TLADI

Chapter 20

Stima was walking on the other side of his lovestruck friend; Shami; leading one of the donkeys and absolutely ignorant of his friend's plight. His thoughts were not even on the task at hand. They gravitated in this nowhere land that had turned him into an empty vessel that had the name 'Tladi' carved on it like a scar gouged into living skin that would never heal. 

Even the searing heat of the desert, that produced sweat from every brow, did not reach his consciousness. It was as though the only life he was conscious of was the one that he had left behind. The light of his smile from which his name came had not shined in a very long time. 

The-red-eyed-mob feared that it would never shine again. He did not question the newfound kinship he felt to this boy. He did not even make endeavours to form some acknowledged bond between them, but something told him that there was a connection between them that had recently been established and could never be broken. Oyena was a man who liked to follow his instincts and this instinct did not seem to be costing him much anyway, so he initiated mild conversation.

"Have you and Shami scouted ahead for the next possible camp?" His deep bass voice rumbled quietly. 

Even in his semi-death state, Stima was surprised. It was actually possible for Oyena to speak without exhibiting his great flair for the dramatic? The world that Stima had been lost in, ever since he had heard the news of Tladi's suicidal departure, opened a gap in its clouds to let the newly non-dramatic voice of The-red-eyed-mob through. He shook his head in response to The-red-eyed-mob's question and then did the unthinkable; he genuinely asked The-red-eyed-mob's advice!

"Where do you suggest we look?" 

Now it was Oyena's turn to be surprised. Why the boy was actually capable of such speech to me that did not drip with sarcasm?! He thought to himself. The world is changing. In truth, Stima had also surprised himself. He had not meant to be so respectful to The-red-eyed-mob but something had just pulled it out of him and he felt the better for it. It actually felt right. The-red-eyed-mob was after all an elder of the village and this group and it is said that one should gain endless joy from respecting one's elders. Stima could not even believe he was having such thoughts. 

He seemed to be speeding up and out of the world of the past that he had so long inhabited, through that gap in the clouds where The-red-eyed-mob's voice had come through. The-red-eyed-mob noticed that though the boy's words were new, the tone was the same deadness that that girl; Tladi's departure had imparted into it. He wondered if perhaps he should speak on this matter to him. He was uncertain of the subject and something heeded him not to, but for once, he convinced his instinct that his mind was correct and hesitantly he began.

"Perhaps it is not my place but... does Umthunz'omnyama's daughter's departure still ail you?" Oyena's deep voice hesitantly rumbled. 

Instantly the gap in the clouds of Stima's prison world closed up and he reverted into himself. He looked at The-red-eyed-mob with a hint of suspicion hidden behind many layers of deadness. His silence told The-red-eyed-mob volumes about his mistake. He gracefully backed away with his dignity still intact and left Stima with the seed of a new thought in that old prison of the past that Stima permanently inhabited. 

The journey continued fraught with new obstacles and the ever-intensifying dilemma that surrounded 'The Most Secret Truth'. Today they were faced with another aberrant manipulation of the natural order. In the morning when they awoke with the sun and stepped out of their tents, some huge and steep obstacle was there that had not been there the day before. This cause of great surprise and dismay seemed to span across the entire desert. It also seemed to have been placed there as a special obstacle for the group of travelling souls. All paranoia was put aside when the humongous obstacle rumbled as though clearing its throat. When it began to speak the paranoia was called fact.

Umthunz'omnyama was not at all surprised that a giant kilometers long sand dune was addressing them with the coldness of a threat in its words. Yet to the onlooker she would have seemed as shocked and afraid as all those with her who simply knew that such things do not occur. Umthunz'omnyama knew otherwise. Her initiates, once over their initial surprise, nodded to each other in appreciation of the power wielded by this unseen opponent.

"So, you have made your choice." The mountain of sand said. 

Even though the sensation of having an external voice in their minds was not a new experience, this did not make the experience any less terrifying.

"I give you one last chance to change your minds, to realise the true correct path and choose it!" 

There was a drawn-out bated silence where no one dared to move or breathe. The scent of fear was thick in the air and eyes were wide enough to cause one to worry about the danger of them falling out. Yet no one gave in. There was not one thought or move in the direction that was not so gently illustrated by the voice. The bravery of the travelling souls far outweighed the fear whose stench hung rank in the air. 

One could not tell whether or not the voice had grown angry for its tone, pitch and sound were indescribable, the minds in which this voice was heard knew only the terror it provoked. What was evident was that the voice had grown impatient.

"You all dare to stand against me? I shall squash you all like the insects you are, not even the children shall be spared! Face my wrath!" 

With that, the mountain of dry, suffocating desert sand began to topple and crash over them. It advanced at such a speed that those who ran knew that they could never outrun it, and yet they ran anyway. To stand and watch your death approach you was far too terrifying. It was much better not to know and rather expect it to fall only partially on your quickly receding back as your survival mechanisms kicked in and attempted to keep you safe.