THE LEGEND OF KIWAKAAZI

Kiwakaazi said, “I am sorry to have put you in an uncomfortable situation. Because of me you had to fight your own daughter.” He was standing over Safihutu’s lifeless mummified body while still carrying Deila in his arms. The two marks under Kiwakaazi’s eyes had disappeared. The impregnable armor that protected Kiwakaazi’s body while he was a rahasi (guardian of hell) also disappeared, or shrunk into a tiny thread around his sword. After changing back to human, Kiwakaazi suddenly felt weak and Deila started to weigh a ton. He simply let go of his kafunde (demon mummifier) but would not let go of Deila. He held on to her as if his life depended on it. He felt dizzy and almost dropped to his knees but he just could not let go of her.

He knew what was happening. Once he changed back to human, the stress and strain his body should have felt during his battles returned. He looked at Deila’s face. She looked at peace and even wore a smile. He wondered how he could save her and remembered: those strange fruits can. He first gently placed Deila on the ground. He picked up the kafunde with his left and pointed the tip to his right palm. The kafunde pushed its way into his palm and became a part of his right hand. He carried Deila in his arms and walked gingerly towards the forest outside the valley of peace.  

Poor Kiwakaazi felt so sad when he saw Anambre executed. He was a man of science and had little belief in mystical stuff. But this was not a story he heard or a movie he watched. This was real. Following Anambre, he saw everything as if he was there when it all happened. Anambre led him to see how his son lived and died. This will be the last thing he will know about the Gyaati’s life before they continued to examine the life of another great man — Zakaru the immortal, son of Zimbaru the conqueror.

Sukye wanted to find true love on earth before he joined his father in Alaami (Home of Eternal Peace). When he did not find it, he joined bad company and lived a life that reflected everything his father was against. When Sukye was about twenty-two years old, three of his very best friends visited him. They had a business proposal for Sukye. This proposal will make them all rich overnight.

Inside Nomposuro, Kiwakaazi exited the cave-like entrance and was finally in the forest. He was exhausted but kept on moving for Deila’s sake. This was the opportunity he had been praying for — an opportunity to pay her for all what she had done for him. He carried Deila gently in his arms. She was his strength. Without her, he would have given up a long time ago. He was walking past the fruits and examined them carefully. “Which colors did she say were safe for consumption?” he wondered.

The Naa-ba (Wise Ruler) of Kuzase and the Ingwa (Mighty Warrior) of Payuse were preparing for the wedding of the century between their children. The royal prince of Kuzase, Naa-ba Rolala, had mysteriously met and successfully conquered the heart of royal princess, Tinle Valia, of Payuse. For a long time, the conflict between their two villages stood a hindrance between their love and caused a spat once a while when the two met secretly. Praise the name of that holy man whom came and resolved the conflict, Anambre! He has made it possible for the two of them to get married.

Royal marriages serve as platforms to showcase tradition, and according to the tradition of the time the woman was to be locked up in a room for six days and outdoored on the seventh day for her marriage. During the six day period, she will bath with milk and other specially prepared body lotions that will make her skin glisten. But one other thing that will be abundant is gold. Both the prince and his bride will be dressed in expensive gold. The ceremony will be held in Payuse. The proposal of Sukye’s friends was simple; they should storm Payuse, invade the royal palace and take as much gold as they can. Pretty simple, right?

Sukye’s three friends were all brawn and he was the brains. They needed him to come up with the perfect plan to get them in and out of Payuse and the royal palace unscathed. Initially, Sukye declined this offer. He has been searching for real love all his life. Why should he ruin the love of others? But his friends argued much to the contrary. Why not? Why do those two deserve to be happy and not Sukye. What wrong has he ever done to the gods or the universe or whoever was in charge of ensuring two people meet and fall in love? He should definitely crash and ruin this love party.

“Oh yes! Pink and yellow!” Kiwakaazi exclaimed excitedly. He picked a few for his weak friend and took one for himself. He leaned against a tree and placed Deila’s head on his lap and her body on the ground. He touched her soft lips and felt tempted to kiss them immediately but that was not his style. He was a predator who goes for what he wants. He is not one to take advantage of weak girls. He opened her mouth slowly and squeezed the contents of the purple pear shaped fruit into her mouth and ate one himself. He looked around surveying his environment. His eyes have felt heavy since after his fight with Safihutu. He yawned and dozed off a couple of times until he slowly slipped into deep sleep.

Sukye’s plan was perfect. A great marriage requires great preparation. Six days will be used to prepare for the wedding. Royal marriages are used to bring the people together. Every villager in Payuse and her neighbors will help in preparing the entire village for the wedding. Of course good Samaritans Sukye and his friends will be there to help too — help get away with some gold I mean. But perhaps the most important part of this plan was escape.

Kiwakaazi woke up suddenly. He looked on his lap. He looked left and then right. “Where is she?” he questioned. He got up and commenced his search for her. He was contemplating on which side to start his search when he heard giggling. It was faint initially. He focused on his hearing and started walking in the direction of the giggle. His steps led him to her — happy Deila enjoying herself again.

Escape was everything. Breaking into the palace and stealing the gold, these were very important. But all this will be null and void if they get caught at the last minute. Their escape would be simple as well. Payuse was a small village with a high wooden fence. They will be in Payuse for six days. They will work very hard to prepare the village for the impending wedding. There are four gates that serve as entrances into and out of the village. Each entrance is guarded by a pair of muscular and tall men which symbolizes strength and intimidation. This pair is changed after every four hours. During preparations for the wedding, people would be allowed into and out of Payuse only after intense scrutiny. But there may be one window of opportunity.

Kiwakaazi walked slowly down the stairs that descended into a valley of peace. Deila had found herself another one of those valleys and was enjoying another swim. You guessed right; she was naked. Kiwakaazi knew this when he saw large leaves and her clothes scattered all over the place. When he got close enough, he said, “It seems you have found yourself another valley of peace.” She turned to face him. Her eyes were exceptionally bright. She answered excitedly, “Yes! While you were sleeping, I did some research.” She dived into the water and swam away from him. She emerged out of the pool. She was bobbing keeping the greater part of her breasts and the rest of her lower body submerged in the clear water. Kiwakaazi’s back was turned to her. She had a naughty look in her eyes when she asked, “Why don’t you join me? The water is great!”

Their escape plan was simple. One of the four would wait for the three outside Payuse’s wooden fence after he had passed security. He would wait inside the forest that served as boundary between Payuse and Kuzase. The guards at the four gates wear masks — the perfect cover. One of the four friends, the most muscular among the four, would disguise himself as a guard. This third friend must specifically guard the entrance leading to Kuzase. He would inspect the remaining two, Sukye and the fourth friend, and clear them. The three friends after escaping would wait for the third friend dressed as a guard. When his shift was over he would join them. They also planned to leave about thirty minutes before the end of his shift. There was still one big problem. They must escape before inventory is taken because once it is discovered that some gold is missing, the alarm would be sounded and escape would become complicated. This was in brief the master plan for the operation Sukye named “Operation Silver Hawk”.

Kiwakaazi accepted Deila’s invitation with pleasure. But he was no skinny dipper. He retained wearing his shorts and climbed slowly into the water — his legs first. Deila was right. The water felt great. He did not know this, but it should not come as a surprise that Nompowaka (the circle of power) was situated inside Nhutudan. Deila remained at the center of the large pool while he circled her like a fish. Deila was really impressed. He emerged out of the water and splashed some of it on Deila. She tried to avoid it but he kept on splashing. She accepted his challenge and splashed water on him. Now, the two were simply enjoying themselves in the pool. A crazy pair. How soon they have forgotten where they were!

After a while, the playing stopped and Kiwakaazi and Deila found themselves submerged in each other’s eyes. It was as if Kiwakaazi was a magnet and Deila, a magnetic substance. Or maybe she was an only planet and he was the sun in the solar system. The bottom line is that they felt a strong attraction towards one another. This attraction which was getting stronger and stronger was pulling them towards each other until very little space remained between the two of them. Kiwakaazi could feel her breath on his face. Deila could feel his hair touch her body. Still gazing into one another’s eyes, Kiwakaazi moved his right arm towards Deila’s face.

Operation Silver Hawk was well planned but its execution came with great difficulty. The first man should have left Payuse with three horses but the guards at the gate allowed him to leave with just one. The one who was supposed to be disguised as a guard was forced to watch another gate. This gate was still closer to the one in the original plan and then came the tricky part. Sukye and his other friend must make sure their man searches them. With only three men in front of Sukye, it looked very much like it was going to be their man who will conduct the search. But their man became impatient. He wanted to get it over with quickly and when the other guard called out, “Next...” it was Sukye’s turn.