Dreeda found it very strange; but whenever she observes keenly to the man, she can almost feel and picked up vibrations from him, a compelling feeling so strong than mind reading, she could feel what he was thinking now, a powerful telepathic experience. So she walked over to where Jhanka stood and held his hand. Jhanka looked into her eyes and knew that she understood their predicament as much as he did.
There was no time to spare. They held each other's hands and dive into the pool of water. Eyes now open and straining under the water, they look around hoping to find an orange glow in the dark cold aquatic surroundings, a sign that the water leads to open ground.
There on the eastside they found it; an opening more than two meters in diameter, and they started paddling earnestly in that direction. When Jhanka notice Dreeda falling behind, he wrapped his long legs around her upper body gently and careful not squeeze her chest too tight, and increase his pace under the water with every ions of strength left in his oxygen deprived muscles.
It took them almost fifty-five seconds to pass through to the other side, by the time they hit the surface of the river on the outside, Dreeda was drown; Jhanka took heavy puffs of breath and held her with one hand keeping her head above water as he swims against the slow current toward the river bunk on the other side where it connects with main land. At the bunks, he took heavy puffs of breath again before pushing the lifeless figure out of the water onto the muddy landing before climbing out.
Quickly in desperation, he knelt before the woman and place both hands on her chest and started pumping to bring her back to consciousness. He bowed and place his mouth on hers and blew some air into her lungs. In no time Dreeda started coughing out water and Jhanka pulled away sitting on the grass breathing fast and hard to make up for all the strain on his starving lungs.
Dreeda sat up and looked around; Jhanka was sitting to her right, resting his back on a bolder. "you safe me again" Dreeda whispered more to herself than to Jhanka, more of a factual statement than a question. Jhanka starred into the running river and started to speak as follows;
"fairer is she who has the courage to work through fire; and to what purpose? Haven't the laws chosen that which was spoken when the prophecy was stolen. Am I then not honored in the forbidden; a deed beyond the highest calling. Tell me about this riddle that unfolds before my eyes; a mirror in the river as it runs its course. Forever smitten shall be my soul in the presence of the fairest one. Do I speak of a countenance that weakens the bones of a wild lion with a broken spleen? Trap am I in my sleep till I'm bitten shall I weep. Creepy is this feeling on the highest peak, wrenching my heart making it bleed. Am I then not falling in a bottomless pit? Perhaps I need saving, by she who shall mount the throne of Cygon as it was written…"
Dreeda was caught in a trance as the impact of the words fell on her racing heart; whatever that was it surely rock her world from deep within, and the residue of the feeling it invokes in her quite thrilling as though a new born ushered into a different realm, how can she describe the feeling? She looked at Jhanka; the man was possessed by some supernatural force that makes his eyeball roll up showing only white.
And like this; he sat, all sense of time lost. Dreeda couldn't tell how long they sat there like that; spell bound to the spot. She wanted to ask a question, any question but her empty mind could come up with nothing, and She realizes the experience was something she couldn't fight, she can only swim in it and luxuriate in the moment and nothing more.
Soon Jhanka came out of that state and took a closer look around; "cold is the feeling that overcome me as the night approaches, I can smell the enemy that will cometh forth at twilight, we are in the territory of he who seek to destroy me among the tribe of Npunga; oh white one beware and ready at sunrise… we can't escape this fate that has dawned upon us. Blood for blood it shall be then, for within every man lies a sleeping beast."
By now Dreeda was becoming use to the way the man speaks, an eccentric poet or mystic of sorts. Why can't he just spill the beans and be done with it…. he is scaring her with all these riddles, involving enemies and blood. However, Dreeda was developing a keen interest in him. She wanted to know how he does it; like make her feel what he feels, in a way that makes them understand each other without him uttering a single word.
It was becoming dark and Dreeda watched as jhanka went around gathering dry wood and straws. He brought quite a dozen of both, set a fire without a match, what is happening here? Dreeda pondered hard.
Next he took a walk down the river bunks, ambling lazily like a lost child… suddenly he stood still in the muddy water by the bunk of the river, and scout slowly, cock his hand up like a rattler ready to strike, and striking he did strike in a lightning speed. Dreeda watch with amazement as he catches something beneath the shallow muddy water, the mud splashing all over his face and hair as the unfortunate prey wiggle and struggle with vigor under.
Then stillness followed, and Jhanka stood up, holding a snakelike creature in one hand, his whole body covered in mud. Half way in his walk towards the fire where Dreeda was sitting, Jhanka scout again and dipped the mud fish into the running water, cleaning it before covering the rest of the distance to the fire.
The sun had begun its descend to the west behind the volcanic mountain; where Dreeda had come from, its view from this side looks monstrously dreadful in the twilight sky, triggering in an onlooker an influx of conflicting awe and wonder.
A splendor perhaps caused by the running river as it snakes its way licking at the base, as though feeding the mountain a hidden secret only the two shares. To have access to the mountain from Cygon you will have to cross the river, as the reverse journey was true.
Majestic like an ancient god the it stood; rising into the skies, the flames shooting at the top illuminating neighboring clouds giving off a bright orange glow in the approaching darkness. Quite a euphoric effect for eyes that appreciate the subtle beauty of nature. Dreeda can't help but marvel at the celestial scene, as she tilted her head upwards.
Jhanka saw the whole scene as he approaches Dreeda; he didn't take notice of her blond her right until now. The flames from the fire made her hair color turn deep gold…. Could the mystic be right? The woman is probably a goddess, yes! And an enchanting one for that matter. What is he going to do when all eyes beheld her countenance like he did, they will all be smitten like him no doubt, the thought made his blood boil with fury. For this is a treasure he wished not share with no one for the time being, A pure treasure from above.
For the prophecy he witnesses unfolds before his eyes on the surface of the flowing element, about her being queen of Cygon, he didn't know how it was going to happen. This one thing he is sure, having a vision manifest itself in the flowing water before his eyes reveals more than a lofty message and the fact that it comes from the higher one from deep within, made it all the more daunting and certain, earlier on in his life journey Jhanka had learnt not to play with these things.
Dreeda watch Jhanka bow before the fire; and run a long stick through the flesh of the mud fish, and then placed two sizable rocks of equal proportion on either side of the fire, using that as supports to hang and roast the fish in the middle of the fire…
he stood up again, walked to the water and dive in, staying under the water for what seem like an eternity; reemerging at the center with only his head visible, he swims for a while and came back out from the water all clean; bare chested, and almost naked except the brown petty cloth cover his groin region. In one hand he held a wet long three quarter brown gown, one he had had strapped to his waist back in the caves. He walked to the fire and sat opposite Dreeda.
There they sat looking into each other's eyes like long lost pals. The smell of the roasted fish fills the space between them with aromatic smell. Dreeda couldn't wait to lay her hands on the fish. She was starving; Jhanka tear leaves from the nearby bush, large enough to form a makeshift disposal plate to serve the ready hot meal right in front of Dreeda.
Dreeda couldn't hold back any longer, she started ravaging the fish like a prisoner on death row taking the last meal. Jhanka watched with a fat smile on his face, Dreeda continued without taking note of the man sitting in front of her. When she got to realize he is not eating but sat smiling at her, she got embarrassed. And smiled back without looking into Jhanka's face. She passed Jhanka a chunk of the fish, and he picked only a slice with grace and humility; silently he munches into it, taking his time with every bite.
When they were done eating; Dreeda then asked Jhanka about what he was talking about…. a said enemy close by. Jhanka nodded in reply "Ghandaa he is called, and his enmity towards me goes deep, they will come for us tomorrow morning, they are already watching, but they can't approach us because of you…. you are still an enigma to them. They are wondering whether you are even human. The Npunga are prudent savages. The smoke from the fire gave us away long before night fall" he said and continued.
"oh white one do not be scared now; flame is fiercer than any beast that crawls on the earth… are we not children of the flame; you and I oh white one. Must we now crawl into our shells and cower before these cowards who had no courage to walk the path of the chosen? Let no doubt enters thou heart, lets your soul fall out in these treacherous lands" Jhanka said gravely; Dreeda couldn't help but notice Jhanka had reproduce the exact lines of the chief priest "no doubt; les your soul fall out…" who had initiate her into to this path.
Jhanka's words were soothing enough, but Dreeda knew tonight she can't sleep alone she will need Jhanka close by. Jhanka had already planned beforehand their sleeping arrangement, he had already brought enough leaves from the nearby bush for their bedding arrangements. It's going to get very cold, and he could already sense the fever crept its way into the blood of the white one, her shiver and chattering teeth quite an obvious symptom, he moved and sat adjacent her and place one hand on her forehead to feel her temperature.
Her scotching skin said it all; again he visits the nearby bush, coming back to Dreeda with neem leaves in hand. Dreeda was touch by his selfless act of caring, being a loner without any close relative or friends never prepared her for such kind gestures. She found her deep buried crystalize emotions start to melt, and all her defensive walls begin to crumble, the tears seem to flow subconsciously, she can't believe she is crying, she can't remember the last time she cried even as a kid and to have this stranger reawaken such emotions in her only made her cried more choking in her sobs. she tried to look away but it only worsens her break down, and she simply let go, all of it, the pain, the loneness, sorrow and worst fears. Yes! She needed this down pour, and down in rivers it flows freely.
Jhanka was a little confused on seeing her cry, perhaps it's the fever talking. Not knowing what to do, he sat beside her and she instinctively lean on him and cried her heart out. Jhanka simply envelop her in his long strong hands, caressing her back softly till her emotions subsides. He then crashes the neem leaves and made Dreeda chew half a handful, "before sunrise on the morrow, thou strength will rise before thee" he said, and Dreeda believe him, the bitter juice was already causing her body to spasm, forming goose plumb's on her delicate skin on reaching her stomach.
The woman can't sleep on the leave like him, it only worsens her fever the next morning. He made her slept on top of him, His only problem was the disturbing feelings brewing in his heart. Tonight, unfamiliar stir from deep within him, enticing his heart to beat in an unknown rhythm. And his groin seems to have a brain of its own; it all started when his hands touch the soft breast of the woman copulated by the feel of her soft lips when their mouths touched, when he blew air into her lungs to resuscitate her.
So he cried to his depths as follows;
"Darkness of my being; day or night thou remains the same, ever silent uttering no word; present before eyes that can't see. When the sun light up the day and the moon blossom in the cold night, and the seasons changes, only thou remain the same. How do I know this? By virtue of the weight that compels the eyes to close in the night do I return to you, and to you is the return. Does it matter where I turn? Oh! when will a fool learn? But is there something to learn, except that which cometh forth from the eternity within, give me a brush let me paint this pictures the way I like, this much has thou given me, a free given of the highest will. Have I then spoken of things I knows little about? I'm out here calling hopping I will be forgiven…. the power to willing this night has left me forsaken …. let thou will be mine. Rigid between my legs stood a different man with a different willing, ready to plunge deep into forbidden waters, I can smell my doom, an irritation in the nostrils, thou gave me my gift from the fluid in my loins that never spill, that I may reproduce the life force and draw it up the vessels in the mind of my highest will, origins of my power against crooked paths. The white one is cold and can't sleep on the bare ground, I am the ground she will sleep on to night, oh! I beseech that my will becomes thine"
Jhanka felt amazed at the effects of the words on his rigid groin, It shrunk like a squeezed orange. He smiled to himself and Dreeda gave him a what is funny kind of look, looking somewhat better now.
Jhanka extends his hand to Dreeda and she held onto it hesitantly, his now dried brown sleeveless linen gown rested loosely on his massive shoulders almost the same color as his dark brown complexion. His infectious smile beckons on her encouragingly, a symbol of security and hope for her in this new world, where the future holds mysteries and the unexpected lays ahead mocking.
Dreeda had never found herself this helpless, where is this place? who are these people? What is her fate? To what extent can she trust this man? Dreeda had so many thought provoking questions none of which she had answers to; She is falling out into space without any particular destination. Many a twisted riddle still puzzles her tired mind, it all feels surreal as she found herself in his arms now.
Reluctantly, she gave in to all of it; the fatigue, his warm embrace, and the sleep that made her eyes heavy. Jhanka draw her small soft body to his large hard one and laid back on the leaves. Dreeda was long gone by then, snoring softly on top of Jhanka.
When Jhanka realize the woman had fallen into a deep slumber, he removed the wet cloth that she still wears and stubbornly refuse to dry before the fire in sheer modesty. Quickly, he dries it before the fire, after which he arrange it in a makeshift gown, so that it doesn't easily fall off to expose her body. And she stirs in her sleep as though to woke up. Lying back on the leaves beside her, he wrapped his hands around her and tilted to the side on his back so that Dreeda was now lying on top of him just like before.
Jhanka smiled one last time, being a big man is paying dividends tonight. He sighed warmly and close his eyes, a broad smile still on his face.
......
The ugly man hiding in the bush gave a toothless laugh. He had been watching the beauty and the beast all night. The beast of a man looked so familiar, but where has he met him. He must get closer…. He ventured a little closer and hide behind the big sheanut tree more than two hundred yards away from where the couples sat by the river. What he saw gave him the shock of his life. he recognizes the man right away. The aristocratic looks of the prince of Zanka couldn't be mistaken; even the gods can't mimic such mannerisms. There he sat with an eccentric creature of a different breed. A fair skin woman with golden her, he must be dreaming.
Word had spread throughout the five kingdoms of Cygon about the tragic death of king Tygon of Zanka and the exile of his only heir to the throne into the forbidden flames. No he must be dreaming indeed. He spat into his palms and smear the saliva all over his face, but nothing happens. There they still sat…. this is no dream, he had to rush to Ghandaa to report what he had seen. A big fat prey had Bondaa the ugliest catch to day. A worthy hunt had Bondaa embark on. His heart leaped in joy and he run as fast as his foot can carry him "Jhanka is alive" Bondaa whispered into the night air as he runs.