THE STORY OF MULENGA.

 

   

 

 

 

           I KNOW THIS IS HARD TO UNDERSTAND.

                             REAL CHANGE COMES FROM INSIDE

 

 

 

                               A 1500 word story by Michael Ntunga.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PROLOGUE (ONE); SOMETHING IS WRONG.

 

Three nights, three nights was when Mulenga last had a decent goodnights sleep, all her days were long filled with work and responsibilities.

She was having sleepless nights but this never bothered her before she believed there was something bigger to that besides she was the villages chosen one, they all believed she could converse with the gods being the village’s healer it was her birthright.

Despite being tired Mulenga still kept her morning routine, she would pick up a book from her bunch and just looked at the words, this gave her peace and bathed her in nostalgia from the time she was gifted the bunch by her mother’s side of family in the city.

At thirty three Mulenga couldn’t read and write because it was against taking women to school to her tribesmen, Even though Mulenga had thirst to be quenched, she could feel the books from her mother, a healer like her dripped in knowledge that she couldn’t reach, but due to her position she was forced to set a good example, and not end up like her mother who ran to the city and left her people, for this Mulenga wasn’t ready to make any kind of move, when it came to her tribesmen you were either with them or against them, she became comfy just looking at the words.

 

 

TWO ; ACCEPTANCE.

 

It’s been weeks now and Mulenga still hasn’t any peaceful night, nor vision from the gods, she’s been working nonstop preparing potions and remedies, her work no matter how tiring it was the only moving wheel in her machine of life and she had no choice but to move with it in loops day in and day out.

She looks out her window and it’s a little dark outside, the sky is still dark blue with a faint of orange bruising it from the sun that is yet to raise fully for a few hours, the birds are on top of the morning singing praises to nature, as it is her habit this morning Mulenga picks what to be a journal from the bottom of her bunch, she goes through it and finds a piece of paper.

It was old and the folds were already eating some of the paper away, Something inside Mulenga was pushed to know the meaning of the words on the paper, the handwriting was new but familiar, it was she could feel an essence of love from the paper, something that was a bit new to her everyday life, the thought that she wasn’t going to be able to interpret what she now believed to be her mother’s letter to her, probably she last thing she will ever hear from her started to shake Mulenga to her core, she could feel tears building up, her core was burning up and she couldn’t explain it all, so she broke down and cried.

The sun finally rises, Mulenga’s tears were still falling from her eyes, and pools of tear were still forming in her vitreous humor, in the middle of her sad hour something clicks in Mulenga, she misses her very short time in the city when she went for her mother’s funeral, she remembers all that she heard about how backwards her people were, and why her mother ran away in the first place when she was only still a girl, she takes one more look at the letter and comes up with a plan, but it all started with acceptance that she was ready to lose her position as healer and she knew they weren’t going to let her off easy ,she was the chosen one.

 

THREE; DENIAL

Mulenga’s father and grandfather were both village elders of high esteem and members of the village committee, this made Mulenga royalty, she had set out a plan to beg them to take her to school or at least get her a teacher.

She had great respect for the only two men in her life, not only as parents but also as icons and idols to herself and the rest of her people, the village committee had the wisest and smartest men in their ways, she knew what she was facing.

When Mulenga met with the committee she had a full plan and she carried her books and the letter which she only showed to her father hoping he will disclose what was written in the letter, but little did Mulenga know it was made him mad and relit dead flames inside him too, his father didn’t want to hear anything she had to say, all he said was less she knew the better, that this was for her own good.

Mulenga only got one thing that she wanted, she was relieved her healer duties because she was promised to a nearby chief as a concubine so that he could bless his lineage, her grandfather claimed that he was a rich chief and he could pay in terms of cattle and lots of money.

 

FOUR; REALIZATION

 

THREE YEARS LATER

After a few months Mulenga kept her struggle but it was useless, they wouldn’t listen to a word which came from her tongue, her wedding day came and she was married.

Here she was now at thirty six looking like she is sixty all her physical beauty worn out, still depressed, the chief expected children from the chosen one, but she couldn’t deliver, she begged him to get her an instructor for her to learn how to read and write for the rest of the women in the chiefs house could do it, this made Mulenga feel less and that she didn’t belong, all these complains but chief never got it.

On one regular day for Mulenga, she catches her reflection on the mirror in the morning, it looked life had the best of her, she was older than when she arrived, way older, she had morning routine, that hope was gone all she had was pain, misery and a life that she never wanted.

She felt a nail piercing through her heart of flesh; the pain was too much for herself to bear so she starts to blame, Mulenga blames her mother for leaving her alone with her father when she ran away, she blamed her for letting her life slide to where it was ,she had lost all excitement of life, she couldn’t believe that she had fell this far, from a simple life she had which had no meaning to a life of pain and discrimination but still has no meaning.

 

FIVE; THE TRUTH

The lump in Mulenga’s throat was just too big for her to swallow, it felt bitter too maybe it was the truth; she too was ashamed of what she had become, she sulk in the guilt and blame for days till it made no sense, she had no one else to blame, she had blamed everyone and everything to the birds that sang praises on the day she was born and the birds singing praises on her worst day.

Other women in the chief’s house didn’t make it any easier for her, her age and the fact she couldn’t read some believed she didn’t belong in the house of the chief, Mulenga blamed them too, the had three years to teach her but none of them bothered.

Mulenga went to bed that night hoping it was her last, she had no strength to take her own life but she had the strength and will to wish she never woke up.

That night was one like no other, Mulenga hadn’t slept like this for ages she couldn’t feel her body as she drifted to a different world she could have sworn she died that night in her bed, but that was the night the gods talked to her, when she had given all up, when she had nothing but herself.

And to her they said ‘’I know this is hard to understand Mulenga but if you want change, that comes from inside just like your tears no one will give you what you want my dear’’.