KASAO

17

KASAO WOKE UP tiredly. She could sleep no more. It was still very early in the morning and the day wasn't so bright yet. Her stomach hurt from the emptiness. She needed something to eat. She gently stood up from the bamboo bed, careful not to wake Tarahi.
She went out of the hut. When she got to the center of the compound, she contemplated going into the kitchen to get food. She didn't want someone to see her and misunderstand the situation. She was already termed a thief and she wanted to clear that fact.

Ozahi folded the clothes and placed them neatly on Mirae's bed. He had slept off in her hut. He walked out of the hut and into the compound. It was still very early in the morning. He had to go to the farm to clean up the mess Kasao made. As he approached the center of the compound, he saw the silhouette of a person. He squinted to see clearly and as he moved closer, he saw the rough hair and oversized clothes. It was Kasao. He took some steps back and waited to see what she was up to. She was walking about the compound with her hands on her stomach. Had she stolen something already? He waited to see. He wouldn't hesitate to catch her red handed.

Kasao stopped pacing the compound. She took a look at the direction of the kitchen and thought best of it. If she was going to live with this new family, she had to earn their trust and she knew right then that she wasn't trusted. She sat on one of the benches and waited. She would wait for anyone to come out and tell them she needed food. She didn't want to be caught and then termed a thief. She sat on the bench and waited.

Ozahi watched her. He didn't understand what she was doing. She seemed restless. He wanted to go and confront her to see if she had done anything but before he could take a step, he spotted Umerohi going towards her so he waited.

Kasao felt a tap on her shoulder and she jumped.

"It is me" Ozahi's brother laughed.
Ozahi's brother sat on a bench close to hers. She wanted to tell him she was hungry but she needed to be polite.

"My name is Kasao. What are you called?" She felt the need for an introduction first.

"Everyone in this town knows your name" he laughed. He was very jovial.
"My name is Umerohi"

Kasao smiled at him tiredly and made for the kill.
"I am hungry, Umerohi" Kasao begged. She didn't mind the fact that she sounded like a beggar.

"Did you eat at all yesterday?" Umerohi asked her.

"No" she said. "Ah, except the fruits I ate from Ozahi's farm" She added.

"You should have said so. Let me get you food"
Kasao thanked him as he stood up to go get her food.

Ozahi then understood what had happened. She must have wanted to go to the kitchen for food but she didn't want anyone to see her and think she was stealing food. She wasn't a thief and she wanted to prove it. He felt the need to apologize to her for tearing the clothes from her body but his ego wouldn't let him. He looked at her direction again. She was clutching her stomach. She must have the stomach sickness. "She could have just gone to the kitchen to take food" he murmured but then he realized if he had found her in the kitchen, he would have misunderstood the situation and thought she was stealing food for someone outside the compound. That was what she had prevented.

Kasao managed to sit up as she spotted Umerohi with a bowl in his hand. As he sat down, the smell of meat filled her nostrils.
"Eh!" She exclaimed happily as she picked a chunk of meat from the bowl.

"It has been long I ate meat. They never gave us meat to eat. Mostly plantain and fruit plucked from bushes" She chewed the meat slowly, savoring the delicious taste of salted meat.
In the slave camp, they never ate meat. She could swear she had forgotten the taste of meat. She ignored the potatoes and picked another meat.
She was unaware of the fact that Umerohi was seated beside her and was watching her.

"Tell me about the slave camp" His voice reminded her that he was beside her and she composed herself and slowed down her eating.
Kasao looked at Umerohi. He was waiting for the story so she dropped the meat back in the bowl and told him what he wanted to know.

Ozahi watched as Kasao ate the food hungrily. She must have been starving. He really didn't know why he kept watching but the moment Umerohi asked about the slave camp and she began to speak, he knew he was going to stand for a long time. He wanted to know.

Kasao told Umerohi about how Dangi and Tilo conspired and sold her after her family was attacked, it was a lie she had to live with now; how she was drugged and taken to another place she had no idea about; how they made them work all day; she told him about Twelve, how she had planned to escape with him and how she ended up escaping without him.
"I pray he is still alive" She said.
Umerohi listened carefully as she spoke. He didn't say a word. He only listened intently and made pitiful sounds.

"I may never see him again. Do you think I should have stayed back and waited for him?" Kasao asked and Umerohi felt a lot of pity for her.

"No, you saved yourself. You do not know if he is still alive"
Kasao smiled at the young man beside her. She had grown fond of him in just an hour.
"I will speak to my brother. You can live here with us" Umerohi added.

Ozahi listened all through and he couldn't deny the fact that he felt pity for Kasao. He somehow regretted the public humiliation he had her go through with the elders and the humiliation he made her go through himself in Mirae's hut. The least he could do now was to allow her live with them.
He listened as she talked about a man she called Twelve. He wondered who fell in love during those harsh conditions.
"Slave lovers" he muttered and chuckled to himself.
He recollected himself and looked around. He didn't know why he found that amusing.

"I may never see him again. Do you think I should have stayed back and waited for him?" He heard Kasao ask Umerohi.

"Stayed back?" Ozahi asked no one. How could she say something like that? How could she continue to be a slave because of one man?

The day was bright now and he had to go to his farm. He hated that his farm was messed up. The fruit peels Kasao left on the ground must be attracting flies now so he needed to clear them up.

"I will speak to my brother. You can live here with us" Ozahi heard Umerohi say calmly as he walked out of his hiding place. No one really had to ask for his permission. With his grandmother so bent on allowing Kasao live with them, there was nothing he could do. Not like he was going to do anything anyway.

"You do not have to speak to me" Both Umerohi and Kasao jumped.
"You are fit to let anyone live here. Do as you want" Ozahi said. He didn't mean to say it that way but he couldn't let his ego down. Anyhow he said it, he had given her the go ahead to live with them. 
He didn't give them another glance before he walked out of the compound.