The heart

Things seemed in order, servants walking around the room making their final touches. The table, curved the African continent looked particular gloomy today but this is Africa, insanity turns to sanity in a heart beat.

I hit the tip of my wine glass for attention. They all stopped what they were doing and listened.

"Are we ready to receive them?"

They nodded.

"Open the doors."

They did.

Thirty minutes before the meeting we were ready for the drama long over due.

The ladies and gentle men arrived, each sat at their controlled territories on the table.

Duma walked towards me.

"In the presence of the still one, the harming bird. Girl you look radiant."

"Well ain't you a gentle man?"

"I must say I am.

He he, tell me what do you know?"

"About what?"

"Why is this an emergency, is it the pale man?"

"The pale man!? No. This is your annual meeting, hero don't tell me you forgot?"

"No I did not.

Offcose, I'm just saying this pale issue is not being taken as serious as it should."

"Yeah, whatever."

"How many do we need to start?"

"45, we are at thirty."

"Wow! Look at Shaka, does he have to wear his army combat gear every where he goes?"

"You are just jealousy, he's better than you."

"To who?

He can only bully the Ngoni but not the 'Maa' of the savanna."

"What about the tall Nyikango of Sudan?"

"A man is his army, have you seen my army?"

"What about the Gorilla of the Congo?"

"Ooh! He packs a punch but I kill lions for a sport. Irony, this is the cheetah that slay the lions."

"Time will tell.

How is your neighbor Ingwe?"

"I was with him today, left him quarreling with his wife."

"Ingoi?"

"Yes, those two are just something."

"Where were you?"

"Went to see the Python."

"Kinjikitile?

Wait, Ingwe went with his wife!?"

"No, he called for her, she came with one of his craft."

"He calls it Indeche.

I once heard a man call the Indeche a huge head without a body."

I recalled the man from Mbarare.

'I saw him." He paced. "The Ingwe, I saw him. I saw his eyes glow, he was big I could hardly fill his nostril, eyes looking straight at me glowing like the blue sky. He was so big that I only saw his face, there, suspended in the air breathing heavily down on me, he was angry, I was scared, he rumbled like the angry clouds of the thunder, I shyed, I looked away, I dug my head into the ground, I hid it from him.'

"Hey girl, I lost you there, do you like this guy or what?"

"Yeah, whatever.

Talk of the devil."

The Ingwe walked in, a colombas monkey skin bearly covering his broad chest in black trousers well fit, beside him was his wife Injete, in a dark short dress, marching dark ear rings. They walked gracefully to their seats. Seats were occupied one after the other until the sound of merry filled the room by charter among the masks.

I cleared my throat, then flew to the center of the table where I own, my spot, the territory of the harming bird, home of sanity.

"Welcome to the heart." And just like that the meeting began.

"Thank you harming bird for having us.

May the heart receive greetings from the island of Madagascar."

"Mmh." We responded.

"Men from Antananarivo have built a structure called a boat, we have been using them but this ones are larger and stronger, they can carry as many as 500 people, and heavy loads and hear this, we have finally crossed the mighty ocean, and yes my people, there is an end to the ocean. There are people on the other end, many people but none like us."

"WHAT?" Shouted the Nyikango.

"Matters of the sea never seize to amaze."

"Yes, we send a crew of 120 but only 20 returned.

They told stories of the sea, scary stories from the sea, men were plugged off the boat like a man would a fruit in the tree.

Those who survived the ordeal had grey men with feathers on their bodies, who captured them, rob them then thrown in locked cages."

"Africa my heart."

"My heart." We responded.

"Careful of the coast of Somali but I will agree that there is the other end of the great mother of life, I have seen them, they also have known we exist they are coming with numbers. Your men must have called them if not taught them." Said the Sphinx of the pyramids.

"I KNEW IT." Shouted Duma.

"What!?" I asked.

"Heed the warning, this was predicted, the mzungu, they will come in numbers and what's yours will no longer be."

"That happens here everyday, I can do that, can't I?

Grow your army and we will fend them off."added the Shaka, of the Zulu's.

"Thought you would say that, I'm the Cheetah of the Savanna, would you dare me? Yet I say a threat is coming "

Suddenly, it happened the Ingwe's mask hoovered over us then he slammed into the table, a strong man, a really strong man in a leopard's body looked at the gorilla of the Congo.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?"

"what are you going to do about it?"

He showed him his canines then raised his mask in the air and it disappeared, Ingwe has chosen a predecessor or the mask has another that it trusts.

"see you soon."

"Gorilla care to explain." I asked.

"why do we ever do anything?"

And that marked the first war on the table in the 6 wars, a pair of 6mask on the table including Duma's prophecy of doom. The pale man.