บท 30: Going for Revenge
Apeleka's mother recounted everything that happened. She wasn't conscious when her daughter was taken away. When she resuscitated, she found herself in the chief's hall of doom manacled.
The Lang tribe viciously treated those who violated the tribe's rules. A little mistake could lead one to a great catastrophe. Take for example Apeleka, she was going to be married against her will. She accidentally killed the man she was betrothed to out of self defense, that led to her being sent to the most dangerous place in that land. Killing a fellow tribesman was a tabu in that clan. Regardless of how one did it, the least punishment one could expect was to go fight ten male lions in the jungle and bring their heads to the larger clan's prosecutor, of course there was a way of confirming if one truly personally killed the lions. Apeleka got the worst, but was lucky to find Ochieng'.
In other tribes like the Lu, minor mistakes could lead to minor punishments. The minor punishments were like whipping and beating from those who were trained to do so. The worst penalty a person could face was being cursed by the elders or deportation. Deportation was not very severe as one could still find another home though if it was a male, he could never have his own home. For women, getting their own huts wasn't a problem.
Apeleka's mother was only worried for her girl, but that was taken as conspiring with her daughter to kill the son of a whole Lang tribe chief.
The halls of doom were amongst the most feared places in the Lang tribe. Those were places where people were interrogated by chiefs through rack. Many who went there normal would come out with distorted limbs or with wrecked bodies or with loose brains or all.
After narrating her story, the mother lifted her left arm to show her her missing finger and said dolefully, "I only lost just a finger because of the relationship between your father and that chief. Worst could have happened if I were any other person."
At this point they all found themselves shading tears. Even Ochieng' was not an exemption. "Mother, take us to Twiya Clan." He said.
Twiya clan was definitely where the chief that wanted his son to marry Apeleka came from. It was a whole larger clan, harming him would mean starting a kerfuffle that would eventually lead to war. But as the saying goes, 'a housefly that dares step into the fire must die', that chief had to meet his end for being bold enough to make life difficult for Apeleka and her mother.
"What do you want to go and do there son?" The mother asked worriedly.
"To get some explanations." The young man said coldly.
"And I won't let you... "
The mother, out of concern for this man that had saved her only child, wanted to shrug him off but just like what happened when Nyakune wanted to hit him for the second time, the mother swallowed what she was to say and found herself intently staring at his eyes. His eyes turned red and information started flowing in his mind. Apeleka was astonished on seeing this but did not interrupt. As he canvassed whatever he was obtaining, he couldn't help but weep.
This mother of theirs decided to hide very many things she went through from them not to make them worried. Being tortured for two good 'moons' in the hall of doom aside, even her own husband rejected her claiming she was an ignominy to their small clan.
Blood, milk and beef that their tribesmen loved so much she hardly lay her hands on since she came out of the hall. She ate herbs and vegetables she got from her small garden everyday. The milk these young couple found her with was what she got from a loving co-wife. She ate those delicacies if that fellow woman remembered her. No man even visited her.
In Lang tribe, there were little restrictions when it came to marriage. In Lu tribe for example, once a woman was married, she had to be faithful and loyal to her husband. The husband would also be faithful and caring to his wives. However, if the man died, the widow was not allowed to marry but would be 'visited' by her late husband's younger brother or a man from the clan to help the late husband in the continuity of the clan, that was the wife inheritance. Children got this way remained the children of the late husband.
For tribes like Kuyu, women remained widows as long they were in their late husbands' homes. No man from the clan was allowed to marry or even get involved in coition with them. They could choose to be married far from the clan if they weren't comfortable with being widows. In some clans in this tribe, women were even sent away after their husbands died.
Things were very different when it came to the Lang tribe. Here, one could walk into the 'manyatta' of a friend's wife, have food and later get involved in carnal knowledge with the woman and then walk away. So long as he thrashed his spear at the door of the 'manyatta' during the period he was inside, no one would disturb them, not even the woman's husband. It showed what Apeleka's mother was going through when no man entered her house.
After using the ability to obtain information from one accidentally once, Ochieng' somehow knew how it worked. He withdrew it and patted this mother of his' shoulder softly saying, "Rest assured mother, today marks the end of your grief. You have suffered enough. Rest well mother, please rest well from today's henceforward."
"What are you going to do?" It was Apeleka who asked this time.
"Why did we come here in the first place?" Ochieng asked her instead of answering smiling teasingly.
"You were bringing me home." She answered bewilderedly.
"Mother, please follow me."
He didn't bother talking to Apeleka further. He dashed out of the 'manyatta' as soon as he finished asking Apeleka's mother to follow him. The mother daughter pair was left confused. They only decided to follow him in the end.
They got outside only to find him standing near the 'manyatta' full of spirit. In his eyes one could see determination if they looked closely.
"Let us go."
He waved at them and all walked out of the small clan. Their zip caught some attention but the trio didn't care. It was already late in the evening but Ochieng' had his reasons for going at that time.
It took them around two hours without rest to arrive at Twiya clan. If it were Ochieng' alone or with Apeleka, the journey could have not taken that much time. It was because of the consideration for the old Sankale Leitok, Apeleka's mother, that they were that slow. It was already night when they arrived. The night was silent except for the chirruping of crickets and the croaking of frogs. They passed through moist shrubs surrounding the clan to the entrance of an opulent 'manyatta'. It was where the chief of the Twiya clan resided.
Ochieng' looked at the silhouette of the two women and heaved a sigh. From their eyes that shone from being illumed by the stars, he could see they were thirstily waiting for whatever was to happen. With a roar, he turned to the chief's door and forcefully kicked it. The wooden door exploded and after a second, the grand door was nothing but broken pieces of wood.
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