After the feast, we rested back at Stone Village as usual after the revelry of the feast and the beats of the drums slowly subsided. The bonfire had since died down, leaving a smoldering of embers. We quickly settled down at the platform and curled up to sleep as the effects of the bamboo liquor had long taken effect.During my sleep, I had envisioned the old Sage that appeared in my dreams.
"You had done well and wielded the Keris to uphold justice and banish evil from the face of the earth."
"Old Sage, if not because of you I would not be able to harness the power that had bestowed upon me."
"You will continually be upgrading yourself and you will also have my fullest guidance. With this power, continue to be humble and to serve the people around you."
"Yes Old Sage, I thank you for being able to guide me towards the path that you seem to befit me as your beholder. What other changes will I be looking forward in the future?"
"You will soon see my beholder. You will soon see...."
Soon the rooster began its crowing at the break of dawn. We were awakened and still reeling from the effect of the hangover of last night"s drinking session. If not for the feast earlier and our empty stomachs we would definitely fall in a drunken stupor faster than ever.
We quickly washed up and a while later Gao and his servants came by to serve us coffee and light snacks consisting of steamed ca.s.sava and Banana. After the quick breakfast, we had our fill and after inquiring about the baby"s parents and all, we decided to head back to our own village.
As tomorrow would be a day to hunt down those treasures again.
I pondered upon the dream that I had when I envisioned the Old Sage talking to me in a clear state of voice and clarity.
Upon reaching our village, we made our separate ways as we wanted to catch up with our sleep. Furthermore, we were trudging our way back from Stone Village and literally dragging our feet.
I went to meet Ani who was tending to the "farm" near the outskirts of the settlement. She was clearing some weeds from the young tendrils of the string beans that had grown; reaching to the top of the and pruning the leaves in order to stun the growth and bear more vegetables in the end.
There"s a bunch of purple orchid-like flowers that were blooming indicating that in the next few days the young string beans would emerge once the flowers wilted.
When Ani noticed me approaching the farm, she quickly stood up and ran towards me. The jumped and straight embraced me with all her might as if she had not seen me for ages.
"Abang, Ani missed you so much. I heard about what happened in Stone Village and thanked G.o.d that the baby is safe and back to his parents," whispered Ani as she hugged me tightly. I could feel her heaving soft chest against me as a cling on to me like a barnacle. The sweet fragrance of her skin and hair melted into me as I took in deep breaths of it and was kind of intoxicated from it after a while. I fought against the reaction on my lower part of my body.
"Steady little sister" my thought raced to her
"Steady little brother" my thoughts raced to my bottom half of my body.
"News does spread fast eh?" I managed to reply back. "The Chief Village wanted to meet with Abang once you return. Why don"t you freshen up first and fix you something to eat." Ani spoke up when she finally released me from her embrace. All the while I can"t help but embrace her back and feeling her soft contours fusing with my body. Such a feeling I would prefer to remain etched in my mind.
" Alright, are you done with tending the plantations?" I asked and looked around at the area and found that the plantations were flourishing under her care.
"Yes, let"s prepare for you to freshen up first OK?" she said as she led me out from the farm and towards the house. I fetched the sarong for bathing and went to the communal place while Ani went to the house to prep some refreshments.
After my shower bit and having the refreshments prepared by Ani; we headed to the Chief Village. This is my first time stepping into the Majestic Place and to meet the Chief Village. I wonder how he looked like after not being exposed to the sun much as well as mingle with the folks around.
We were ushered by one of the guards at the main entrance and brought into a verandah before the main house. We sat there as per instructed by the guards and went inside to convey to the Chief that the person he waited for had arrived from Stone Village. After that the guard left, he situated himself at the position of the main entrance.
Two sets of guards in light armor soon came out of the house escorting the Chief and he seated himself on a high chair while his two guards stood beside him in each side.
Both the guards were eyeing my piece as if they were to take swift actions against me if I were to withdraw my keris against their Chief.
Seeing the uneasy eyes made by the guards, the Chief laughed and told the guards to relax.
The Chief was a normal looking dude, roughly in his early 20"s. He was clean-shaven and his hair was tied back with a piece of ribbon. He wore neither majestic clothes nor the commoners" ones and the garb he wore was finely made. His complexion was smooth and was of slightly tanned to a very light brown instead of those who toiled in the fields or the sea.
His eyes were a pair of sparkling brown eyes and smiles were always playing on his lips like as if there wasn"t anything that was bothering during and before his time.
He peered down at us and greeted us.
"So this is the person that singlehandedly slay the Bug-Eyed Monster that was rampaging our town and the neighboring towns as well for the past 5 years...You had done this village a great deed and I wanted you to work with me as one of my personal guards."
"Chief, what I am about to say might be opposing to your ideas. Right now I am the sole supervisor for the trading of mussels in this town that exchanges it with the merchants for other goods."
"Yes, I am aware of that. You had also taught a few of the folks here to do farming. This hasn"t been done by anyone else in this village except for you. I know that you may not make the decisions right now but you may hand down the responsibility of being the supervisor for the fisherman to one of my subordinate."
I looked up at the Chief and knew that whatever answers that I may give him would still end up me being a personal bodyguard for him. I glanced at Ani and she nodded approvingly with an ever slight of her head.
"As the Chief"s command, let me make the preparations and report to you in a few days time so that I can delegate all the necessary stuff to the person I deemed fit."
"Very good then. I would be expecting your answers in a few days time. No hurries, for there"s no reason for you to run off anywhere, right?" with that the Chief laughed heartily and dismissed both of us. We took our leave and walked out of the perimeter.
I looked at Ani and was looking for any signs of dejection but found none. After tending to the farm together this time we went back to our house and sat at the staircase.
Blissful feelings surrounded the village and so as other villages beknowned around as well. "Do you think it"s the best decision to become part of the Chief"s bodyguard?" I asked while looking at Anis eyes for answers. "I don"t see why not? It"s the n.o.blest achievement one could get. Being next to the Chief in that position clearly states the importance of one"s status." Ani replied with a sparkle in her eyes.
"Come and help me in the dirty kitchen, Abang. Let"s prepare dinner together and then we can have an early rest." Ani gestured to me while I nodded in agreement. As usual the villages life seemed a laid back and usually, there"s little or no activities after dark, unlike Stone Village.
Dusk was beckoning towards the village fast as we went to the back and tinkered with the fire to steam some rice as well as prepare some blanched vegetables that would be served with the coconut gratings as garnishing.
After dinner, I cannot resist taking the keris down from the slit of the wall near the entrance. I looked at it closely before I extract the keris out from the sheath. It immediate pulsated and glowed at the same time in my right hand. It still remained a 12-inch wavy blade unlike the one when I faced with the Bug-Eyed Monster.
I swished the keris about and yet it remained in its original state. I speculated that the blade would only transform itself when faced with an enemy. I decided to sheath it back and return it to the slit of the wall near the entrance.
I headed back to the bedroom and changed for my sleeping clothes. As I was daydreaming about the events of the day, Ani entered and laid close to me again. She laid down in the cradle of my arm and her face was so close to me that I could feel her warm breath every time she exhaled. She looked once at me and shut her eyes. A slight blush crept over her face slowly.
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I looked deep in her face and wondered how this chapter is going to end and how the next chapter would manifest as another story altogether. It"s like a fork in the storyline, a sudden decision would end up disastrous while another would end victorious.
I was swamped in deep thoughts before I slowly slithered off into deep slumber.
"SAM!! ... Wake up...!!"
"SAM...!! Hey, wake up already boy!!" a voice boomed overhead......