Roaring Hearts

Chapter 4

“When I saw you I fell in love, and you smiled because you knew.” Falstaff, Giuseppe Verdie.

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The morning sun was streaming through the horizons of Kalu village and the denizens were excited about the wedding that was approaching. It was a beautiful morning but little did the villagers know that the worst was to come.

The villagers had spent the night preparing for the nuptial ceremony between Hasnaa and chief Isabis. By the time a new day came they were done with the preparations and everything was ready for the betrothal. Zuri had stalled for Hasnaa and nobody got word that she had eloped with her lover. The chief woke up elated for he knew the day he would ally with Kotu village had arrived, he summoned the whole committee of elders to his household to witness the ceremony and the elders did not disappoint him they arrived at the Kwame's homestead at dawn.

Chief Isabis and the rest of his wives and family arrived at the wedding. A rather numerous company of the Kotu villagers appeared after chief Isabis, and they took their designated seats at the long narrow tables under the tents placed at the middle of the homestead. Chief Kwame's maidservants attended to the guests and served them with refreshments as ordered by their master.

Chief Isabis made his way to the wedding Dias and awaited for his would-be wife. The village priest arrived and instructed the women to get the bride.

Earlier that morning Zuri had found a way and convinced her mother and the other elderly women in their household to let her and Sahiba dress Hasnaa up and put the ancestral ornaments on her despite the Kalu custom of the most elder woman putting the ornaments on the bride to be.

Amani, Hasnaa's mother, and Imani, the most elder woman in the Kalu village, went towards Hasnaa's and Zuri's cottage to get Hasnaa for her betrothal. Three minutes later, knocks of multitude and strength sounded through the cottage and they caught Zuri by surprise.

Zuri had been pacing across the hut anxiously thinking of what to tell her parents and the villagers. "Hasnaa, " Their mother called out. Zuri reclined herself on the bed and was fidgeting with the hem of her dress. At that particular moment she appeared to have forgotten how to speak. "Your would-be husband and the priest are waiting for you and I'm afraid we don't have any much time to spare, come out," Amani added.

Zuri's head was swamped up with lies to tell her mother but none of them were pool proof. It crossed her mind once to deceive them that Hasnaa was sick and that she won't be able to detain chief Isabis and his people but she, later on, realized they would demand to see her.

Minutes later, when she had left the bed, she ran and opened the window and let out a loud shrill.
"Hasnaa! Hasnaa! Hasnaa! She has escaped. She has tarnished our good name."

The people took down the message and she heard footsteps coming towards the cottage, she made haste and threw the ornaments just below the window and opened the window to give the impression Hasnaa had gone out through the window.

The door was opened and her mother and Imani came in, behind them the disheartened guests stood with frowns on their faces, Zuri looked around and she saw no sight of Chief Isabis and her father. She assumed they thought it was a drill and that's why they did not care to come and see whether the news was true or false.

"Where is your sister?" Amani inquired with a low tone. "Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think she would be the one to bring shame to this family." She broke down in tears, Zuri took it upon her to console her mother.

Zuri then proceeded to fabricate a story of how her sister had just run off a few minutes ago.

"We- were just dressing- her- up when Nia cried- and Sahiba went to check- on her, then I noticed one of the ancestral ornaments was missing," Zuri said heaving, "when- I went out to get it- and then when I returned I found this letter." Said Zuri crying profusely.