The face

"Go to your room and start packing, remember you will be traveling very early tomorrow morning."

"I'll do that, just one more minute." He pleaded

"No, to your room right now." She shouted.

"Mmm! Can't do anything in this house." He mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"In that case, after you are done, pack your sister's clothes."

"Mom..."he Cried storming to the room.

"Where is he, where is that godforsaken son of yours" a man shouted outside, I could not help but run to the window, it was Mr. Muhenzi, shouting towards my dad sited outside the house with his daughter behind him.

"Was he sent?

what was his intention?

why does he want to send me to an early grave?

No, why does he want to send my daughter to an earlier grave?

I need an explanation and a satisfactory one lest this land, the land my fore fathers lie, the land that has sustained my people through this life time, will curse me..."

"Man born by my father's best friend, whose fore fathers served the Ingwe in his noble quest for our people, we have grown and played games we invented together, remember?" Mr Muhenzi smiled.

Softly he continued,"Come, sit down my brother.My son brought your daughter to my clinic immediately it happened, I will not talk on his behalf, he is not yet a man but I believe he understands the facts of the matter better."

Wow, what will he say, I've been asking him all day but he kept saying 'I'll tell you.'

"Achesa, Achesa."

My dad called, Bola really disliked that name but Dad would insist on it.

He walked reluctantly out of the room, looked at me trying to pretend to be OK, leaving me behind the window.

"Hello sir?" He said to Mr. Muhenzi, then turned to Ingosi, held her hand and said.

"Ingosi, among my friends, I consider you my best friend. Not once will I ever entertain the thought of hurting you in any way and for today I will not tire to say I'm sorry for what happened. Please welcome to the house and let this long time friends talk." Held her hand and led her towards the house.

"Hey boy, she already knows what you did, the reason why we are here is for you to tell me what transpired,I will not have such insolence to my house."

"Ooh! You didn't tell your dad what happened?" He asked Ingosi, she shook her head.

"OK, today in the morning when I woke up..."

"Son, don't go into too much stories just tell me what happened." Said Mr. muhenzi, my dad smiled.

"I know what happened, do you?" He asked

"No."

Mr Muhenzi looked at him sternly

"Well today in the morning, when I woke up, Mr. Mulako sent me to the market urgently, I had to run, when I got to Ivono, I collided into her, I really did not see her there and it will not happen again."

Without waiting for his response he led Ingosi into the house

"Your dad is a scary one, how do you deal with him." He said entering the house, while I stepped off the couch beside the window.

"Not better than you did."

"Hey Ingosi, sasa " I said.

"Hey Eisa, where did you guys go after we left the site."

"To be sincere i don't know, all I know is that we have been walking the entire afternoon following this guy." I said pointing at Bola.

"Ingosi, you are here? What are you doing here? Did you're mother send you?" Said Mom making her way from the kitchen into the main house.

"No, I came with dad."

"Where is he?"

"Sitting outside."

Mom ran out.

"I need to tell you guys something."

"Come to our room." Said Bola leading the way.

"Every year since I can remember, a time like this, my Dad always called names of boys, I never had the guts to ask why until today when I went to see him, I found him reading through the names so I asked..."

"And?"

"He said that those were the names of the boys going to the forest, then it hit me, every year after reading the names he would go out for days ."

"Going to the forest?" I said searching for an answer in Bola's face.

"Toto, I'll explain, so what was different today?"

"Today he asked me to read through the names, there were seventeen boys, he told me those were the seventeen boys infected by rebids while going to the same function about 120 years ago, to whom homage would be given, then he gave me another list of 19 boys and number 12 was your name Bola..."

"Can someone please explain what this means to Bola." I insisted.

"This means that Bola will be going away, into the forest for a month or so, him and 18 more boys, they will be going with my Dad."

"To do what?"

Silence.

This was the longest night ever, the longest silence ever, I woke with a start in the dark, to find Bola standing still beside his bed.

"Bola, are you OK?"

"Listen."

Mom's words rang in my head,

'You will know when you hear it, just look at Bola, when it's rhythm beats fear will show all over his face. It only cries during the 8th month.'

It was in August,

Mom came running in the room,Dad behind him, Bola stood there still, rigid, I saw the face.

"Bola, they are here."

Mr. Muhenzi came bowing through the door followed by a man dressed in skin, complete with a headgear, I was not ready to see that...

The man went to Bola and said,

"Your mother calls you a brave boy, I have not seen a prouder father evidently your siblings love you,we promise not to change who they know you to be, we just inform. Come nature calls."

"What!?" I said.

Bola followed them out, we followed behind. On the homestead stood boys, all standing still like Bola was, at the door way everyone stepped out except me. Bola turned to Dad who said," Achesa be strong, be brave."

Mom was short of words instead she embraced Bola.

Bola came to me and said, " Toto, its all going to be OK."

He fell into order and they left.

Silence.

"Eisa, come let's go back to bed, its too early to be up." Said Mom taking me to the room.

She tucked me in and switched off the lights, but sleep eluded me left imagining what was being done to Bola intertwined with Scary images dressed in skin complete with a headgear suspended in the air.

I covered my face.