" '
The words rung,
"Your season has been chosen by the land.
Your season holds the next Ingwe.
You may be standing next to the next Ingwe.
Show no fear. Fear never inspire confidence.
Don't flinch, if you flinch you show fear." I saw him. I did not flinch, I saw him turn from a boy to the Ingwe, I saw it, I saw every borne in him break and reshaped, I heard him, I heard him cry in pain, brown hair growing on his skin with glowing white tips, the boy stood, in the room where we had been bundled in hiding, boys dicks still bleeding crumbled down in a maize store away from where the violence abruptly started but the boy stood in his majesty proud."
"Msatsa akhutsa tsa lala." (A man dies but once.) He said and jumped out of the granary. I jumped out too. What he does I do, all my might I give. He found a man with one blow and he was out, so I found mine and hit him until he was out, took longer with crooked means but it happened, left the man's face with wounds of barbed wire well rapped around my improvised club.
So did my fellow red dicks.
The village was riddled with the Bana ba Congo.
I followed the Ingwe. We all did. We went as he picked fights to save the men.
We fought our way into the forest,we followed him, we went busting into a nearby village women screaming, girls desperately running for their dear life, boys and men persecuted on mere sight, he found the first mutsiku, in hot pursuit of a toddler, he threw him straight up into the air, with his right hand claws he slit his throat all the way through his abdomen the man ended up pouring down in a sludge. The boy joined us, you are now protected by the men.
Now everyone had been armed in croaked lethal armory, boys now men of war.
'Ukhalekha mutsiku inyuma tah.'
(Do not leave any enemy behind.) Became our command.
This village had a smaller troop, we moved to the next found their bunker uprooted and burned down the silent stones Mumbukatse.
The group lead by boys had grow into a massive number, from women holding some of the slain soldiers armory to veteran soldiers choosing their last battle gladly drawing strength from the Ingwe. They did not flinch..."
"Sir who are you?"
"
We vanquished enemy village after village everyone rallying behind the Ingwe, the boy, blood soaked we stopped at the plains of Weba. Well across Batsiku stood in their numbers, they were ready for war, so were we. We looked forward, your call Ingwe.
Before the call his Indeche came. It flew closer to the Ingwe, he looked up. A man jumped right out of the flying machine right in front of the boy.
He stood up, it was Mukhongo..."
"Who is Mukhongo?"
"The Ingwe."
"What?"
"
He jumped right in front of the boy he stood up, the boy picked a mask off his face, he looked right at us we hit our chest twice then slapped the floor with both hands.
'Ingwe.' We called just as he turned back into a boy without a tail.
He gave the man the mask.
He rubbed the boys hair and said.
' you did good boy."
He raised a fist towards me.
'VD.'
The man put the mask on he turned, so did the boy beside him, He spoke.
'Beru, no man chooses war, it happens, I wish I would have said let go but it is on our door step so we face it, for our sake and those who depend on us, let them feel our strength but first I meet the gorilla. Listen to him.' He said looking at the small Ingwe, we all Looked at the boy beside him, they looked like a leopard with it's cub, the Ingwe turned and faced the enemy. On the other side a huge, gigantic man-silver back stood, hitting it's chest.
'You gat this Ingwe' we encouraged, he took off towards the foe, as he moved away the boy turn back to man, the gorilla took off, they met in the middle, the war of the Bantus, the battle of the masks. The gorilla threw a punch, the Ingwe jumped back away from it, he advanced, he threw another then another but could not find the Ingwe. He rolled and tried grasp the Ingwe in his massive hand, the Ingwe hit him in rapid succession sending him plummeting into the ground, the Ingwe followed through but the gorilla chock slammed the Ingwe from behind raising him off the ground, the Ingwe scratched but he did not let go, he pressed on, the Ingwe's strength started failing him, with the little left he reached for the gorilla's fingers, broke them breaking the chock then with his other claws deep into the gorilla's shoulder raised him over his head slamming the gorilla hard on his back, raised his paws claws out and rammed into the gorilla's face in rapid succession. With his arms to his side, clenched fist, chest out the Ingwe roared into the sky over the gorilla on the ground but before he could finish a spear came running right into his chest, a bana ba Congo advanced.
The boy looking forward shouted.
'LITUKHU LIERU HILI, MSATSA AKUTSA TSA LALA.
BASATSA KHUTSI."
(OUR DAY IS HERE, A MAN DIES BUT ONCE.
MEN ADVANCE.) He took off, we followed, we all followed, as he got closer to the mask he turned, he speared a man raising a machete over Mukhongo. Mukhongo, stood pulled the spear that ran through him out, his wound healed.
'Stay close.' Ingwe Mukhongo called.
We did.
My club held like a baseball bat ready to knock them out, the first came with a spear aimed it at the man next to me, and pierced him in the thought before he pulled it out I hit him hard in his head that I swear to have heard his Scull crack, I did not take any chances so I hit him over and over until the club could not come down no more, when I looked up it was a strong Congolese man holding the club over my head, I clenched my right hand fist and hit him with my might, to my surprise the punch send the man flying across the field taking down three men, I looked down, I had the Ingwe's hand, I looked towards him, he stood out, around him stood miniatures of him, men turned to beasts of war..."
"What?" Asked Bola.
"
Yes, the mask trusts, it chooses one, His holder but trusts those who stand by it, if it trusts you it gives you its strength when you need it, we needed it, those around the Ingwe became Ingwes, so was I. I pulled the spear from my slain brother in arm's throat and threw it with my might, it pierced right throw two men pinning the third into a boulder. We fought the enemy away from the Luhya land, the Bugandans and a bana ba Congo left dejected.
That night we sang, we celebrated, we danced the Isukuti along the Ingwe now a man, Mukhongo, the boy Wasike beside him, me beside the boy, men came and shook the Ingwe's hand thankful, women threw flowers at the Ingwe singing boys and girls felt contented just by touching the Ingwe left for one girl, Injete, she came close to the Ingwe, she shouted loud in pain we all looked, Mukhongo rushed by her side, held her hand, she slowly turned, slow and painfully, she cried, in front of us all we saw the mask choose it's Ingoi, the female Ingwe. I now look for her, yours."
The boy looked at his paws, he was so beautiful, I saw Wasike again.
"What happened to the boy and Mukhongo?" Asked Bola.
"The celebration ended at Ilesi, Ingwe caried a big boulder planting it perpendicular to one of the hills of Ilesi, he carried a stone podium up the perpendicular bould, we called it Ikhongo murwi after Ingwe Mukhongo but the pale man called it the crying stone. The Ingwe with his two brown and white cubs stood on top of the podium, they roared, we saluted, we sang, just as the dawn broke the three went. I could not see them, Wasike had left me in Ilesi looking up the Ikhongo murwi, a long way away from home. I found a mukumu tree, held it until it showed me the glow, I traced my way back to his den, I had been there before. The war was far from over, we had won over the gorilla but we had to put up with the alien, the pale man. I got to his den, the pale men all carrying guns, I tried to look into his house I could not, his four dogs massacred in his compound, the Ingwe's Mulindi shot dead at the entrance, so was Achesa the healer on earth and Mumbo and his apprentice. Someone touched my shoulder in the bush I hid, I jumped a bit, it was Wasike.
'Hey VD."He said.
'Wasike, where is everyone?'
'Ingwe and the two Ingois are still inside, the pale men can not get to them.'
The pale men surrounded the house and set it a blaze and waited. The Ingwe came attempting to protect the two Ingois, the pale man shot, they rained bullets towards the three, the Ingwe advanced fast towards them plunging one after the other but the fire weakened him but still pushed on finally a pale man shot him in the head, the mask fell from his face, he fell to the ground, several more bullets rained on him. The aftermath both the Ingwe and his Ingoi died but the small girl survived, before one of the pale man picked the mask, Wasike
jumped out of the bush and ran towards the mask, it came to his face he took off, they shot, he pulled the mask and threw it at me. I took it and ran, I could hear gunshots but I ran, I ran as fast as I could that was the last time I ever saw Mukhongo, Mulindi, the girl Ignoi and my dear friend Wasike...I have kept the mask for 125years now waiting for you, look, see that man hiding there, that's the new Mulindi, and once more the land has an Ingwe."
The boy looked at himself, I looked at him, remembered, looked at him, remembered the gorilla, I looked at him then asked.
"What's your name?"
"Ingwe, Ingwe Bola."
"What?"
"Ingwe Bola."
"What?"
"INGWE Bola."
"WHAT?
"INGWE BOLA.
INGWE BOLA.
INGWE BOLA." He shouted. Then roared, he roared, all the boys in the Irumbi came out including their keepers. A tear escaped my eyes. I hit my chest twice then clapped the floor with both hands, we all did.
'Ingwe.' We called.
~~ ~~ ~~ ~~ The End. ~~ ~~ ~~ ~~