dung face." They chanted.

The boy I was with rushed towards me and said.

"Run." And took off.

I followed him, a few boys made to follow us but they were too uncoordinated to follow through.

We ran for quite some time before he finally stopped at the Bunyala market under an empty mama mboga Kiosk.

"How much are you worth?" He asked.

I took out the coins and counted them, they were 350 shillings in coin. I took 200 shillings and gave it to the boy

He took them and put them in his shirt pocket.

Intern he took out all the money he had won by wager, they totaled a whooping 1200, intertwined with notes.

He took 625 and gave it to me.

"Khuli shilala"(We are now equal)he said.

" what was your name again? " I asked.

"Call me DD."

"VD?"

"D D"

"I'll just call you VD, I guess its your missing tooth."

"DD." He insisted.

" we are just the two of us, I heard you, VD it is." I said standing up.

"

The Ingwe narrated, I followed through his narrations vividly like it was being recreated.

"You mean you were there?" I asked.

"He is always there." Said Ngaira on the other lap.

"No I'm not always there.

But when musambwa needs me to be there, I will be there." Corrected the Ingwe.

"What are you trying to tell us Ingwe Mukhongo?" Asked Ngaira.

"That, that day the earth introduced you two to each other but unknown to you the earth also introduced you two to me."

"Where were you?" I asked.

"

I was in the mukumu tree below where you were thrown by the bully, where you met him." He said pointing at Ngaira.

"What does this mean?" Asked Ngaira.

"The mask will speak.

Now its time for bed." He concluded lifting us both towards the room we woke in.

He put me on the bed first, went and tuck in Ngaira then came to tuck me in. In a low tone he said.

"Your father was seriously injured but my team is working on it, you will see him as soon as he is descent. OK."

I nodded.

He touched my face.

"Goodnight boy." Then walked out.

"Goodnight Wasike." Said Ngaira from the other bed.

"Night VD."