Liberian Literary Magazine
have had their day and are
tied to a past which has
long since gone. When you
started out you made a
mistake. Of course, you
have been fortunate to get
a child out of the deal. Why
sit down here now and
waste your youthful days
behind Kai, when you can
come to Firestone and get
you a good man, who is
making plenty money every
month and who can buy
plenty of good clothes and
make you presentable.”
“This man who has been
sending presents, how is
he?”
“Tene, my sister, you know
me, I don't go in for cheap
men.” The older sister
boasted.
“Besides that, there is no
problem finding good men
in Firestone.” Kema ended.
After all I had heard, I did
not wish to face the girls. To
get drunk was the obvious
thing which came to my
mind. I walked halfway to
Royesville and drank cane
juice promiscuously.
I don't know why, I could
not get enough of the stuff
to put me to sleep. The
conversation between the
girls kept echoing in my ear
like a dream.
The roosters caught me
pondering, their crowing
reminding me that it was
dawn. When I finally came
home, the girls had gone
out. I pulled out Tene's
things I had hidden under
the bed and chopped
them up in pieces with the
cutlass. I slipped out of my
room and scattered the
cut-up brassiers and panties
along the path between
Bendabli and Amina.
Promoting Liberian literature, Arts and Culture
A man from Amina, going
to his palm wine tree, was
the first to notice the
strange trail. He ran back in
a hurry to inform his friends.
Soon the palm wine man's
discovery
stirred
up
commotion in both villages.
Curiosity also drew out
Kema and Tene.
In tried to position myself
so as to observe what
effect this discovery would
have on the girls.
Kema
was
shocked,
because she knew these
were the very pieces she
had surreptitiously sent to
Tene. I heard Kema say,
sister,
we
better
get
someone to look into this
palava before it is too late.
Look at Kai, standing
against the rubber tree,
holding his waist. I bet it's
nobody but him.”
“What do we do, Kema?”
Tene inquired nervously. “I
don't
know”,
Kema
expressed
dejectedly.
“What ever it is, we must do
it quickly.” Kema suggested
a crystal reader.
“Sister, many of the crystal
readers now-a-days are
such big liars, you don't
know who to rely on.”
This was Thursday, the day
before the Muslim prayer
day, Aijuma. I informed the
old folks that I was not
feeling well.
When the girls got back
from the diviner, they found
me in bed. As soon as Tene
got the news she came
over to the kongo and
asked, “Kai, what ails you?”
“My stomach, it's not so
good.”
“Maybe worms.”
I observed Tene did not
care to talk much. I said, “I
16
think I'll take some medicine
tomorrow morning,” and
asked if she would mind
making me a small piece of
domboy with dry meat
soup.
“Kai, people never plan
that kind of domboy the
day previous.”
“That is the difference
between us, Tene. I like to
plan everything I do ahead
of time.”
Friday morning, I gave
Tene some dry meat I
bought in Amina for the
soup. She went around the
village and collected all the
ingredients, but discovered
that no one had cassava to
lend her. Our own cassava
patch was just ten minutes
away from the village. So
Tene told me she would run
there and dig up a hill or
two.
Tene reached a tall palm
tree and put down the
rattan basket she had
balanced on her head.
Sitting in a thicket near the
palm tree, my forehead
crashed on a stupid twig.
Tene heard the frightening
sound and looked around.
Her eyes caught mine.
Softly she said, “Kai, that's
you?
Kai ...” She screamed.
TO BE CONT……