CHAPTER 6
Because of the Dreams

Tambo sold one of his rings, the one with the malachite gem, to a hard-bargaining merchant for ten copper coins. The coins were sufficient to purchase an abandoned shack in the shadow of the wall in Kowasa District, some timber, tar, stones, canvas, and the labor for the shack’s repair. The four laborers, who comprised an elderly carpenter, two teenage boys, and one young woman, replaced much of the timber, roofing canvas, and floor stones and tarred the gaps by sunset in a single day.

The smell of rotten timber and moss lingered, and the young woman went and came back with bottles of opopanax and lavender. Nasomi sprinkled the perfumes with her fingers onto the floors and walls of the two rooms of the shack, and the result was something she could tolerate for a while.

The pit latrine outside was unusable. The carpenter said he would come back in two days with the boys to desludge it. Tambo made a disgusted face at the suggestion and opted to have it buried and covered up. He went to ask a neighbor, a short talkative man, if he and Nasomi could be using their latrine. The neighbor asked for money. Tambo promised to pay him three copper coins.

He sold his second ring, amethyst, to buy her better brideclothes, a thick straw mattress, two woolen blankets, a bundle of smaller stones to cover gaps on the floor, and a bundle of dry fish.

“You’re not going to sell all your rings, are you?” Nasomi asked him.

“I’m not a lord anymore. We might as well use their value for what we need until we find some source of income.”

“What if your father changes his mind and brings you back?”

“That man? Only if I grovel at his feet, roll on the floor a few times, shed gallons of tears. And I’m not going to do that.”

He sold the tanzanite ring to have the clay oven and chimney repaired, to buy glazed clay pots, some clothes for himself, palm oil, and dry foods: sweet potatoes, biltong, yam, ground corn, beans. Enough to keep them for three months.

He didn’t tell her what he did with the money from the sale of the fourth ring, the one with a lapis lazuli stone. He said, smiling, “It’s a secret. For now. You will see it soon.”

He used the coins from the fifth ring, of tourmaline, to “urge” a marriage priest to conduct the pre-wedding teachings and rituals. The priest was a spindly, large-nosed Indas man by the name of Gres. “This exceeds the customary price,” Gres said when Tambo laid the coins before him, and he and Nasomi sat opposite the priest on low stools. “And it is customary for both of you to come with one or two family members.”

Tambo replied, “We’re just the two of us. No family.”

“No one doesn’t have a family. Even if you were a lonely flower, there must be some grass and other plants growing around you. Wise friends or any friends at all, if you’re so desperate. Neighbors, maybe. Anyone who can speak well of you.”

“We have no one,” Tambo said. “Look…” He showed the priest the marks on his fingers where the rings had been and narrated his story. In the end, he said, “I have no family, no friends, no grass around me.”

“I have heard of you,” Gres said.

“You have?”

“It’s not every day that fathers denounce their sons. People are talking about it, you being a lord’s son.” He looked at both of them for a long time, debating within himself. Finally, he picked up all the coins and flashed them a smile. “I always say love is incomplete without freedom. You have chosen freedom, love. I respect that. I will be your priest.”

On their way home, Nasomi said she would go visit Naena, guessing that Father would not be home. Tambo went to finish up the small garden he had started.

As Nasomi entered the gateway, Naena ran up to her and gave her a tight embrace. “Somi! You look healthy.”

Nasomi laughed. “Really? Not thinner? I’ve been struggling, you know.”

“Come, sit with me. Talk to me.” She offered Nasomi her favorite stool.

“I never thought I’d be a stranger in this home,” Nasomi said.

“No, Somi. This is always your home. Wherever are you staying now?”

“A little house in Kowasa.”

“Little?”

“Little. Tambo never went back to collect any clothes or money. His father was serious about cutting off ties with him.”

“This is sad, Somi. I never imagined. I thought you would be in a mighty house right now, servants running around to your every whim.”

“I can only wish so. But we’re getting by. The wedding is in five days.”

“I must come.”

“Will Father let you? He must hate me now.”

Naena patted Nasomi’s hand. “He can never hate you. He is only disappointed, but he loves you. You should wait for him, I know he would love to see you.”

“I don’t know if I can face him today. I feel guilt the size of a cow in my belly. I know I betrayed him and all he ever taught me, but I also love Tambo so much. I don’t know what to do now.”

“He would understand.”

“How is he taking it?”

“Coughing a lot. He hasn’t talked about you since he came back with the news that you ran off with ‘that boy’. But he talks to himself. He mentions your name, in his sleep also. He’s become awfully quiet. He eats, works the farm, baths, sleeps, whispers to himself.”

“Would you tell him how sorry I am? That I didn’t mean for this to happen?”

“I’ll try. But come and see him, too. Maybe some days after the wedding. The weight of it would have passed.”

“I can only hope so.”

“You’re being too dark, Somi. It’s just a tough moment. It will pass.”

“I am afraid, Nae. So afraid.”

“Of what?”

“Of Father never forgiving me. And of Tambo leaving me. He’s been a noble all his life and all this is taking a toll on him. He tries to hide it, but I can see it. He’s not used to hard work and little food. His hands blister easily, the food we eat makes him sick in the stomach. I am afraid he will get tired of suffering and go back to his father, and leave me alone. What would I do then?”

“He won’t leave you Nasomi. He’s sacrificed all that he had for you.”

“I think I dreamed of his and my child. A girl.”

“And it was one of those dreams?”

“Nae. It felt real.” She wondered if she should also mention Father’s death in the same dream, but it scared her; if the first part should be true, the second must as well. “The girl was as dark as him, and if I really think about it, she had his face.”

“Then believe in that. He is your husband.”

“What if he thinks I’m a witch?”

“Why would he think that?”

“Because of the dreams. They are getting real, Nae. I dream things and they happen. And don’t say it’s just my imagination. I know the difference between ordinary dreams and these... real ones. They come to tell me something.”

“So, you’re saying they’re a sign from the Mara?”

“How am I supposed to know that? Last night I dreamed Tambo’s mother was looking for him. And I can feel it is true. But how can I tell him without him thinking I am using divination?”

Naena stood and hugged her. “You weigh yourself down, Somi. Even when there are people about you, you think you are alone. Who you are, this kind and strong woman is what makes us love you, and if these tellings are part of who you are, they can’t make us love you less. Only more. Tell him about them.”

“Perhaps sometime after the wedding.”

Naena escorted her partway home. “Do you want me to tell father about the dreams?”

Nasomi thought. “Maybe it’s time he knew?”

“It is time he knew.”

“Sometimes you know Father better than I do. Do you think he’ll take it well?”

“You’re just sad and guilty right now. You will see that his heart is still as big as before.”

When she got back to the shack, Nasomi found Tambo kneeling on the ground, looking miffed. “My love!” she said, running to him. “Is anything the matter?”

“They took everything,” he said, his voice cracking.

She saw that the door, rickety and full of holes to begin with, had been smashed in. “Who?”

“I don’t know. They broke into our house when we were away. They took the rings, other things, everything…”

Nasomi dashed inside. Muddy footprints spread all over the floor where three or four people had rushed about the house. The beans, fish and sweet potatoes were entirely gone, as well as most of the biltong and yam. In the bedroom, the bed and beddings were intact but for a few mud splotches. The piece of cloth Tambo had wrapped the rings in and kept under the bed was missing. So was the wrapped bundle he thought he had hidden well, which was meant to be Nasomi’s surprise gift.

“Who could have done this?” she shouted.

Tambo was still outside on his knees. He thumped the ground with his fist. “The little I had… This is unfair. The other rings would have paid for the wedding food.”

Nasomi went to pull him up and together they went enquiring among the neighbors if anyone saw or heard the burglars. No one had, and the best comfort anyone could give was, “You have to be careful. There are thieves around here.”

In the night, as they went to bed, Tambo seemed inconsolable and lay with his arms across his chest, scowling at the ceiling. Nasomi didn’t know whether to touch him.

“My love,” she said. “I am not a witch.”

He turned to face her, his face shadowed, as the candle was on his side. But she could see his eyes. “Why would you say that?”

“Sometimes I have dreams, and they come true.”

“Doesn’t everybody?” He was still irritable.

“These are different. Exact. I dream of a cat passing by the gate, next day or another, I see it passing by the gate.”

“Alright?”

“The night before Kukalo and Teeyana came to my home, I saw them in a dream, talking of coming to bring me to your father. I had never seen them before this, but it was true to every detail. I saw your home, the paintings on the walls. Had never been there before.”

He propped himself up on his elbow. “How is this possible?”

“I don’t know. I have no explanation for it.”

“If this… It’s a strange thing to have. It’s like prophecy.”

“Perhaps. I need to tell you this, my love. Last night I dreamed your mother is looking for you. And I think it’s one of these dreams.”

“My mother?”

“She has sent two men to search the city for you, to bring you to her. It could be this has already happened, but I think it is yet to. I saw the men moving about in the lower market of Kowasa. There was a procession of mourners carrying a body, so I’m guessing it will be on Burial day, late afternoon.”

“The day after tomorrow?” He lay back down, looked at the ceiling for a long time. “We must go meet them,” he said finally.

Come late afternoon of Burial day, Tambo and Nasomi moved about the lower market in Kowasa, scanning faces. A group of mourners passed, four of them carrying a wrapped body. The smell of the balsams clouded the air. The mourners sang a funeral song, and some wept. When they passed, two men approached.

“My chief!” one of them said.

“Wakani? Imazu?” Tambo said, recognizing the men. They touched their chests and dipped their heads, and he did the same.

“We’re so glad to run into you here. Your mother sent us to look for you.”

Tambo looked at Nasomi. “I know,” he replied.

“We have been asking around, but couldn’t find you. We thought we would start here, then onto Nkuku, then the Dragon, then—”

“Where’s my mother?”

“She said to take the report to her at the palace gates every sunset.”

“Sunset is nigh. Let us go.”

The servants had come with horses, and they shared one on the way to the palace in Kwindi. Tambo and Nasomi shared the other. Tambo and Nasomi hid behind one of the trees lining the road near the gate as the two men went to report to his mother.

Tambo’s mother was a tall woman with a heavy build, and a lovely smile. She held out a hand when Tambo knelt before her. He took her hand, stood up from his own effort. Nasomi touched her chest and curtsied. “My Chief.”

The older woman embraced her, kissed her on the cheek. “I came home from a short visit and found I had no son. There is madness in this palace.”

“Will he take me back?” Tambo asked. “Have you spoken to him?”

“He’s a stubborn man. He won’t change his mind. He says it’s too late for you now.”

“I don’t need his wealth. I will make my own, and show him what I am capable of.”

“You’re just as stubborn as him.”

“He’s the one who kicked me out.”

“How are you holding out?” She took Nasomi’s hand. “Fear me not. I will welcome you as my daughter. All this madness will pass.”

“Thank you, Mother.”

“We have nothing, Mother,” Tambo said. “The wedding is four days away and—”

“And I am finding out today?”

“It’s not like Father would let you come.”

“No, but I can send Yana over. She can bring some gifts, too. It’s been a few days only, son, and you look so gaunt.”

“I’ll survive.”

“No, you won’t. You may not have a father anymore, but you still have a mother. I will not sit by as you drown in poverty. Wait here. Let Wakani bring you the deed to the house by the hill, and some wealth to keep you going.”

“Oh, Mother,” Tambo said, kneeling down. “I thank you so much.”

“It’s what I can do for now. Do yourselves a favor and sell the house, eh… your name, my daughter?”

“Nasomi.”

“Beautiful name. Nasomi, Tambo, do yourselves a favor and sell the house soon enough. You know your brothers are spies for your father. They might want to give you trouble. Shift to the edge of Ninki Nanka maybe.”

They thanked her some more and she went back in. Wakani came out a moment later with the said deed as well as a sack full of jewels and coins: copper, bronze, and gold.