THE MONARCH

CHAPTER NINE

Wind rattled the wooden door. It seeped through the tiny openings between door and wall, moaning and bringing with it a chill. The room was dark but for the reddish glow of coal. The dying embers in the small hearth were just enough to keep the cold at bay but soon, they too would prove insufficient.

Yuram watched them burn away. His eyes flickered to the two men sleeping across from him. Borom and Massa lay side by side. Their light snores the only sound besides the occasional crackle in the hearth and the moaning of the wind outside.

He had not slept the night before. He sat on a straw mat by the only window where he spent the night. His mind swirled with thoughts of the past, of time spent in the barren land. He let out a deep, long sigh. Times like this were the hardest. Without the distractions his work and his men afforded, he was left to his own devices. Alone, Yuram often found his mind wandering to the time in the no-man's-land. Memories of the barren land haunted him still, he feared it forever would.

A gust of wind pushed its way into the room causing a slight chill to work its way down Yuram's back, breaking his train of thoughts. He looked to the hearth and saw the last embers dying out. Stoking it would be a pointless effort then.

With the fire dead, the cold began to settle in the room. Borom stirred in his sleep. His eyes fluttered open as another gust found its way inside. Shivering slightly, he rolled onto his back, groaning. Hazel eyes stared back at him when he looked in Yuram's direction. The depth he saw in Yuram's eyes reflected his own thoughts. It spoke of a struggle most would never know. They stared at each other in silence, communicating without words.

We are here, we are alive, they said as though to reassure each other.

The older man rose to his feet, breaking eye contact and silently, gracefully walked out. The door shut behind him with a soft thud and the sound of his footsteps faded away.

Borom sighed deeply before sitting up on the thin mattress. Through a small opening in the window, he could see the sky getting brighter. Another day he was allowed to live. He tried not to think of the past but the memories always crept into his mind when he tried to resist them. The silence of the room was suddenly too thick, it was deafening. It made him anxious. His breathing became laboured and his vision swam. Flashes of days past came to mind. A vast dry land, a rushing storm, impending doom. The sound of his pounding heart filled his ears, it consumed his mind, overwhelming all his senses.

"Deep breaths sáwà, you are safe."

The voice penetrated the veil over his mind. It grasped the strings of his mind and dragged it back from the chaotic depths it had fallen into.

Massa's voice kept ringing from behind him, patient and soothing. He complied, taking deep breaths through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. Finally, his breathing slowed, his heartbeat followed and the blurriness in his vision cleared up.

"Sàràiðú" i am better, Borom said, after getting a grip on himself. "It was only a small lapse". He shot up from the thin mattress they called bed.

"Master Yuram has already left to begin work, make haste in joining him." he said as he walked.

And before Massa could utter another word, Borom was out of the room and the door was shut. The former sighed but, he too rose from the mattress. He rolled it up and placed it in a corner then, followed after Borom.

******

The streets of Ngala Buta were packed. Despite the thick haze that had descended and the biting cold, the villagers were up and about before the sun had begun peaking over the horizon. It was market day after all.

Stall owners were preparing for the arrival of buyers, arranging their wares. Mothers and their daughters hurried to the market square in a bid to get the best spots to arrange their goods for sale, while others carried their goods about on their shoulders or in their hands selling on the go. The men brought mostly foodstuff on the backs of camels or donkeys. Already farmers were arriving from neighbouring villages to sell their produce.

Makiya heard it before she reached the square. The hollers of street peddlers and stall owners advertising their goods. Children crying out in joy when their parents indulged in a little spending for them. Their laughter mixing with the cries of animals brought to the market for sale. After over a month in the town, she was still not used to the noise.

The woman beside her stopped under a tree with low branches, next to a stall owner with jewelry on display.

"This will have to do right here. We left home too late today, all the good spots have been taken" she complained as she gestured to Makiya to come closer.

"Here girl, we'll lay our goods here. Take this rope and hang those on the branches over there" she instructed handing a length of rope to makiya.

Makiya took it from her hand and silently did as she was asked. Talla, a talented seamstress, was a small woman. At full height, she barely reached Makiya's shoulders. She was a robust woman with a round face that made her look younger than her age. Her pitched voice complemented her appearance making her seem truly small. What she lacked in size however, she made up for in aggressive tenacity. She never allowed her stature to keep her from seizing what was hers so much so, that people had begun to call her kəlâ kîbbùà kàsíyìnà, stubborn one.

The circumstances behind their meeting were extraordinary and Makiya felt the need to be thankful every time it crossed her mind. Talla had taken a liking to Makiya's quiet nature at first meeting and had immediately agreed to take her in when she was asked. Though, meeting her in person would not have happened without her brother.

It all started on a faithful night while he was on his way back to Ngala Buta. One of his camels carrying loads of cotton and had suddenly become lame after what appeared to be a nasty scorpion sting. It delayed him and his small caravan for two days and three nights. On the last night, the wind had suddenly become stronger and at night they'd had to risk a fire or freeze. It so happened that only a few hundred meters away, over a large dune, Makiya sat with her group of starving refugees. He was headed south and they east to N'jimi, the chances of the two groups spotting each other were so slim they were more likely to find a river in the barren land. Yet, they did. When Makiya had learned of this, she quickly realised only luck had helped them that night. They joined him on his route, helping him with his camels and loads of fabric and in turn he gave them food and water.

After arriving at the town, Talla took Makiya with her while the rest were taken to work elsewhere. Yuram and the other áskər were employed by a Mason who gave them a room. Mara and Fojji stayed with an old spinster who owned an eating house for travellers passing through. The rest of the group chose to move on to the next town.

"Are you listening, child?" Talla's question brought her mind back to focus. She saw her gesturing at the other dresses they had brought.

"I said hang those too and then come help me with this." She said before turning back to the work at hand.

Makiya did as she was told. Soon the lower branches were filled with women's dresses of all sorts. Mətàwúk, təwùwúkí, dìwàdìwá and other handmade gowns as well as some róp and other kinds of skirts were all hung on display. Soon buyers began filtering into the market in larger numbers and the two females were open for business. The market square was packed and lively all throughout the day. Sellers did not stop selling until buyers left and buyers did not leave until the sun was well below the earth. Finally, when the moonlight began to filter through the haze, Makiya and Talla packed up bidding farewell to the stall owner beside them and together, they walked to the place Talla called home.

¶¶¶¶¶¶

Hi! It's been such a long time since I updated but, i finally finished this chapter and voila! Here it is. After writing in a different setting for so long, I struggled to convert the story into a more civil one but, finally I succeeded. It may not be as good as you were expecting after the long wait but I tried.

As usual please comment and if you like vote. If you don't like it still wouldn't hurt to vote 😁 anyway, have a nice day!