Chips and Pieces

Dedication
For Rukevwe, my one true love. The one who came into my life in my darkest hour and my deepest despair.

1
Living with Kyle back in the days was worth more than gaining formal education because he gave me street knowledge. Back then in 1800, he was the kind of person any doting mother would warn her child against, he had rough ways about him and his looks were severe. He had sailed in "The Valencia", a notorious pirate ship in our province. Nevertheless, he was a fine seaman and a gentleman of fortune and by the powers, he had made a fortune from his sea travels. Astonishingly, he eschewed the hangman's noose, it didn't readily come as a surprise to me though, but it shocked some other acquaintances of his'. He never shaved his beard and he had too much rum to consume every blessed day, his voice was always gruff and other times it was raspy, as if from insobriety. He had broad shoulders and large biceps, it would have been very difficult for any man to beat him up, he had red alert eyes and seemed to observe anomalies too quickly, his pointed nose stood firmly on his wrinkled, yet handsome face that seemed to be covered by more hair than flesh and two or three strands of brown hair portruded from each nostril. His clothes more often than not looked untidy yet expensive, he always put on English tuxedos and had the air of a dipsomaniac. He once told me that when he sailed with Captain Silver's ship in 1786, he killed three men by himself and other men cowered in awe of him, I couldn't doubt him because he actually looked like what he claimed and I had seen a few men who visited and actually feared him.
By and large, he was my uncle and treated me like a son, he never hit me, we always lived happily and by the time I was 21 in the year 1800, he encouraged me to have a girlfriend and possibly get married, he wanted me to settle down to a responsible life but marriage was the least of my concerns. I wanted to be a seaman and I was glad when in December 1800, I found myself on board "The Victoria" sailing in search of treasure in a distant island that had hitherto been unknown to me.
Kyle had supposedly abandoned the ways of the gentlemen of fortune and had decided to lead what he called a honest life, he established an inn where he made substantial profits and this place served as a haven for disgruntled men, he called it Treasures Inn and I helped him manage the place. One day, a man came in, hat in hand, he was short and his beard was unkempt, he sat down away from the rest of the company and ordered rum in a low voice, almost a whisper then he asked me if Kyle was around. I let him see Kyle
Bless my soul, he sighed.
Kyle looked bleary-eyed when he saw him but remained calm, he joined the man at the table and stared at him in the face, the other man sat with his back to the door, I left them and went into the bar to serve drinks to the other customers.
The cadence of their voices rose in leaps and bounds until it became an uproar. I just stood at the bar looking at the two irate men yell at each other and say things like "hang all then, by the powers we'd hang". The other customers watched with gusto and they all anticipated a brawl. They got what they wanted. The man drew a great knife from his weather beaten waist coat and lunged at my uncle, in one deft movement, my uncle parried him and sent him sprawling to the floor with a heavy punch to the back of his head, he writhed in pain and rolled to his sides with huge effort and moved no more. There was pandemonium, tables shifted and chairs were drawn aside as each customer showed a clean pair of heels, my uncle looked at me, his eyes were bloodshot and they spelled murder, I was chilled to my bones.
Don't stand there staring at me like an apparition. Get the doctor, he ordered.
I was about running off to call the doctor when he beckoned on me to draw closer, I obeyed and he laid a heavy hand on my shoulder then he said, by the time you come with the doctor, I must have departed this place, he lowered his voice and continued; there's a chest in my room. I am old, I don't need it but you're young and you have a long way to go. Go and get it and be rich, there are contents in it capable of making you the richest man in this country, he wrested his hands off my shoulder and disappeared.
For the first time in my life, I felt alone and vulnerable and I ran of knowing that life had taken a different twist and was I prepared for it? I didn't know.