Bamboo Grove by the Brook

Part 3 - A Stormy Night

That night was dark and stormy. There was an incessant downpour along with fierce wind. Sheets of rain hitting the windowpane made a monotonous drumming sound. With the duvet cover drawn up to her chin, Nikki lay wide awake. Streaks of brilliant blue cleaved the pitch black darkness outside. In that briefest of illumination she could see the boughs of the Jacaranda trees in the backyard swaying chaotically like some prehistoric creature gone mad. Nairobi city had not seen such a gale in a long time.

There was suddenly an earth-shattering boom an instance after a flash of lightning lit up the whole backyard. The lamp on the bedside table flickered and then went off. Nikki realized that the transformer had burst and there was no chance of power getting restored that night.

Cosy under the cover, Nikki was enjoying the deluge. The rain and the storm showed no sign of letting up. She imagined the brook – it had definitely swelled and flooded the playground again. The rain continued to strike the windowpane. Nikki stared through the parted curtain – the world outside was immersed in inky blackness. Again there was a brilliant flash. Just outside the closed glass window She saw a mass of thick, black smoke that was twisting and shifting in a place, as if trying to take a form. Then it started; a mutter she felt was coming from inside the room. It was like a whisper by many voices at a time, just like she heard earlier near the brook. Nikki sat bolt upright, straining to listen to the sound against the incessant howl of the wind and the rain. Unlike in the evening the sound did not disappear. Nikki realized that the words were gradually emerging from the whisper, but it was no language she understood.

She did not remember how long the noise lasted or when it stopped, she was still sitting upright on the bed when the first light appeared. The gale had calmed down to a gentle breeze, though it was still raining. Life began to stir despite the weather. Crows were cawing as usual. Nikki heard her parents in the next room. They were early risers. The world was waking up. Nikki finally found the courage to get out of the bed.

'You are up so early on a weekend!' her father exclaimed.

'Look at her face. I don't think she even slept last night,' her mother rightly observed.

Nikki knew there was no point discussing the matter with her parents. They would not pay any heed. 'I am ok mum. By the way, did you hear anything last night; any strange noise?'

'Of course, only that it was not a strange noise. The transformer had burst. Don't you see there is no electricity? By the way, why didn't you sleep?'

'The noise mum,' Nikki muttered. She did not bother to elaborate. The only person who could have an answer was Mama Njeri*.

Mama Njeri was Peter's grandmother and they lived next door. Peter Mwangi and his sister Wanjiru were Nikki's childhood friends. The grand old Kikuyu lady was everyone's Mama Njeri. Her almost inexhaustible stock of folk tales kept Nikki and her friends engrossed for hours when they were little.

'Where are you going in this weather without an umbrella?' Nikki's mother shouted from top of the stairs.

'To Mama Njeri's.' Nikki shut the door behind her. She crossed the garden and the short stretch of path that ran between the two houses. Mama Njeri was in the kitchen frying some bacons and sausage. Peter and Wanjiru were busy setting the table for breakfast.

'Hey, Nikki, you are right on time for breakfast. Come join us,' the old lady said in her usual cheerful tone. Then she noticed her bleary eyes. 'What happened Nikki? You look all drained. Anything's wrong? Looks like you haven't slept last night.'

Nikki looked at Peter with a questioning glance. 'What?' a confused Peter asked.

'Did you tell Mama Njeri about last evening?'

'Tell her what?' Peter looked even more confused.

Nikki realized that either Peter forgot all about previous evening's incident or did not take her seriously and in all probability it was the later. She recounted the incidence over a breakfast of sausage, bacon, bread and a bowl of cereal. 'What do you think it was, Mama Njeri?' she questioned at the end of her narration.

'Nikki dear, I know you are afraid, but are you sure you had seen an apparition outside the window? Are you absolutely positive you hadn't seen a broken branch swaying in the wind? After all you had seen it for a fleeting moment.'

Nikki's face fell. She did not expect Mama Njeri to doubt her. 'What about the noise? I am not wrong about that,' Nikki pleaded.

'You know so many things about such stuff. Can't you tell what it is? She can't tell her parents. They will think she's lying or a psycho,' Wanjiru told her grandmother.

Mama Njeri thought for a while. 'We Kikuyu people believe that the spirits of the ancestors continue to live even after death and they sometimes try to communicate with their descendents. They are thought to be benevolent. However not all ancestor spirits are good – those who met a violent death or were not good in life end up being malevolent spirits. They sometimes enter the body of wild animals or manifest themselves as demons. But that does not apply to Nikki. Her ancestors are not natives of this land.' The old lady looked thoughtful.

Peter shook his head, 'never believed these supernatural things.'

'Come on! Don't give her a tough time,' Wanjiru scolded her brother. 'She is already confused.'

'Nikki, stay with us tonight. Your parents won't object. Just tell them we are going to study for the term exam,' Wanjiru suggested. 'Isn't this a good idea?' she turned to her grandmother for approval.

Oblivious to all the chit-chats Mama Njeri muttered, 'they usually manifest themselves during stormy nights; so my mother said.'

'Looks like tonight might as well be another stormy night,' Peter commented.

'Yes, it might. Wanjiru is right. Stay with us tonight, Nikki. Let's see what happens.' Mama Njeri got up and went to the kitchen to make coffee.