They begun following the scent of the human. Ochieng was on top of the horse. He found it more comfortable sitting on this horse than on Mudho"s ma.s.sive back. After around ten minutes, they reached a point where the scent was concentrated. The two animals slowed down to search keenly....
Back to the Karachuo division, Odindi clan, where Ochieng" left around fourteen years ago. On the chief"s compound, on the stool of the chief, Chief Ong"am sat among the clan elders at the center. They were ingesting the tribe"s liquor called "kong"o".
"Kong"o" was only drunk by elders during such meetings especially when something that was worrying the clan was successfully resolved. However this day, they were here discussing a plight the clan was in. They had not found a solution and therefore, requested to enjoy elixir found in "kong"o" to calm their minds.
The eldest son of the chief, Otieno Ok.u.mu had thought of subverting the chief"s sovereignty.
Otieno Ok.u.mu was the son of Achola Nyakune the second wife of Chief Ong"am. The mother knew very well that her married man intended to hand over his stool to his youngest son Ochieng" even after waiting for so long.
Ochieng" had been away for almost fifteen years and Ong"am was aging. The chief clung to the stool hoping that one day Ochieng" would come back and take the stool. Many elders had advised the chief to hand over power to his eldest son but he turned them down several times claiming that he knew his sons best. The elders gave up in their persuasions and only hoped that one day Ochieng" could come back.
Achola Nyakune being a woman, she couldn"t have much to say in how the clan was ruled. She was expected to respect the king and the eldest wife. She had done that perfectly but when she saw her husband not willing to leave the stool until his youngest son came back, she thought of overthrowing him and see her son ascend to the highest position in the clan.
At first, Otieno Ok.u.mu was not for the idea because he knew his father only wanted Ochieng" to be his successor. Many had forgotten about that boy but the chief and his eldest wife remembered him each day. Even though they weren"t missing him as much as they did when he disappeared, they still missed him in a heart felt way and that is why this chief insisted on handing the stool over to him. Otieno Ok.u.mu also wanted his youngest brother to lead the clan because he knew his potential but after his mother told him how hopeless the chief"s way of thinking was, he thought of being the next chief of Odindi clan.
He first started by mobilizing the warriors. Some warriors were for the idea while others loathed it. This was also the same with the tribesmen. Only one amongst the fifteen clan elders followed Ok.u.mu. This division brought pandemonium in the clan. Some punks even found an excuse of killing a few clan members.
The Chief started worrying about his people and thought of giving up and that is why he had a meeting with thirteen clan elders. He wanted to divulge this to them. Because one elder was currently against the the chief, he did not attend the meeting. As for the other elder, he was killed by the goons a few days before this meeting.
After he had disclosed the news of his resignation, many elders were rendered dumb. They requested for kong"o to sedate their nous.
"The day has opened our dear chief and elders." After consuming "kong"o" for some time, one of the elders greeted.
"The day has opened greatly."
"I didn"t want to talk about this because I didn"t really know the chief would resign before the child came back." the elder started and kept quiet to get their attention.
"What is it, please tell us." One elder spoke and others followed.
"Is it something to do with the chief"s son? Please let us know."
"I am curious to know what elder Okw.a.n.g"a has for us."
...
After their attentions was conquered by the so called Elder Okw.a.n.g"a, he recounted, "It is indeed about the chief"s son. Most of us were worried that maybe he died but I just confirmed that he"s alive."
"After the death of Elder Anyona, I also thought that the chief should just hand over the stool to his eldest son, because he"s also his child after all. But, after I got a dream from Anyona last night, I saw a glimmer of hope for our clan and even the tribe." he kept quiet again but this time round not to get their attention. He looked up at the sky contemplating, if one looked keenly, they could see tears of joy trying to get out of his eyes but as the saying goes, men cry and laugh but swallow their tears.
Elder Anyona was the chief who was killed by the goons. He was one of the greatest elders of the clan who devoted his life in serving the clan. After his death , the tribesmen insisted that the chief resign as they feared more good people would die.
"Don"t keep us waiting Elder Okw.a.n.g"a." one elder interjected.
"After the death of the esteemed elder, he looked for Ochieng" and found him in the woods of the forbidden land. He asked Ochieng" to come back to the clan as there is chaos. Ochieng" told him that he"ll be back before the week ends. That"s all he told me before he disap..."
"So he is alive! He is alive! "Obong"o Were"(G.o.d), my son is alive... Hahahahahaaaaa! " The chief jumped out of his stool before Okw.a.n.g"a even finished. He started running within the circle made by the elders, his hands and head lifted up as he cried out in joy.
...
As they were searching for the other human, the horse noticed something and flashed to that direction. Having been the strongest beast in the forbidden land for over five hundred years, it"s senses of smell, touch, sight and taste were bond to be high even though it was currently an ordinary animal.
Mudho followed it closely. When they reached the place, Ochieng" who was on the horse"s back saw the lady he always saw in his dreams approaching with a grey bird with white wings and orange beaks on her shoulder. He jumped from the horse and stood just before her.
"Ochieng", you are here." The girl whispered and tears started rolling down her chocolate cheeks. The bird went to a nearby tree.
"Apeleka... " He looked at her eyes and forced a smile.