Metal.Fangs

THE DEPARTURE.

The sky has been heavy with rain for the past three days. The sun had not shown its face either. The villagers were still in wonder trying to figure out what the gods were trying to tell them. The only time they get to witness the sky withholding her tears of blessings from the ground was when one from the land of the living was to join the ancestors in their forever home. According to the people of Chumaa, they have not witnessed the two previous stages of departure which normally leads to the third and final stage that consists of heavy pour that is called Wepesi; this is the only incident that could make the sky hold her tears of blessings even when it seemed that she clearly wanted to release them to the earth. According to the ways of the people of Chumaa, the fist stage of departure is called Sait. During the Sait stage, whoever is supposed to crossover to the land of the gods usually gets dreams of him feasting with the departed who were very close to him but have crossed over to the land of the gods. The Sait happens in  three stages and on the third and last dream, the soul detaches itself from the body and does not return from the third and final feast which indicates that the soul is finally home where it belongs. The second departure stage is called the Sikiyo. During the Sikiyo, an owl or a horn bill usually comes and 'cries' near the homestead of the one who is to crossover. The people of Chumaa believe that the hooting of the birds can only be heard by the person whose presence the gods required. This stage also welcome  the final dream of the Sait stage. After the third dream, a person is then welcomed home by the ancestors and the gods after which the Wepesi and the final stage of departure sets in. The Wepesi is the stage where the sky would let down  tears of blessings she had been withholding from the ground for many days. The sky releases the tears of blessings so as to console the heartbroken left behind by the departed. The rain is supposed to fasten the growth of green healthy grass to show the departed that their  loved one is home and safe, and that they should try and move on and let the souls of their loved ones rest with the gods.

It is a custom among the Chumaa people to let the elders know should one have a dream that could indicate the first stage of Sait. The elders can then call Loko, the dream interpreter for him to discern whether an individual was to cross over. Where it was clear that a dream was ushering in Sait, a party and a sacrificial ceremony would be held. The party was meant to thank the gods for the gift of moments shared with the one who was to join them. On the other hand, a sacrifice was held in order to ask the gods to send guards to come for their loved one at the event of departure and safely deliver him home since it was true the spirit was going to travel through paths that were unknown to it and there was a possibility of also finding unfriendly strangers on their way home. After the burial, another party is to be held after grass has fully covered the grave site immediately after Wepesi, thanking the gods for comforting those who suffered the loss of a loved one.

It had been three days of trying to unravel an impossible puzzle! The elders had even sent the messenger boy to go door-to-door asking people if at all they could have had any dreams of them sharing a meal with the departed. He was very patient and could even wait for hours just to let the villagers remember their dreams of the past days one by one. So far, no one had come out to have witnessed the ushering in of Sait. If no one had had any dream indicating Sait then it meant that the gods were sending a totally different message and clearly, it was not a good one. The elders would meet under the big Mugumo tree that night since clearly the sky would not let down the rains. They would put their heads together and try to come up with ways in which they would please the gods in order to salvage the village from whatever wrath they had coming their way.

The six winds of time had blown by and the seventh would shortly blow by too indicating the coming in of dawn. While the elders were deep in thoughts trying to unravel this strange riddle, Babu Iman spoke up," My fellow wise men, you all remember my beautiful daughter and only child Tiya who was taken away from me by the man who came to ask for her hand in marriage. He chopped off her head and took her heart from her body! He destroyed her on a night that was to bring great joy on the night that another life had just come from her!" Babu Iman was a great village elder who presided over sacrificial ceremonies. He was wise and and a very happy man but since the death of his wife Niya, he became withdrawn. He would only speak much during ceremonies in the village. His wife died during child birth and he refused to marry saying he loved his wife so much and that he believed they would be reunited upon his death. Babu Iman took care of his daughter Tiya single-handedly until he gave her hand out in marriage to Oya who would later take her life in cold blood as if he was never once awed by her beauty.

The people of Chumaa believed that whenever a fellow elder asked for your ears, he always had something very important to say. So they listened keenly. "That uncultured boy finished off my little baby as if she did not have her own people! As if she came from the bushes and had no kinsmen to defend her! Unlike you my fellow elders, I was never given a flag pole by the gods. You see, I have always referred to boys as flagpoles. You see it from a far and you immediately know what the ground on which it stands is made of. Then we have girls... oohh my!..Girls are flowers, they give a home a lovely scent and true beauty." Babu Iman said as his fellow elders gave grins while at the same time making faces full of empathy. They agreed with Babu Iman but at the same time wanted him to know that they imagined themselves in his shoes and were very sorry for what the will of the gods had put him through. "He said my daughter had turned into a beast that night. Were it not for the wail that the midwife gave, he would have finished my grand daughter too! My fellow elders, the gods designed a very difficult test and gave it to me as a life. I understand we are not supposed to question their ways, but, what do you call what I had in the name of life?" The elders were confused. Why was Babu Iman talking as if he had already given up on life? He was the strongest man anyone in the village could think of. I guess what they forgot is even the strong worriors need a shoulder to lean on sometimes. The elders were still very keen. Not every time  anyone would see Babu Iman seated with the elders having a long chat, not even in the famous village brewery where elders would go each carrying their very long straw, dip it into the same pot of beer and sip slowly as they engaged in stories of wisdom from the gods. "Come child" he said waving his hands towards the messenger boy. He was only allowed to go to rest after the important meetings were ended. "Get my grand daughter for me. She should be deep asleep obviously. Please knock and call her gently lest she thinks you are a night runner." Night runners never gave people in the village a peaceful night. They would throw stones and soil on roofs, kick doors or come singing in voices that sent chills and fear down spines of the villagers. The very wicked ones would come with the spirits of those who lived evil lives and were locked out of paradise by the gods, so they came back to disturb the peace of the living; they would unleash an army of bats into the villagers houses only to give a wicked laughter after scaring the villagers.

Tinani had arrived, though a bit sleepy, but very worried. Why would her grand father summon her this late into the night. "My child, come." Babu Iman said inviting his grand daughter Tinani to sit next to him. Tinani had an elder brother Towet. He had gone to the capital in search for a good life but never once had he written to his grandfather or his younger sister. Babu Iman really wished he could be present on this fateful night but sadly that would not be. "Now that my grand daughter is here, allow ,me to apologise my fellow elders for not letting you know that it is me the gods wish to summon. I have had my first and second stages of  Sait, I also had my Sikiyo recently and I have a gut feeling that I might have my final stage of Sait should I lay down tonight or whatever time I will next lay down." Babu Iman said with his face full of sorrow. He was looking at his grand daughter who was already crying in disbelief. Tinani was very close to her grand father. She did not get the chance of meeting her parents and that only left her with her grand father as both mother and father. Babu Iman did a very great job raising Tinani. Unlike keeping his daughter Niya from knowing who she really was, Babu Iman was very honest with Tinani and her brother Towet. He made sure they knew that they were not ordinary people. That they were special. Babu Iman made sure that Tinani and Towet understood their history. He taught them that the name Chumaa was created by people from their lineage and that it meant people of metal. That explained their bronze and iron color. They were meant to last forever, but with the years, they became more humane, they suppressed their desire to feed on human blood some of them married humans and were afraid of being seen as barbaric and with the years, they became weaker and weaker. Babu Iman's daughter Niya could have had a very difficult child birth because she could have carried a full blood vampire-Tinani. The full bloods were always born once after every five generations. Niya's eyes and fangs must have been triggered by the pain she went through during birth, finally sending her to her grave.

The elders were sorrow smitten. They felt truly sorry for Babu Iman. They knew how much his grand daughter meant to him . They felt sorry that the girl would be left on her own especially since her brother refused to come back from the capital. They were sad because no party was held to celebrate such a great man. They felt sad that the Plea sacrifice was not held to ask the gods to send him guardians through the paths of the worlds beyond. "Do not worry about me. I somehow made it this far as broken as I am. For my two grand children, I kept pushing. I believe the gods would not have summoned me if they thought my grand children were not strong enough to continue on their own especially my little girl here. My very own daughter Niya was painfully forced to cross over and in my Sait, I saw her, she is home; if my baby made it, if my wife also made it without the Plea ceremony for we all know they crossed over unexpectedly, then I know I shall also get home safe. To my grand daughter, please do not forget my teachings. Do not forget where you come from. Tell your brother that I am proud of the man he has become, and above all, I need you to be so strong and keep the teachings of our people alive. I hope you know what I mean by that child." Babu Iman said.  Tinani understood well that even though the elders surrounding them were her people, she understood that there is another group of people she had come from that if the elders themselves came to know of, she would face the same wrath as her mother. This could be why her brother left never to return. She however vowed to get revenge for her mother and repay her grandfather's kindness by sticking to the ancient teaching of people of the real Chumaa.

The meeting came to an end. When morning came, Babu Iman was already gone ,on his way to join the gods. Tinani stood over his body which had been cleaned and wrapped in black clothing which had a huge white dot on the chest. This was a tradition that most Chumaa people got from the original people of Chumaa but did not even know why the dead were buried like so. To the true vampires, the huge ball in a black clothing meant  they would get up from sleep no matter how long the night was. Tinani understood this.