A Drop in Time

Chapter 1: Cavebound

There was dead silence.

The wind blew a couple of dried leaves into the cave as Autumn was coming to an end and the winter breeze was making its way to the village. There was no movement as everyone was huddled in the corner of the small cave in utter fear.

"Did they really forget to seal the cave?"

Neha looked towards the door in disbelief of what just happened. There were four women inside and for the first time in days they got to see the moonlight, bright and commanding the night sky.

Ambani stepped closer to the entrance to check if there was anyone there. This could be a trap, an attempt at catching them trying to escape so they can be killed on the spot. She had heard about them from her mother, she said the chief didn't want too many prisoners so they would taunt them to break free just so they can stone them in public the next day.

The air was chilly and she was afraid which made her body tremble even more. Everyone else was still standing back in fear of making their cases worse before the tribe leaders.

Neha and Rumbi were barely 14 years old and they had been accused of killing their father. The twins hardly spoke and when they did they always measured their words as if they were suspicious of everyone around them.

Rulani was an elderly woman. She had been in this cave for years. All the children in the village grew up hearing horror stories about her and now Ambani got to see her for herself. She wasn't the child eating witch that they said she was but she was definitely hunched over and grey haired.

Ambani moved slowly towards the entrance and was now in full view of the outside. The rock used to seal them in was still rolled over and there were two torches on each side of the door.

A sudden crunch made her jump back in fear as she had stepped on a leaf. They all waited for a while to see if the guards heard her. Deciding that this may indeed be a trap she dropped the idea and went back to join the group.

Ambani knew that she was innocent and getting caught trying to escape will only make her look guilty.

"Where do you think they took Gundo?" Rumbi looks emotionless as she hugged her sister tightly.

Gundo was the fifth prisoner. She had been arrested weeks before Ambani and from what she heard, it was for theft but no one seemed to know exactly what she stole. The royal guards dragged her out moments ago and no one knew where they took her, only that she was kicking and screaming.

"In all my years I have never seen a prisoner being taken out in the dead of night. Whatever that was, it's not good."
Rulani stood and decided to check the entrance herself. All the years spent in here must have worn her spirit down and so getting caught in the trap would provide her with some relief from this hellhole.

The cave was a prison reserved for women found guilty of various crimes. It was far from the Nduwe village so that their families could not see them as they wished and there were always two or more guards outside. Inside, the cave was pitch black dark, day and night and Ambani was lucky to be imprisoned in the cooler season as Rulani told her stories of women dying from the intense summer heat without water or food and the lack of sunlight had made them weaker than normal.

Rulani slowly made her way to the entrance despite the wind picking up, making it hard for them to hear anything against the sound of trees howling in the distance. She reached the doorway and walked out without hesitation.

"Rulani....Rulani?" Ambani whispered as if not to be implicated should she get caught.

"There's no one out here" Rulani said from outside the prison cave. The girls looked at each other and slowly crept out of the cave. They found Rulani standing a bit further than they imagined, she was by the treeline that lead back to the village. Her hunched form was emphasised by the moonlight shining a spotlight on her. She had a look on her face that Ambani couldn't read, was it hatred? or was it regret? either way the old woman looked as if she was in agony.

The twins were inspecting the nearby bushes to see if they could spot any of the guards laying in wait. They found some half eaten food and started eating it as they hadn't had any solid food in over four days. The guards only gave them water and goat milk saying that there wasn't enough food in the village to feed prisoners everyday.

"It sure is nice to be out again, even though for a brief moment" Ambani couldn't believe she is out of the cave even though she had only been in for two weeks.

"We should run away" Neha says to her sister with a mouthful of food.

"And go where? We all know what sin brought us here. Where would you go?" Rulani looks at the pair with disgust at how they didn't hesitate to eat a stranger's food. "Run if you want, you won't get far if that food was poisoned"

"I need to leave and find Pfarelo, he is the only person who could help me clear my name" Ambani looked towards the village and knew she could make it if she left right now.

"They said you wanted to overthrow the chief and his men" Rumbi said as she was packing leftovers in her shirt.

"You don't have time then, we have been out long enough and no one knows when they might return. Leave but know that this is your death" Rulani took one last look at the outside world and walked back into the open prison cave.

Without another word Ambani decided to take off into the night towards the village. She could hear the twins gasping in disbelief. She had to go and look for her boyfriend, he was the prince so he will definitely help clear her name.