Three years before the "Mystery of the Olko beads," story, a great famine hits the Yakunko lands claiming all food crops except for the "Unnu'(sunflower) crop! A southern farmer known as Yudo Ramundo discovers the Unnu crop could survive through the...
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When he returned Tsote spoke first and hurriedly. 'Opit I had a strange dream a while ago...' Tsote started leading him aside to where they normally sat to eat their midday meal.
'I too had a dream about Makra...'
'Makra?. You too dreamed Makra?' Tsote interrupted.
'Yes. But this is terrifying...!' Opit went on.
'Well, not more than mine. Can I go first...?' came Tsote.
'Okay...' Opit replied uneasily. 'Go on....'
'First, Master O'tet and I were serving bread to women praying and fasting for the return of the rains at the Panushi sacred ground. His wife was reciting the midday meal prayer that broke the fast. Three jars were lined up in front of her filled with sunflower seed for the Order of Panushi priestesses. She had to scoop out three handfuls of the seed and pour them on the large wooden alter like usual. But when she made her first from the largest of the jars, hundreds of Honto butterflies crawled up her arms and attacked her.' Tsote narrated.
'They were consuming her whole body and stinging her painfully. However, no one else seemed to see the woman struggling. They simply bowed and started to eat like the way they always do at the end of the prayer....'
'Strange...'
'Yes. Next, the other jars burst open and two swarms of Honto butterflies rose from them. They rose and formed the shape of a little girl whom I recognized as Makra. She landed down and looked in my direction. In fear, I looked around for Master O'tet Roto and the other village guards we came with but they were nowhere to be seen. Then she called my name...' Opit Ramundo listened with slightly gaping lips.
'I couldn't help running from her into the sunflower field...' Tsote narrated. '-I ran as fast as I could. After some time, I glanced back to see if she was coming and to turn back, I crashed into something hard and solid. I fell back and looked up. It was Menshi Ruhin's son-in-law big and tall. He held a strange horn in his right hand and...'
'Kitchaka Onungu?'
'Yes... whatever he was doing out there, I don't know. But he stood in front of one of the Hombaki trees which looked withered and dead behind him...'
'Uh... that man again?' came Opit.
'Yeah... but he said nothing. He instead placed the horn to his lips and blew through it so loud that I changed and started back from the sunflower fields calling your name loudly...'
'Calling me?' Came Opit Ramundo sitting upright. 'I heard you...'
'Really?' came Tsote. 'That doesn't happen in dreams.'
'But I heard you. All of a sudden you stumbled out from the sunflower fields behind me...' Came Opit.'
