wants to see the Chief,’ the first guard replied. ‘I told her the Chief is not here.’
‘Yes, the Chief is not here,’ the others replied in chorus.
‘Where has he gone?’
‘It’s none of your business!’
‘I have come to marry him,’ I said, without thinking.
And then they all smiled and put their swords away.
‘You should have said so,’ the first guard said.
‘Can I see him now?’
‘Come with me, please.’ He beckoned me to follow him.
‘No, he has to come out to see me,’ I said. ‘He needs to give me a public welcome before I go into the palace.’
They all grinned sheepishly.
‘Okay, I will go and announce your presence to the Chief,’ said the first guard.
He went inside while the others lingered around, their swords sheathed at their waists. They were all smiling pleasantly.
The Chief appeared speedily. And he came towards me with outstretched arms. ‘Welcome, my Queen,’ he purred.
I could smell alcohol on his breath. I held up my hand to prevent him from enfolding me. ‘Wait!’ I said sharply. ‘First, we need to talk.’
‘Please come into the palace where we can talk in comfort.’ He waved his hand to usher me in.
‘We have to talk here.’
‘Okay, my Queen. What is it you want us to talk about?’
‘I have come to tell you that no one should dare to take my son from me.’
‘My Queen, no one will do that. Not now that you are my Queen. The boy will be treated as a prince here in the palace once you are married to me.’
‘Yes, that’s another thing I want to discuss with you. I have not fallen in love with you or any man, and so I cannot marry,’ I said, emboldened by the knowledge that this was the only way to keep my son safe.
The Chief coughed violently, and the guards, startled, promptly pulled out their swords, as if their master had come under a sudden attack.
‘But you said you had come to marry me,’ the Chief croaked.
‘I have not come to marry you! I have come to tell you to leave me and my son alone. When I meet a man I love, I will marry that man. But I’m not going to marry you or anyone else because tradition requires me to do so.’
An exclamation of shock escaped the guards. ‘Abomination!’ one of them cried.
The Chief coughed again, holding a hand to his chest and doubling over. The guards quickly surrounded him, as if to protect him from the assault of my words. He waved his hand weakly at me. ‘Send her away,’ he said in a whisper.
I did not wait to be sent away. I turned and stormed off.
Noah was still out playing when I got home. I went into my room, and I crumpled onto my bed and wept bitterly, tormented by the two devastating options before me.
*
I decided not to tell Noah what was going on. I prepared our evening meal, chatting lightly with him, and I managed to stay cheerful while we ate. But at the back of my mind was the encounter I had had with the royal guards and the Chief earlier that day. I wondered what would follow.
Noah came to me before bedtime, in a solemn mood. I thought someone had said something to him, and I felt a tightening in my chest.
‘Mother, remember the dream I had?’ he said.
‘Yes,’ I replied.
‘I’d love to build an orphanage one day, to provide a good home for the boys I met on the outskirts.’ He sat on my knee. ‘Please, will you help me to build it, Mother?’
‘But you are too young to build an orphanage.’
‘But I’m not thinking of building it now. When I grow up, I mean.’
‘By the time you grow up, the orphans you came across will be adults, and they won’t need an orphanage anymore.’
He remained thoughtful for a moment. ‘But there might be other young orphans then, you see. I would love to provide a home for them. Mother, will you help me, please?’ He took my hand imploringly.
‘If that’s what you want, yes, I’ll help you, my son,’ I said and smiled.
He jumped up with a scream of delight. ‘Thank you, Mother!’
‘It’s time to go to bed now,’ I said sternly. ‘We have work to do on the farm tomorrow.’
‘Yes, Mother.’
I led him to his room and watched him climb into bed.
‘Goodnight, my son.’
‘Goodnight, Mother.’
He closed his eyes and I left the room carrying the lantern.
*
I found it difficult to sleep that night.
A new day was beginning to break when I finally closed my eyes, and I was fast asleep when Noah came to knock on my door. ‘Time to get to work, Mother.’ His voice seemed to come to me from a distant place.
I rubbed sleep from my eyes and climbed out of bed. Noah greeted me with a hug. ‘We’re getting late for work,’ he said.
‘Give me a little while to get ready,’ I said.
About thirty minutes later, we went out to the backyard.
It was almost noon by the time we finished working and went inside for food and rest.
I was in the kitchen preparing lunch when a loud knock came on our door. Noah rushed to see who was there.
‘Come back! Don’t open the door,’ I shouted, and went after him.
But it was too late.
Standing outside were five smallish men, who wore colourful beads around their necks. Their heads were bald and shiny, and they looked solemn, like creatures about to be sacrificed to the gods. Each had a fan of feathers in his hand. I knew them, but they stared blankly at me, as if I was a stranger. ‘We are the priests of the land,’ one of them spoke, ‘and I’m the High Priest. We act in the capacity of judges, and it’s our duty to pass judgements.’
I was tempted to shut the door against them, but I knew that they must have come for an important reason. ‘And what judgements have you come to pass?’ I asked, holding his eyes fearlessly.
‘We have not come to pass any judgement now, but to give you notice of the judgement we will pass in five days’ time.’
‘And what is this judgement?’ I asked.
‘We will not come to pass judgement if you get married within the next five days. But if you fail to do so, the judgement shall be that your son can no longer remain in your custody.’
Noah began to cry.
‘As judges, you are supposed to be fair men,’ I said.
‘Yes, we are fair men.’
‘And you are supposed to protect the rights of the helpless.’
‘No, as judges, we protect the laws of the gods of our land.’
‘What justice is there in protecting evil laws?’
‘We have simply come to perform our duty. We shall come back if the need demands.’ The five men turned as one and walked away.
Noah was crying loudly now. I locked the door and pulled him to me. ‘We’ll leave tonight,’ I whispered