Home, Green Home

The wild shouting alerted me of looming danger. I was trembling from end to end. I knew I had precious little time to decide the next move. In the glaring daylight I could see little beyond a few metres. I listened for vibrations. It was no use running. I had to be certain where the enemy stood. By this time of day they would be out in the fields. With luck I could scurry into a hole and hide. I spent the better part of the hours before daybreak looking for a place to hide. 

After years of farming much of the land in these parts had flattened out. The soil washed into every depression and hole changing the original geography of the land. It is a wonder how quickly the land here changed. A few seasons ago all this was jungle. One could creep for days in dense undergrowth without detection. The only distractions were the apes and creeping snakes. The noisy apes were just a nuisance. They threw objects or seeds at times but were largely harmless. The snakes were different. We kept away from them. If par chance a snake bit you it was certain death. The odd injury from a knock by a farmer or baboon was okay but not a snake bite. I could hear the footfalls grow louder. I tensed up and moved stealthily in the maize field.

From the footfalls there seemed to be two groups advancing. One was some distance behind me. The other was approaching from the right. There were a few tall trees in the maize. The crop itself offered little cover. This season the rains had failed. That is why we ventured far out to water and for food. It was not wise to cross the lengthy breach with zooming things. When the rains failed the streams in the forest dried up forcing us to come for water in the big river. 

We only came out nights. Even then crossing the lengthy breach was never our wish. In the night, the bright glare of the zooming things blinded us completely. The noise was too much. You never could tell how far away the thing was. It moved with speed and lit its way many leaps ahead. It weaved about in the lengthy breach like a giant deviant leopard. Its fumes and noise confused us. It was hard to tell how far away it was because it left a trail of irritating smoke long after it was gone. If it hit you, you died. Dread as we did to cross the lengthy breach, there was no way we could avoid it entirely. It ran right across our land cutting off the big river from us. The barbarians ate into our land and kept us away from the water. They stole our land and our water. They wanted us to die.

I had never been this far out before. Usually we came up to the water and hurried back to our side across the lengthy breach. On our way we could not help but pick at their crops. Why not? They took our land and water but did not want us anywhere near their crops. Selfish beings they are. They think the whole world belongs to them. Even the deviant leopards mostly kept themselves. It was the unlucky one that got caught by a leopard. The barbarians were straight from hell. They set all manner of traps for us. The worst was to dig a trench then cover it with leaves and maize. If you fell in there the barbarians crowed like crazed baboons. With our short legs it was impossible to escape from the deep trenches. There was not a chance of help from anyone. It was far too dangerous to dare to follow after your kin. Once inside you were as good as dead. That is why we learnt to move with stealth. Speed could plunge you into a hidden trench.

Last night was bad. The barbarians seemed to have laid in wait for us. There was not the usual fire out in the farms anywhere we crossed. Not a single one of them disturbed on our way to the water. After days without meaningful eating we were tempted to look around their crops. In truth, there was nothing even for them in the fields. There was not much rain for anything to grow this season. The undergrowth in the forest was gone. It was a chore to hide in the forest by day. The barbarians startled you at rest. They were always armed and could strike at you from far. It was worse when they started a fire. They were always burning in the forest these days. 

Sometimes they heaped fire under mounds of earth. It burned for days choking the land of fresh air.  When they came back for the charred remains of the tree they left the place in a mess. I wonder if they ate the charred trees. Not even the ants wanted anything to with the charred remains. The crazed beings felled trees destroying our homeland. Whatever it is they did with the trees amazed us. There was always the ugly hum of the felling thing. Every time the ugly sound began, we knew it was time to move house. For seasons now we were always on the move. We were surrounded. There was nowhere safe for us.

The barbarians waited until all of us were at the water before springing their surprise. It seems they wanted us to crowd into a particular patch. They came at us in two directions. On the other side, there was the raging river. They made much noise and lit flares. They threw their piercing poles in turns. We blindly ran towards the patch. We feared open spaces. That is where the barbarian stayed. They liked open spaces. With the fire and noise, the open patch was the only safe place. Or so it seemed.

 I was lucky to survive. As we crowded together for safety I was left in the fringes. The first of the piercing poles landed near me. I was terrified. There was no chance of getting into the middle of the group. We were crowded together in a tight circle. I decided to break away from the group. That is what saved me. I charged out wildly at the advancing barbarians. I closed my eyes at their flares and just plunged ahead.

 Somehow, I knew they had evil intentions against us. It did not matter that we were trying to get away from them. They just wanted us dead. I picked a path and charged forth without a care. They shouted wildly as I approached. I waited for a painful prick. It did not matter now. I would die running. They must have been amazed by my courage. They scampered about throwing their flares to the ground. I crouched low and forged ahead without a care. In the frenzy I bumped into one of them. I know from the loud yelp I hurt him badly. He howled like a wild dog. The rest ran away. My raw fear saved me last night. There was a little pain where I knocked into the barbarian.

I got safe but lost my way. I just could not find my way back home. Everywhere I went there were crops and barriers. I was moving in circles. I know because many times I returned to the same tracks. It is one of our strengths to remember tracks well. I would not have lived this long if I did not know my tracks well. I kept a mark of ground covered just in case I had to retrace my steps. However, last night I had no chance to keep track of my movement. The barbarians were all over with their flares. The smoke alone was enough to kill you. It is a wonder how they lived with the choking flares so close!

By daybreak I knew I was lost. I was all alone. I did not know where the rest of the group were. I picked a spot in the maize and rested. It was the farthest away from their dwellings. I could see the smoke from their dwelling and hear the noises they made. They were like baboons or birds- always making noise. I wonder what good came of noise. We liked to live a quiet life. I crouched low and waited for darkness to try my luck again. It was not to be. A barbarian climbed a tree and saw me in the maize. How they could see in the glare of day amazed me. I was hoping the noise was aimed at something else. When it kept growing louder I knew it was not safe here anymore. 

They were coming after me. The fear in my breast urged me to do something rash. In darkness I could be rash but light blinded me. I had to think and think fast. The noise was getting closer. I stopped moving. There was the odd chance they would pass by if I remained still. For all their ferocity they were such poor hunters. They relied on sight alone to spot their prey. They did not know how to smell the air for clues. They could not measure from the vibrations of the ground what was about to happen.

I moved to a thicket by a rock and waited. There was a cacophony of sounds as they gathered. They threw stones and other objects as they approached. I knew they could not spot me in the thicket. I stayed put. Occasionally tension got the better of me and could not keep quiet. A low grunt in a moment of tension is what gave me away. A little barbarian squatting to relieve himself on the other side of the thicket must have heard my grunt. The smell of his dung alone could make you grunt forever! He screamed suddenly startling me. I dashed away only to arouse the attention of the larger group.

 I had no choice but to charge towards the weaker one. I drove my head into the little one as I got away. I lifted it off the ground with my power tossing it away like a leaf in the air. I knew they would not spare me after that. I ran as fast as my short legs could go. I crashed into barriers and ran across their dwelling places. Their strength was in their numbers. Plus they bandied together like hyenas. The cowardly creatures ganged together to make life hell for us. Acting alone, they were harmless.

 I just ran through their dwellings as they scattered like pollen in the wind. They cowered in my wake like frightened birds. I did not know where I was going. I ran for my life. Wherever and however it came to an end did not matter anymore.  All my fours were charged. My snout was turned low. Anything that came my way had to reckon with my rock-hard skull. I squealed like the wild sow I was. Heck, I ran. I got home with some bumps and the fewest of scratches.

How far I travelled I do not know. I knew I was home when the undergrowth caressed by body again. I was home- home, green home. These were unfamiliar surrounds but home all the same. Any forest is home to me. With time I will know my way here too. Sweet home, away from the shouts of Nguluwe, Nguluwe, Nguluwe(Pig, Pig,Pig) which I escaped.