"Are you alright?"
His racing heart seemed to know peace at that moment. It should. He was beside Vie. Both of them were tied to a very long branch of a tree which reached from one end to the other.
They were tied upside down and were stripped naked to look exactly like their abductors, the evil Manganis.
The dark man couldn't see the face of Vie. They had their backs to each other. He wished he could turn and hold the boy in his gaze but that was more like a mirage.
There legs were tied to the top of the branch by a thorny rope which he was sure wasn't meant for the purpose.
He could feel the heavy breath of the lad itching his back. He felt as helpless as the lad. He didn't know who would help who between the two of them.
He was waiting for the Manganis to do their worst. The last occasion he had with them wasn't so ugly. The person who was abducted alongside him that period was thrown into the river of Put but couldn't be tracked till date.
He was hoping that the same fate wouldn't catch up with them. If the Manganis would do that, he would be the one to be thrown, owed to the fact that he was the eldest. That was fair enough. At least, the lad would be released and would warn others about the crazy apes.
He wasn't in his right mind and couldn't trace the accurate numbers of the apes which were there. All he could hear were stomping of feet and gibbers. And chattering and shrieking.
He wondered if the crazy creatures were never tired of the shit they always would say. He could never be in their company for long.
There actually was no strange thing or new thing about their abode. Just clusters of trees and damped earth. He had no idea why their earth was always wet. Probably they drip saliva a lot or pee a lot.
At least, he could add that to his frame of gratitude; being tied up and not having to kiss the earth of such nauseating place.
At once, he heard and felt a wave accompanied by a stroke on his belly. He almost puked. He wrenched and tried to turn over in vain.
He saw from the legs to the waist of the ape which had whipped him. Damn! Twas just some toddler. If he had his way, he could had just strangled the motherfucker.
He slurped the pain and wished that the same thing wouldn't be done to the lad. He was only concerned about him. He didn't care whatever art was made of himself. To hell with those. He had brought the lad there!
Then another came. He groaned that time. His ribs cracked and sent a surge through the spine which bounced the reaction back and burdened the waist with it. The pain was becoming unbearable. He didn't know what the apes would get from doing that. Twas very ridiculous. They wouldn't be paid of course, so why keep to such tomfoolery and dimwittedness?
"What do you think they would do to us?"
The dark man heard the boy say. That was not the appropriate answer to what he had asked earlier but he wouldn't mind. His concerns were the fact that he the lad was alright.
"They'll..."
Another stroke chopped the words he was going to spill and he choked on them. If twere possible, he was going to cry but why would he do that? He was an adult. He should be the one bracing the grit of the lad.
"Are you alright?"
He heard the boy ask. He didn't know what to say to him. If he told him that he wasn't alright, what would the lad had done? Nothing of course. Twas just the to-please-common-sense kinda chains of questions.
"One of them would drown one of us in the river of Put. Twas believed that their goddess ruled the river."
The dark man fought the words out. Twasnt easy for his mouth to bear but his heart was willing, therefore one for the other was considerate.
Vie couldn't process what the man had said. He forgot about the odds ensorcelling their present state. He quizzed,
"Do apes also believe in gods and goddesses?"
The dark man sighed. He knew that was going to come. He had been told often by his father, 'when you're about teach a lad a mystery, be ready to tell him its origin. Even if you don't know it, make it. That was how myths and folk tales were made.
He wasn't going to lie to the lad. He was sure about that but he needed to say something to him. Twas natural to be inquisitive.
"You know, my father..."
He noticed that he became light. He had no idea what was going on. He didn't realize how given he had been to the discourse.
He did a quick turn but twas quite late. He fell on the earth on his face; his face buried in the wet earth.
Damn! He tried to hold his breath but he would gasp till death. He let the stinging odour of the earth send a coded trend across his consciousness till he was sure that all the parts of his body had already been smothered by the sense.
The lad fell too, but on his left arm. He groaned and tried standing on his knees.
The dark man did the same and for the first time was able to do a quick turn and hold the face of the lad in his gaze. He was pretty glad.
But the face of the lad was smeared. All over his cheeks were lotions of the green and dirts of the woods.
He wanted to assure the lad that all would be well. Though he knew what sorta lie that was but that was some common sense ritual.
He couldn't let the words out, one of the Manganis picked him up and placed him across its left shoulder. Others cheered and gibbered, jumping in gay.
Then the assigned Mangani carried the dark man and walked towards the river Put to be offered.
"Hava....!"
That was what an elderly one was called in Curt.
The man turned at that and squeezed some words out,
"I'll be fine. Go home and prepare your mates. Rocks, only rocks."
Those were the last words of the man the lad got, but he had no idea what he meant by the 'Rocks'.
Vie fell on his face and made a pool from his eyes as he watched the Mangani and the man disappear into the heights of the woods.