A Heart In Flames

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

The night was long, very long. It seemed as if time had ceased. The air was still, and the darkness grew murkier and murkier. The cave was cold and lifeless. Oma and Mansa felt as if they were dead. It was obvious, that was not a place for humans.

At midnight, when the murky darkness had peaked, the stillness and the coldness of the long night turned into restlessness. Bouts of weird happenings took their turn. The demons were perhaps awake.

Like the previous night, a strange sound of a bird multiplied into cacophonous echoes, the colour of the huge tree turned red, and the splashing sound of the sea waves could be heard. Warm air filled the forest, and in the cave, the lovers could feel the warmth. They needed it.

That was Mansa's first time of experiencing the weird happenings on the island and, as curious as she was, could not keep quiet over it. She asked questions. Her aim was not to get the right answers. She knew Oma didn’t know much about the island like herself.

“What do all these mean?” she asked Oma in a low voice, with her head resting on his chest.

“Have you forgotten Mookoo is where we are? The demons live here. We are seeing what the eyes cannot see, and we are hearing what the ears cannot hear,” he replied. “All these will stop when the evil tree goes down. Demons must have no place to live on earth otherwise, forever shall humans live in sorrow. Our woes are their delight."

Cuddling and feeling the warmth between them, and without much worry about their imprisonment in the cave, the lovers continued to discuss the weird happenings on the evil island. Mansa was always the first to speak, and Oma tried as much as he could to answer her though he didn’t know much about the mysterious island.

Time crawled, as slow as a snail and, finally, darkness disappeared and paved way for morning to arrive. The weird happenings then stopped. The lovers got relieved of the long wait when they saw the light of the morning creeping into their cave. They knew the Green demon, the lord of the island, was going to confront them again and, unlike the previous day, they were resolved to act and act decisively. The sword and the axe were going to be used for their ultimate purposes.

Early in the morning, the cave shook violently. Many stones and pebbles fell from the roof of the cave. Holding her hand, Oma led his wife to safety; a corner in the cave where the roof was firm.

“This is an earthquake. The giants are walking,” Oma said.

“I must see them,” Mansa said, and without being cautious enough, she pulled Oma, as she tottered to the bone door. A big stone falling from the roof of the cave missed Oma; it fell on the floor and rolled towards the bone door.

“They are coming for us, perhaps,” she said, and had a deep breathe, relieved that the stone did not hit Oma.

The lovers stood at the scary-looking, bone door and peeped through it. Oma left Mansa at the door. He had to prepare. The obvious was about to happen. He didn't want the demons to take them out unprepared.

The vibrations stopped shortly after, but it was not over yet. A horn was blown loudly, after which the earthquake continued for awhile and stopped.

Mansa continued peeping through the bone door. She saw the giant blowing the horn, and saw him walk away majestically till he got out of sight.

“They are coming,” she said loudly to Oma when the giant disappeared. The demons were descending like rain from the huge, tall tree; and that was what she was drawing Oma's attention to. They looked fearful, and except the one that looked green, all of them looked blue.

Oma expected that – that was exactly the sequence of events that preceded the appearance of the demons the previous day. But there was something he didn’t know about – the colour of the grey-looking demons had changed to blue. Danger was looming!

Unexpectedly, the bone door opened, and behind it stood four demons. They looked blue, and their eyes were as red as crimson. Mansa shivered but she stood composed until the demons asked her and Oma to get out of the cave.

The demons did not stand in circle like the previous day; they stood behind the lord of the island when Oma and Mansa got to their presence. There was silence. Their intentions could be seen on their faces. They meant harm.

With wrath, lord Green spoke. “I give you one last chance to sacrifice your dangly bits, breasts and front bottom so that calamity will stop befalling you humans. That will be for your own good.” His voice echoed in the trees like a roaring lion. He was furious, and determined to have what he wanted.

“And what will happen if we don’t?” Oma asked. His hand was in his sac, ready to pull out the sword.

The demon laughed wickedly, and took a step forward. The other demons looked on. Mansa kept tapping Oma. She was obviously reminding him of what the fish asked them to do. Oma stood attentively with his full attention on the lord of the island. The atmosphere was tensed. A clash was imminent.

“How dare you reply me with a question? Do you really need an answer from me?” the lord of the island shouted, his skin looking more greener than ever. “We take them by force, if you care to know.”

“Cowards roar like lions to scare those who stand in their way,” Oma replied to him, dipping his right hand deeper into the sac that hang oh him. “But for the brave, they pounce on their prey like a hunting tiger. You are weaker than I thought. We will defeat you and those with you, and hew down the evil tree. This is our mission and it must be accomplished."

The lord of the island grew more furious. He felt disrespected. Never had any of the members of the powerful foray of demons he led spoken to him that way.

“Get them now, and take from them what we want. Humans they are; let them know their place in our world," he charged the other demons under his control.

Consequently, like lightening, the blue demons moved rapidly. But before they could have Oma and his wife in their grips, Oma had his sword out of his sac.

"Tamun Hu Oma," he chanted, and instantly, the sword flamed.