STAY BEHIND
1880 Words
"That song, that song you are playing, where did you learn it from?" he asked and they both looked up to him
"Ah this song? my uncle taught me back then when I was little, he always wanted me to play him the song whenever he visits us so I really played the song a lot, although I don't know the whereabout of my uncle ever since my parents died, he just abandoned me and I tried looking for him everywhere but couldn't get any traces of him, I don't even know if he's alive or not" she said and sighed with a streak of tear flowing down her cheek
"You, are you the little girl, Shael by chance?" he asked moving closer to her where she was playing the erhu and she opened her mouth in surprise because she haven't told them her name ever since she stepped there
"How did you know my name? Yes! that's my name" she asked standing up and opened her mouth wider when it clicked
"By chance are you my uncle that I said I have been looking for? Uncle Adahy?" she questioned and he slowly nodded his head
"How did we come to meet like this? I never expected to see you here, I have looked for you all over the country before settling down here but couldn't find you no matter how hard I searched" he said with tears falling down his face while Ahiga watched the scenario unfold in front of him in confusion
"do you know each other? you seems to be relatives who got lost and found each other again if I can understand all these stories I am hearing" Ahiga remarked
"Where did your parents suddenly disappear to and why did you end up as a slave? you people were royalties" Adahy asked moving closer to her
"We were suddenly chased after by the military men the day you promised to come back and we ran for our lives but in a bid to protect me, my parents hid me and they ended up going away with my dad and mom after they helped me to safety, it was really a night that I cannot forget because the bloodshed was terrible and scary, I still see it clearly and vividly whenever I close my eyes" she said with tears flowing down her cheeks
*****
"Shael! My little princess, How have you been?" the voice called out to her and she lifted her gaze from the erhu she was holding before smiling as she saw her uncle come into the compound
"Uncle! you are back!" she called out in her tiny voice and pushed the erhu aside before running to meet him, he made sure to open his arms wide to receive the tiny creature running up to him to embrace him
He carried her up to his shoulder and smiled with her as she rested her head on his shoulder
"But why didn't you come like you promised yesterday? I waited all day for you and even praticed the song you taught me on the erhu but I can't get it no matter how I tried, it's too difficult" She pouted
"I'm sorry for that my cute princess, I couldn't come because something came up unexpectedly but don't worry, I will make it up by teaching you today. Where are your parents? I can't see them around" he asked as he walked deeper into the compound
"They went out to check the farm, they will be back soon" she replied showing her white milk teeth
"You are the only left at home? what of your nanny? she went with them?" he questioned looking around
"She went to pick some herbs for cooking at the back of the house, she will also be back soon" she answered happily
"Can we start playing the song now? I can't wait to sing and play it with you, I have been waiting all day you know" she giggled
"Okay let's play you cutie" he said pulling her cheeks with a big smile
He sat on the patio and gently placed her beside him and drew the erhu closer to himself, he positioned it and began to sing the song as he played away on the instrument
"You should sing the song along so you can get the right key and you will also find it easy to play when you do that, that is the tips to an easy and exceptional performance" he advised as he stopped for a brief moment
"Let's sing the song together first" he motioned and she quickly adjusted herself to sing with him
"As the moon rises, the sun closes his eyes,
like that the birds settles in their nests and close their eyes for the night,
the owl bird find it enjoyable to survey at night
because it slept throughout the day
Oh Owl! will you tell me what you saw last night?
I am only a weak man who has to sleep
oh Owl can you tell me more about the beauty of the moon?
I could only see that of the sun because its day
you are the only one permitted to walk freely at night and you fly above all dangers
I know you will come back to tell me what you saw
I will feed you for your work, that is the price to pay for being curious about the nature
Oh owl please come tell me the story, my curious heart can't wait
my only night friend who cares"
They both sang along gently and he played the erhu for her, she began to grab the lyrics of the lines she couldn't remember earlier and was singing happily on top of her voice with happiness
"Now play it yourself and see if you can sing and play it, you should try it out" he said pushing it to her after playing over and over to make sure she gets it
She played the song beautifully this time and the lyrics accompanied with the erhu was so melodious that the uncle closed his eyes to feel the beauty of her sound
"you can play perfectly now so you should play this for me whenever I come" he stated
"That is if I don't forget it, I will play it for you if I don't forget it" she replied with a shrug
"You should sing it at any chance you get and you will not forget, what kind of instrumentalist have a weak memory?" the uncle remarked
"I will try my best not to forget and show you how sharp my memory is" she fired at him and she smiled
"Then you have to promise to play me this song whenever I come around" he stated
"I will play it for you" she stated and promised him before putting the erhu aside
"But why do you like the song? I mean there are many songs to chose from but you always love to play and sing this" she questioned looking at his face
"Just as the lyrics has pointed out, it's about a man who is curious about nature but he cannot go out at night to explore nature unlike the afternoon when he wander around and was worried about how he will catch up on the night views and happenings. After thinking for a long time, he saw an owl etch on the tree in front of his house at night and went closer to it. Fortunately for him, the owl could speak and hear of his thought
"Why are you so worried and troubled at heart? You are a rich man who has everything at his disposal and doesn't need to worry about anything unlike other humans" the owl asked the man who was first shocked but he quickly composed himself and considered the encounter as a miracle instead, he decided to grasp the opportunity and converse with the strange owl who could hear his thoughts and even speak in his language
"You are right, I am rich and doesn't have to worry like other humans but I am sad because I can't see what happens at night even though I am so curious about them" the man replied with a heavy heart and sighed
"Why will you have to worry about what happens at the night when you have me? just tell me what you want and I will help you with that by surveying at night and giving you reports the next night so you can write all you want but instead you have to feed me" the owl stated and the man's eyes lit up in happiness
"You want only feeding in exchange for the information? what do you want me to feed you with?" he asked eagerly
"You just have to prepare a fresh dead meat and nothing more, what could I possibly be in need of if not food?" the owl answered
The man who was rich and knew he had many herds of flock to feed the owl with as long as the owl brings the information he needs readily agreed to it and they struck the deal
"Whenever you sing this song, I will come down to you and tell you all I have seen all night. You have to get your book and brush ready always so you know" the whole explained
"What song?" the man asked quickly picking up his pen and paper to write
"As the moon rises, the sun closes his eyes,
like that the birds settles in their nests and close their eyes for the night,
the owl bird find it enjoyable to survey at night
because it slept throughout the day
Oh Owl! will you tell me what you saw last night?
I am only a weak man who has to sleep
oh Owl can you tell me more about the beauty of the moon?
I could only see that of the sun because its day
you are the only one permitted to walk freely at night and you fly above all dangers
I know you will come back to tell me what you saw
I will feed you for your work, that is the price to pay for being curious about the nature
Oh owl please come tell me the story, my curious heart can't wait
my only night friend who cares"
"Anytime I hear the song, I will come down to fulfil my own part of the deal so make sure to fulfill yours, any day you fail to uphold your end of the deal, I will also quit bringing information to you the owl stated and flew away immediately and like that they began their deal" the uncle said finishing the story
"But what happened between the owl and the man? you didn't say the part where the owl started bringing information and also if their deal lasted for a long time" she asked already deeply interest
"Don't worry about those parts, that's a story reserved for another day" he replied and the parents came in from where they went to
"You are here brother" the husband remarked as he closed the door after waiting for his wife to come in through the door.
- Writer
