Fire and the darkness



  FIRE AND THE DARKNESS

  A Short Story

  By Admire Chatsakarira

  Copyright 2014 Admire Chatsakarira

  Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above , no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without prior written permission of the copyright owner of this book.

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  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are product of the authors imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locale is entirely coincidental.

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  FIRE AND THE DARKNESS

  Connect with the Author

  FIRE AND THE DARKNESS

  A red curtain covered the entrance; a small window was shaking from a cool blowing wind and a torn white shirt whose back was soaked with blood hung on a muddy plastered pillar. Two thick ropes from a woody bed were tied to each of the two windows’ burglar. The chocolate-coloured walls peeled off leaving visible clay bricks which were corrupted with different insects. The space in the room made it impossible for enough ventilation and the crusty floor made the room dusty.

  It made Paul want to cough but he yawned instead and opened his eyes, stretching both his legs and arms. A tightly tied noose made it impossible for him.

  “What is this place?” he asked himself, blinking his eyes unceasingly.

  A small yellow blanket stained with drops of blood covered his bruised legs. The darkness was being chased away by the rising sun, a cool morning breeze could be felt and he couldn’t believe he was awake. Is it a nightmare? He thought. He buried his head under a blanket to meditate on what has just happened.

  His friend Brian violently pulled the scarlet cloth from the door as he approached Paul. He untied his swollen legs from the thick ropes and made him sit on the bed. Paul’s body was marked with bruises, he tried to stand up and fell back. Brian pulled him gently by the right hand and they got out of the room. Brian could not afford to talk to him at this moment, helping him walk away from this strange place was the best thing he could do.

  They rested for a while, waiting for Paul to regain his strength. He was now in his normal senses but couldn’t believe what has just transpired a few hours ago. The predicament took him back in time when he was still five. He had grown up in a rural area similar to this place and his grandma always recited strange and terrifying stories about how goblins and tokoloshis haunted people in the nearby village. He regretted the decision of coming to this place. He had been prepared to lose his job and had sworn never to apologize for what he had been accused of.

  “Where are we going Brian” he asked with shaking still voice, looking him directly into his eyes. Brian turned away his tearful face, pretending to have heard a sound on the roadside. He didn’t believe Paul was back in his normal senses and had tried to avoid any conversation with him.

  “We are going back to school residence? Where do you want us to go?” he had gathered enough courage to answer him but not to look him directly into his eyes. He didn’t want him to suspect his thoughts. He turned back to him and said, “Rose is waiting for you, we should have come together.”

  “Why did you leave her Brian?” he opened his eyes wide, speaking with a bold voice now. Brian shrugged and led the way.

  ****

  “I will greatly miss you honey!” Rosaline said with a charming voice over the phone. Pain of love struck his heart as he reflected his love for her. He was going to miss her for the next four months till he was back for the Christmas holiday. He kept his eyes on the phone screen as if her face was reflected on it. He folded and forced it in his small shirt pocket.

  The slowly moving bus gave him enough time to look at the long mountain that was divided asymmetrically by the tarred road. Everything looked different from what was behind the mountain. Vegetation was now characterised by small spaced tree. The tarred road mysteriously disappeared and temperatures were slightly higher. He checked his phone, there was no network. He switched it off and took a nap.

  A violent shake woke him up from the sleep. The dirt road produced a red glow that made the roadside hardly visible. The roadside trees and shrubs could not be easily distinguished with the earth crust. The bus kept its slow momentum until it stopped at an open area.

  There were small temporary tuck-shops built with mud and pole, some with only thatch. It was a strange place in the eyes of Paul. Men, women and children filled the place. They gazed at the Bus. Children and some young boys were half naked, there were clad in animal skins. The clinking of bangles that were in the legs and arms could be heard, beards made from shiny material glittered from their necks and wrist. Paul pretended to sleep to avoid strange scenery outside but a loud, bold voice woke him up

  “Man! We are now at Malenzer!” the driver shouted. He opened his eyes wide open, wrinkled his nose and shot up from his seat. He paved his way to the door, put his hand in a small pocket. He took the bus fare ticket and gave it to the conductor.

  “My bags Sir” he said. He staggered out of the bus to a nearby tree.

  “Dankeet School is just some few kilometres to the west!” the driver shouted as he drove off from the site. Paul was too tired to answer him; he gave a thumps up and took a rest under the tree. It was his longest journey ever. He had never travelled for more than six-hundred kilometres in a winding bumpy dirt road like this.

  He opened one of his bags and pulled out a small bottle of purified water and sipped. It did not give him enough refreshment; the water was now warm with the higher temperatures. He lifted his head to the right; there stood a tall and youthful man who looked twenty or few years older. He wore a yellow shirt, tucked in a pair of black trousers. His shiny shoes and glittering tie made him look more professional. While he was still wondering who this young men could be in this strange place with wierd looking people, a voice came from behind him.

  “Hi Sir” a little boy greeted him. he wore pair of pink shorts. He was bare footed and had long uncombed black hair. He looked at him a suspicious eye for a while. The little boy smiled and drew even closer.

  “Are you the new teacher who is supposed to come this term?” he asked with confidence. Paul nodded and responded, “Yea!”.

  “Mr Dana over there is also our teacher. We can help you carry your luggage. He is going the same direction” Paul accepted the offer, carried his small bag and went to greet Brian.

  They carried their bags and left the area.

  ****

  The sun was few hours from falling, birds were singing in the spaced trees and they could see the school through the patched land. There were two large blocks and a small room that stood between the blocks. The teachers’ residence was on the far left side. There were only three units and Paul could see people sitting on the verandas of the houses. He wondered how many teachers resided at the school and what could be the school enrolment size.

  “How many pupils does the school enrol?” he asked with a show of interest.

  “About fifty” replied Brian.

  They discussed more on the subject and about the social life at the school campus. They had become friendlier to each other since they disc
overed they had similar interest in music, soccer and lifestyle. They came from the capital and also attended the same teachers college but in different faculties. The discussion made the distance shorter and they eventually arrived.

  The headmaster was still in his office. The school staff room was inside the class rooms. it looked too old, the walls had cracks and sunrays flitted through the roof. The room was silent, only flicking of pages could be heard from outside. They took their luggage from the small boy and proceeded to the Headmaster’s door.

  “Welcome Mr Paul June” he greeted him with a cheerful voice. “We have been waiting for you for the past three days.” He smiled.

  “I was sorting out a few things before coming here. I only made it today.” Paul answered . His eyes were attracted by the photos that were displayed on the wall. A large picture frame with four men and lady inscribed “Dankeet staff members” was behind the head. He looked at it carefully.

  “This is our staff sir. You are replacing the one second from the far left”. Paul nodded

  “He passed away last term under unclear circumstances”. The headmaster added.

  “I’m Mr Ncube, the head of this school. Mr Brian Dana is the Deputy. You will see the rest tomorrow morning”.

  After a short conversation on how they were going to work together during the term, class allocation and the timetable, they left the office. Mr Ncube led the way to the house that was in the south. He helped Paul carry his bags to the house and gave him the keys.

  The house looked old, with broken window panes and a door hinged loosely on the wall. He unlocked the door and they got inside. Furniture occupied the main room of the house; there were decorations on the table that stood in the middle of the house. Flowers in the corners of the house sprang and shot new buds, as if someone maintained the house.

  “Is there anyone living here?” Paul asked

  “Nope, the teacher who lived here last term passed away. We are waiting for his family to collect his property. For the mean time you can occupy the other vacant bedroom”. Mr Ncube said. He left the house and closed the door behind him. Paul threw himself on the nearby sofa. He slept.

  ****

  The room fell into a deep silence. The ticking sounds of a wall watch that was above the window and chirping of night birds serenaded the still atmosphere of the night. A cool breeze shook the loosely hinged window frame and its sound forced Paul to wake up from the sofa he was sleeping in. he rose up and leaned against the sofa arm but the sound of the shaking window continued to irritate him. His eyes were still heavy with the sleep; he stretched and went near the window.

  The darkness was thick as the moon was covered with greyish clouds. The stars were hardly visible in the cloud filled sky. A drumbeat could be heard from a far land, men’s voices sang along to it. He listened carefully to the increasing noise of the drum and voice, fixing his eyes through the window. Was there any traditional ceremony in a nearby village? He wondered. He returned to pick up his bag and got into his room.

  A small flame rose up from the corner of the room. Paul turned back to catch the glimpse of the mysterious fire that lighted the house for a few seconds. His mouth was now trembling. He could not move any step further, fear gripped him as his pulse accelerated uncontrollably. His main concern was the possible cause of the fire. Is it real fire or they are just night illusions? He assumed that it was his mind that suffered from reflections of the long journey. He partially settled after some minutes and manoeuvred his way to the room.

  Mysterious sound that collaborated with the birds of the night continued till he closed the door. The door banged loudly as he tried closing out his fears. Prayers were his only option for now, but he was also curious about the weird sound and wondered where it was coming from. A monkey screeched in the room as he tried to unzip his bag. It made his organs to tremble at once. He sank to his knees to pray but prayer become another burden for him.

  Brian and Mr Ncube were the only people he had known so far. He partially pondered his next move if anything would happen and reserved part of his brain to monitor the mysterious activities taking place in his house. The distance between the house units discouraged him to shout for help. The forces of the darkness had spread the nets and it was gradually closing upon him, he thought. He lost his nerves for a while. He couldn’t feel his legs and arms. He held his breathe for a moment.

  The forces of darkness made his night fearful and reserved their mysterious fire for the light of the house. He opened the door to exit the room but it was not long before he was encompassed by the large flames of fire. He could not feel the heat and his clothes weren’t burning. Suddenly the fire disappeared and a bright red light filled the house.

  Two skeleton looking figures appeared as he was gathering his courage to move and open the door. They wore blue robes that shone in the red light, shoed with black handmade sandals that were made from old vehicle tyre and adorned similar wool hats. They held their gaze on him. He closed his eyes from the horror before him and moved towards them with boldness. He was now prepared to die or to kill the shortest beings he had ever seen. He was assured that there were goblins

  The other goblin made a chilling noise that forced him to stop. He wanted to listen to what it communicated to him. He opened his eyes for a moment to gander if it was communicating through other means. The goblins looked each other and nodded their heads. They approached him slowly as he retreated to find a way of escape. Their footsteps sounded like Iron Gate. They made more noise as they approached him.

  He returned in his room and closed the door behind him. He leaned against the door to prevent them from forcing their way in the room. There was an open window that was on his left side. Before he could make any decision, the two goblins stood before him.

  “You think you are going escape this?” the smaller goblin asked him. He was now almost shaking, he tried to open his mouth but the lips were now glued together. The face of the other goblin changed, drawing near between his legs.

  “Who do you think you are, Huh?” he touched him between his legs. “You think you can take our job here?” Paul’s tears poured like a flowing river as he regretted ever coming to this evil place. He blamed the school headmaster and his new friend Brian who had not informed him of these evil residents. He later forced his pasted lips to utter few words. He could feel the promising tragedy.

  “They didn’t tell me you live in this house” he stammered as he knelt before them.

  After a short conversation, Paul saw himself lying down on the floor. The other goblin was holding a long stick that hit his head and the bigger one’s jaws suddenly elongated. It bit him all over. He cried vehemently as they tortured him. His voice penetrated the darkness. He was kicking away everything in the house.

  The crying voice woke up everybody. They ran to see what was happening to the house. Two women arrived and tried to force the door open but all was in vain. They heard a kicking sound from the other side of the house. They peered through the window. The darkness that was in the room prevented them from seeing anything. They waited for everyone to arrive at the house. Brian took a bright torch with him and left his house to see what was happening.

  “He is crying from this room” a sharp voice said to Brian. He went to the window and heard Paul crying for help, begging for mercy from the two goblins. He directed his torch in the room but he saw no one in the house beside Paul. He jumped into the house through the window.

  Paul could not hold his peace; the pain from the fisticuffs of the little men forced him to lie down. He was crying out for help. He groaned as he stretched his hand to Brian.

  Brian pulled him out of the house. Paul felt the pain whenever Brian touched him. He screamed as they got out of the house. He was feeling all the hell in the house. He wide opened his eyes, crossed his legs with clenched fists. The door banged as Paul jumped out of the house.

  They let him lay prostrate on the ground as he shouted out all the curses and regrets. B
lood was flowing down from his nose and his pale swollen lips could no longer hold back bloody saliva. A sombre mood engulfed the place. Everyone was trying to figure out what could have been taking place in the house.

  “I think they are evil spirits, he needs exorcism from a traditional healer” Brian suggested

  Mr Ncube walked towards Paul and looked him directly into the eyes. His visage exhibited pain and fear. He struggled to breathe. Mr Ncube gently lifted him up and dropped him into his old car,

  They drove off in the darkness, struggling to identify the dirt road that led to the west hillock. There were no options that to force their way through a rocky narrow road with a blind car. Dust and smoke of the old car added to darkness of the night.

  ****

  The snores filled the two small mud and pole rooms. The surroundings held their peace, different insects celebrated the night. A dozen of patients waited for the morning in these small waiting rooms. They had come from different areas, some from unimaginable distances. Their hopes hinged on Halabawo Thate.

  The activities of the day had forced Halabawo to retire early for sleep. The day was very busy for him and many people had come with different sickness and other spiritual problems. Everyone hoped for a lasting solution on this homestead.

  Halabawo was fast asleep in his room. His beads and bangles were placed on his right side. A feathery traditional crown hung on a window adjacent to him. He was always glued to his healing and spiritual tools. He always kept them with him and assured their safety every time he removed them to sleep.

  An engine sound came from the road. The banging sound from loose car door made him to wake up. There were no nearby homesteads located near Halabawo’s. He was assured they were his visitors.

  He immediately rose up from his small bed, put on his bangles and a feathery crown and went out of the room. He called out his assistant who was sleeping in the same room with his patients.

  “Manka!” he shouted. A chilling breeze of the night ignited shivers in his body. He waited impatiently for Manka to come out of the room. Looking at the direction the car was coming from, he couldn’t see anything. Was it a mysterious car? He asked himself. His assistant came out of the room and stood by his side. He didn’t notice him.