The revenge of SinaÏ

Chapter 01 – Old Mansa Sinaï There is a spirit on the far east side of the village. Said to grant wishes to those who bring him what he desires. I have long dreamt of leaving this dreadful village where half of the population is old, and the other half is dying. I desire to travel around the world and see all the wonders the world has to offer. I want to see people whose skin is as white as snow and those whose skin is comparable to sand. I want to meet people that look like me and yet don’t. I want to touch that cold snow; colder than any winter I have lived through. I want to see the mountains, the desert, the vast forest and the savannah. Just as I heard from the few travelers that came through the village. I desire to see something other than this dying forest, surrounding the miserable village that I live in. To be the eye that has seen it all just like old Mansa. He was a king that gave up his throne to travel around the world and once he had seen it all and written about it, he had decided, for some reason I still do not understand, to finish the rest of his life in this very village. Fortunately, for me, old Mansa made my life better, by teaching me about the possible world outside the invisible walls imprisoning me in this very self-sufficient village. My village is a very small one. About 100 people live here. To survive, we work in the field. We hunt, we fish and we take from the dry forest surrounding us. As a woman, I have learned to work in the field, to hunt, to fish, to climb the trees and harvest their fruits. I have learned what herbs and plants are for food, those who are for medicine and those who are full of toxins. I have mastered the skill needed to defend myself from predators, animals and humans. I fear nothing but the fate of dying in this village and never seeing the outside world. I have long dreamt of getting up one day, packing my bag and leaving without looking back. But I have a duty here, to my family. I am the eldest child of my almost nonexistent father. My mother died a few years back, and my stepmother only has young children. I take care of my family, I work to bring food into the house. My stepmother takes care of the chores with my little sister and brothers and my father disappears all day and only appears when it's time to eat. I am the man of the house. Today, after coming back from the weekly hunt with my fellow villagers, I decided to go see old Mansa. I haven’t seen him in a few days as I have been very busy with all of my work. On my way there, holding his supper, my path crossed once again the one of Aldo. “Peace be upon you, my love,” he said. “Peace be upon you” I sighed, “I am not your love Aldo. I will never accept your demand.” Without waiting for his reaction, I walked away. As a few others have done, Aldo came asking for my hand in marriage. But I refused. I do not seek marriage, at least not now. I want to see the world outside of this prison before ever thinking about marriage. If I accept to marry anyone in this village, I will forever be imprisoned here and this fate I do not desire. Once I arrive at Old Mansa's hunt, I remove my shoes before knocking on the door and stepping in. “Peace be upon you,” I said, “Peace be upon you, child” replied old Mansa. I put the supper next to him, and he thanked me. Old Mansa is very respected and loved in this village. Ever since his arrival, life in this miserable village has improved. He teaches children to read and write and tells them about the outside world. We were all taught many skills that we use every day by old Mansa. This not-so old man, who was about 50 wintering came a few months after my mother died. He became like the father I needed after my mother had passed away. He gave me hope that one day, I too would be happy and make my dreams come true. Every day, someone brings food to old Mansa. Not only him, but all the elders that have no family, receive three meals a day from the other households. The women discuss among themselves to decide who will bring food for the elderly every day. Despite the fact that I hate this village, the people living in it are very kind. No one is ever left aside. When a woman gets sick and can’t take care of her household, the other woman helps her cook, clean and take care of her household. When an elderly person can’t take care of themselves, they are taken care of. When there is a celebration, we all participate. We share everything equitably. “Have you been applying the mixture that I gave you?” he asked without taking his eyes from the diary he was holding. “Yes, old Mansa.” “And the pain, is it gone?” he continued. I made a circular motion with my shoulder, then I replied “Yes, it is.” Two weeks ago, while on a hunt with the other villagers, I was knocked down by a boar. My shoulder was dislocated but thankfully I wasn’t harmed other than that. And it was all worth it, as his meat was delicious. I went to old Mansa after the hunt and he put my shoulder back in place. At that time, I didn't know what hurt me the most: the pain in my shoulder or getting scolded by him. He finally closed his journal and looked at me with a smirk “You still respond to me like the child I met 14 winters ago.” I smile as I remember the day I met old Mansa. It was during my seventh winter that my mother passed away. A month later, my father drastically changed. He was no longer the loving father that I grew up with. He left early in the morning and came back late at night; vagabonding all day long. I was alone in my misery; the villagers were more of a family than my own father. Even though they took care of me, I still remember how much pity I saw in their eyes. I lost my mother and my father became a drunk old man. I had decided I would no longer stay in this miserable village. I went into our hut and looked at a few belongings of mine. I also searched for my mother’s necklace. She promised I could wear it when I was old enough, but I didn’t want to leave without it. It is the only memory I have of her. I left the village without even turning back and walked into the forest that had just begun dying at the time. After walking for a few kilometers, I encountered a wild animal and, yes you guessed it: it was a boar. They don’t seem to like me very much. There I was a defenseless child in front of a massive boar. At the time, I didn’t know how to fight or how to even defend myself from this beast. I knew my time had come. I was scared, but I was also happy. At least I was going to join my mother wherever she was. The beast ran toward me and I was frozen, scared for my life. That is when it happened, a man on a horse dressed in blue appeared out of nowhere. With one single strike of his sword he cut the beast's head, it flew and landed a few miles away. The body was in front of me, bleeding to my feet. I was still shaken up by what just happened. I didn’t move or speak, I was trapped inside my body until the man in blue finally spoke to me. “What is a child doing alone in this dangerous forest?” “I was running away” I whispered. “Speak up, child” he ordered. “I was running away!” I screamed. My eyes were watery and my lips were shaking. I was still scared and also angry at myself. I was supposed to be brave. I promised my mother I was going to be brave. But I wasn’t grave, I was a coward! “Where are you running towards?” he asked, still standing on his high horse. I didn’t have an answer for that. I didn’t know where I was going, all I knew was that I didn’t want to stay in my village. I didn’t want to see the pity in their eyes, and didn't want to see my father. “It’s not kind of you to leave your parents, is it?” “My mother passed away and my father…he is not my father anymore!” I replied, still trying to hold my tears. “The forest is a dangerous place for a child. Come, let me take you to your village” he said. He held his hand, waiting for me to take it. “I don’t want to go home!” “Would you rather stay here? It's almost dawn and I hear there are dangerous beings at night. They are shadows with red eyes and…fangs!” I ran towards him and grabbed his hand. I was scared enough. I did not want to see anything else. He asked me to guide him to my village and as we rode there he also talked. “What is your name?” he asked. “Sinaï” I simply replied. “If you want to leave this village, you have to learn a few skills” he said. “Really?” I said, I had a large smile on my face. For the first time in a month, I was smiling “Yes, and in the meantime, I will tell you about the outside world” he continued. “Who are you, anyway?” I asked, curious. “Me?” He said. “I am the man who has seen it all.”