A Cowrie of Hope by Binwell Sinyangwe

Author:Binwell Sinyangwe [Sinyangwe, Binwell]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781803288741
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

6

Echoes of Darkness

Suffering woman, what is it that you have done to deserve this misfortune? What trouble have you caused against the gods? What have you spat on the shrine of your ancestors? A soul cannot be condemned to misfortune forever. This is too much.

She did not cry along with her thoughts sitting hunched on the folded bedsheet and blanket under the mulberry tree, waiting for Nalukwi to come to the market, the side of her head resting on her knees, her arms wrapped round her legs. The shock was far too deep.

Everything about her seemed to fall into oblivion. There was a semblance of peace, clarity and orderliness, now that she had been left alone, forgotten by the world. The existence in which the people at the market had immersed her, following the discovery of the theft, had been chaotic. Soon after the story of her loss had spread, she had been surrounded by a large crowd of strangers wanting to hear from her mouth exactly what had happened.

Men and women, girls and boys, children. They watched her like a lost pet, asking her questions. Even questions unrelated to her loss. What tribe was she? Had she a husband and children? Did she go to church? Lye kalanda we! Like a poisoned fish, confused and frightened, she gasped out the story before an ever thickening and jostling throng. They listened, and shook their heads in disbelief, resignation, or amused recognition at what people in the capital city were capable of doing; blending sadness and laughter into one fruit for the consumption of they knew better what spirits.

With time, an eternity of time, the commotion died down and the crowd melted away leaving her alone. That was when she sat down on the bedding under the mulberry tree and now, apart from the semblance of peace, clarity and orderliness, she felt the growing heaviness of her soul and spirits. The sun was still very hot and bright but she did not bother to move into the shadow of the mulberry tree. She continued sitting on the other, opposite, side, outside and a distance away from the shadow.

A familiar voice, full of life, suddenly called her name. She looked up and saw Nalukwi coming towards her. Emotion surged through her. She bit her lips in a bid to keep herself collected before the one who had done so much for her, and whose goodness always occasioned a swelling of emotions.

But when Nalukwi arrived, her voice and her presence so stirred Nasula’s feelings that instead of a calm response, she just looked at her friend, and did not reply to her greeting; the expression on her face so flat that Nalukwi’s own became a shroud of curiosity.

‘Nasula, has something bad happened to you?’ Nalukwi said, her face strained with anxiety. ‘What is wrong?’

She tightened the citenge in which she was carrying the baby and bent forward towards Nasula, resting her hands on her knees.

‘Something bad has happened, Nasula?’

Nasula nodded. Tears pricked her eyes and she wept.

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