Under the moonlight

Chapter 26

Dembe's pov

I was lying on a mat in my room thinking of all that had happened in all the recent days.
If I had not run into Kojo on that day, or the most appropriate thing to say would be, if Kojo had not decide to be naughty and spy on me while I took a swim on that fateful day, then how different would my life have been?
Would I have met someone else as interesting as he is?  I did not think so.
I did not think I would be this worried about a boy other than brother, but there I was thinking about Kojo.
I was anxious and for some reason, my heart was beating faster than normal?
Was that a sign?  Was he alright?
If he had died I would never live with that. It was stupid to think that because we had not been together for a very long time and yet I felt like our lives were intertwined.
Sometime back if someone had told me that I would be this in love with Kojo, I would have laughed really hard. I had never thought that things would go this way, but now it seemed that I had dreamt him up and now I could not see myself living without him.
I wanted him back.
And what about Amare?  I was so used to having him around that the thought of him dying instantly made me cry.
He was my only sibling after all.
He acted stupid at times, but I loved him. He had to make it back.

"Do not tell me you are sitted here crying your eyes out again. This child, will kill me one day."

It was Mama. I had not heard her come in. She had now made it a habit to come into my room unannounced and she found me crying all those times.
The first time she did, she was dead worried and asthma down and allowed me cry into her chest. It was evident that she was also scared.
But the days that followed, whenever she found me crying she would pretend she had not seen my tears and just ask me to do an errand for her.
I knew that her unannounced visits into my room were not just to send me to do things for her. She was checking on me and that was her own twisted way of saying she loves me.

"Mama I did not hear you come in."

"Of course you did not. Do you ever hear anything? You need to get up from there. The warriors are coming back. "

I could not believe what she had just said. They were coming back! Back to us!

"Dembe! Are you listening to me? You need to clean up before running off like that."

Cleaning up? What was Mama talking about?  That was the last thing on my mind.
I just wanted to make sure that Amare and Kojo were alive.
I had already risen from the mat when Mama was still saying whatever it is she was saying.
I just wanted to be out of there and I rushed out.

I met Papa on my way out and hurriedly greeted him because it is unacceptable to pass by an elder without greeting them. I did not want to stop but I had to.

"Good evening, Papa."

"Good evening, Dembe. Why are you speeding like that? "

I was embarrassed to tell him that I was running off because Kojo was back and he was delaying me and so I just said whatever came to mind.

"Mama said the warriors are back. "

" Yes, they are, but do you have to run like that? "

Yes, Papa. I need to run like this. I need to put my worries to rest. I wanted to say, but I did not. I could not, unless I wished for more questioning.