KUMAH

Chapter 2

The Zulu territory….

"Sipho, try not to sit near the edges of the canoe alright?" Sarh said moving his long brown hair out of the way as he prepared his fishing net.

"Sure, thing Sarh." Sipho replied shifting away from the edge of the canoe

"I can tell you're really excited." Tamba said paddling the canoe with carefully rehearsed strokes.

"Well, yes this is my first fishing experience." Sipho laughed. He placed his hand in the water and let out a happy gasp. The cold feel of the water tickled his fingers and he watched his reflection dance to the rhythm of the water.  

Sarh and Tamba were young twin fishermen who have been fishing since childhood. To be honest they only brought Sipho along with them because of his vessel. He could smell any living thing from a mile away. This was accompanied by an usual large nose. There were only few Afikans born with parts of their body as vessels They have been finding it hard to catch fish for the past few weeks so they sought help from the main Zulu kingdom and Sipho was the help they got.

After hours of fishing with Sipho's help they managed to make a bountiful harvest and it was time to head home. The sun was already setting and the night was upon them. It wasn’t safe to be out during night times, especially not while the westerns were hunting down the blacks.

Tamba took a gulp of water from his oak bottle and passed it on to Sipho who did same.

"That nose of yours works pretty well." Sarh said "You'd make a great warrior one day." Sipho smiled and shook his head

"Well, I don't really want to be a warrior.  I want to learn western knowledge. What they call ‘science’. It fascinates me. I’ve already acquired some of their content. I haven’t tested their theory yet but they do look convincing.’’ Sipho said.

The twins looked at each other, confused. There is no way the westerns would teach a black the way of science. They only taught their children and used the blacks as slaves.

‘’Maybe after this war ends Sipho but now I doubt any if the westerns will be welcoming.’’ Sarh said.

There was a moment of silence. Despite their efforts to stay alive the war has taken a toll on everyone. Families have been destroyed and people were always on edge.   

Sipho caught an unusual scent. He looked up into the sky as if he was looking for something.

"Something wrong?" Sarh asked.

Sipho continued sniffing around. The twins looked at him confused. Sarh shook his head, he knew Sipho liked to play games.

"I'm getting an unusual scent.’’ he said sniffing around ‘’An eagle."

"That's ridiculous, Sipho. Everyone knows eagles don't fly this far." Sarh argued. Sipho gave Sarh a disapproving look as if telling him that doubting his sense of smell was a bad idea.

"Over there." Sipho pointed in the direction of the scent.

Tamba paddled towards that direction. They saw an eagle from a distance. It looked like it was standing on the water. Confused, the fishermen looked at each other. Eagles shouldn’t be able to stand on water that wasn’t normal. But in this world they give in, there’s a really thin line between what’s normal and what isn’t. They got closer and the eagle cried. The scream startled the two and a half men.

They noticed the eagle was made of pure silver and had eyes made of diamond. It looked like was a vessel. It stood on a body like it was protecting it. Sipho smelled the blood from the floating body.

‘’Stay alert guys’’ he said ‘’The blood is fresh whoever did this might still be around.’’

‘’Do you think…?’’ Sarh said looking at Tamba and then at Sipho.

“Hmm westerns.’’ Tamba snapped reaching for a spear next to him. Just in case.

‘’Could he be one of our people who wondered off.?” Sipho asked

‘’Only one way to find out Sarh said ready to pull in the body. The eagle flew and landed on Sipho’s shoulder. Sarh placed his hands carefully in the armpits of the body and attempted to pull it in. He struggled before Tamba came to help. They pulled in the body.

The scar on Kumah’s chest immediately stood out as blood trickled down and soiled his shirt.

Sipho took a closer look at the wound. Traces of gunpowder was evident. However, the wound didn’t look fatal. He was confused. Gun wounds were fatal. He tilted Kumah’s head looking for a clan crest on his nape.

‘’Huh, no clan crest.’’ Sipho signalled the twins to have a look. ‘’It looks like a scar. Could he be a slave who tried to run away?’’

Sarh looked at the silver eagle on Sipho’s shoulder. ‘’I doubt that.’’ He said. ‘’That vessel doesn’t look like something a commoner would possess. Besides, the westerns would like to know what they buy. They make sure every slave has their clan crest.’’

‘’True’’ Sipho agreed. ‘’We cant just leave him to bleed to death, lets get him to the village.’’