5 Minute Reads | Anthology

When Hope meets Love by @anupamarc

My gaze stops dead in its tracks. On the other side of the lake, there she stands, mesmerisingly beautiful. For a long moment, there's only her and me in this world. Her dark eyes pierce right inside my soul. Vibrant greens and yellows of her coat spring to life against her pale feet. Her ruby red lips hint at a smile.

A large group of us were on our way to Faux Cap, a small town in Southern Madagascar. Harvest is in full bloom, and the coastal town is the best place for making the most of the sunshine and to grab a nice haul of grain before winter sets in.

My eyes flit back to her dark eyes, and an ache fills my heart. Why are they filled with sadness? That's when I notice, the thick metal rods that surround her on all four sides.

"Mate, don't go there." Dayo nudges me. "Slaves . . . They'll be sold for a shilling to wealthy homes. Dance, sing and jump at their master's orders for the rest of their lives." He leans close to the lake and swallows a few sips of the cold water. "You better not get close to them lot, you understand?"

My older brother worries terribly, and some of his worries are not unfounded. I am notorious for landing myself into trouble, but when I lift my head up again, those veiled eyes haunt me - pleading and begging to be released.

"We'll rest here for a few days. It's another long run, best get some sleep." He pats my back and moves over to rest in the shade of the large willow tree.

When the sun melts in the horizon, I throw a quick glance towards my clan. After a weary day of travel, it's no wonder that the gang is in deep slumber. I sneak noiselessly to the enclosure.

Night has fallen thick and hard around us, but the glow from inside the house showers the cage in dim yellow. Dry leaves rustle beneath me, and she lifts her head up. The rest of the slaves are asleep. The prison is so small that there is hardly any space to move, but she hops over the sleeping bodies and reaches the metal bars closest to me.

"Hey!" I smile.

She eyes me from top to bottom and then looks down without responding.

"My name is Themba. What's yours?"

Clutching the metal, she whispers, "Hope. That's what it means, isn't it? Your name?"

I nod.

"There's no place for you here, Themba. Hope left us a long time ago. Run before you're captured too."

"Don't say that. There's always hope until the last breath."

We gaze into each other's eyes for a long time. My heart warms with a new fuzzy feeling I have never felt before. "How long have you been in here?"

"I can't remember . . .maybe a few weeks, maybe months. I lost count." The creases on her face darken, and an ache twists my insides.

"What would you do if you could leave this place?" I ask.

"I'd travel far to gaze at the Nothern Lights. I would head east and see the Ice Mountains." Her face glows in the darkness, she tells me all the dreams and plans she made growing up. With every new word she speaks I know in my hear I am falling for her. The night disappears into the orange hues of a new day as we pour our hearts out to each other.

A loud clang breaks our spell. A door opens, and the man steps out of the house.

"Themba, run and hide somewhere before he sees you. Please."

"At least tell me your name?"

"It's Ife." she whispers. "Go now, please."

The man approaches the cage with a large bucket of food. I have no place to hide or run. Ife darts over to the other side and shrieks loudly. The slaves wake up from their reverie and very soon a ruckus starts as hungry faces see the food. I slide behind some brushes noiselessly. All of them eat hungrily as the man chucks the rice into the bowls. Only Ife's longing eyes search for me in the dawn light.

Slowly I make my way back to the camp. Ife means love and I have to bring hope to the person who brought me, love.

For the next two days, I watch every step the man takes. He brings food twice a day and once a day he opens up the cage briefly as he grabs at one of them, presumably to drag them to their new owners. Starved and beaten, they don't even try to escape. An idea forms slowly in my head. Dayo revolts at my plan at first but after hours of nagging him he finally caves in. I rush back to Ife and prepare her.

On the third day, sharp at eleven a.m, the man grunts and unlocks the gate. Before he can step in, all of us land on him hitting him, hard. He flails his arms as ten of us circle him and attack him relentlessly. I signal to Ife, and she pushes all the slaves out of the cage. A flurry of activity ensues with all of us attacking. He shrivels writhing in pain; blood seeps out of his face and hands. He screams and drops to the ground.

"C'mon, let's go." I grab Ife and make a dash for it. She hesitates and falters a few times. She has been confined for so long she has forgotten how to fly.

"You have Themba now. You have hope. There's no reason to fail." I say.

She stumbles a couple of times; her wings flutter awkwardly finally spanning into a large fan of feathers. She smiles at me and takes off. Together we fly off into the clouds, now more than ever the world needs more love and hope.