The LRA war was at its peak. Death and property destruction was the order of the day. Human skulls and bones littered the home steads such that the children often played with them like they were normal toys.
Many families fought hard for survival. The family heads had only one dream at the back of their minds- to push their families through the harsh heat of the war to safety.
Mr Okello Sarafino was one of the family heads that had small families. He had born two children with his wife Maria With a third safely curdled in the comfort of the womb. Dickens was his older son followed by Lorna.
The sun was hiding its rays behind a thick blanket of cloud making the sky orange. The family settled to the only meal they could afford to eat in a day. Maria had laid a worn out blanket on the ground seating herself with the children outside their only hut. Sarafino sat on a wooden folding chair protectively looking down on them. Earlier on news had reached the village that the rebels marched their way. They all ate silently and quickly, each one hardly looking at the other. Maria's voice was the lone voice that instructed the children to eat fast, least they run for safety in an empty stomach.
She packed the beddings at a pace she hated. She had always been a fast worker. She cursed the day she got pregnant. She should have known better that it was hard to manoeuvre through a war with a stomach as heavy as hers. But what could she have done? Contraceptives were never heard of in those days. Society strongly condemned the use of condoms for it was said it was for the prostitutes prone to HIV, locally known as silim.
She fidgeted with a bundle of blankets she had tired up with sisal ropes. Her mouth was agape. She could tell that the children had only eaten half way through their food. A picky eater as she was, Lorna had barely touched her food yet Sarafino held both their hands leading them farther away from the hut. She chuckled to herself. Her husband looked like a towering monster over the children. He was extremely tall. She understood why the children had not eaten at all. Sprays of gun fire spread out in the village. The sound was deafening. She dropped the blankets, tightly shutting her ears with fingers she had pushed in both. In a split second she had jumped over the blanket panting uncontrollably near her family. She let out a heavy sigh, " please help me pick the blankets, won't you?"
The hut shielded him from the gun fire as he stealthily crossed the small space to reach the front of the house. A piercing pain shot through his shoulder on picking the blankets. His eyes felt hazy. He could barely see. But he was able to identify the rebel who had shot him. He was a child soldier. He had been abducted from the village a year ago. Now he was fighting his own people. Probably they had sent him back to hunt down survivors, he thought, ignoring the sharp pain that made his arm limp. He carried the blankets. He heaved a sigh, wondering how he was to carry both Lorna and the blankets. His wife's due time was to come in any of the days ahead. Normally she carried them, but she was too heavy for any of that work today.
War always trained it's children to be brave enough to fear death. Lorna whimpered silently to the sight of this thick red flowing out of her father's shoulders. He had chosen to bundle her to his back while his six year old handled the blankets. She was only two years old and there was no way she could run on her own.
He led them through an overgrown path that would lead them to the hidden shelters of a swamp's vegetative area they normally shared with serpents of every kind.
The more they ran the more distant the gun shots became. Maria would run a few meters before stopping to catch a breath for a few minutes. She felt sharp contractions with every stop she made. Sarafino scanned the surroundings. He knew that they could not make it to the swamp due to his wife's health.
He pulled the children aside standing by the road side. Deep crevices of concern formed on his forehead, " how do you feel?" He asked.
She winced as another contraction tore through her womanhood. She tightly held her lower belly, almost dropping to the ground. She almost screamed. The pain was unbearable but she was an acholi woman. Tradition forebade her from screaming during labour. She gritted her teeth, swallowing in the pain.
" The baby..........." She trailed off," I think it's coming out."
For a second and third time, he scanned the area. It was a plain savannah area with nearly short grass that covered the ground. A few anthills dotted the grass. It was too plain for a hiding place
He spotted a huge anthill that protruded the ground sitting at the centre of the savannah. The sound of heavy boots thumping the ground became audible. A wave of panic shot through him causing a surge of adrenaline in his system.
He tightly held onto Dickens's fingers as they sprinted amidst the spear grass not feeling a pain from the cuts made by the grass. He helped his wife to sit behind the anthill,from which sprout a sisal plant making it a perfect spot for hiding. The children lay at her sides. He could find time to settle. He was the man of the house. He had to fetch the village Traditional birth attendant to tend to her. He could not let the child die so easily. He had to work hard for her life.
Maria breathed in and out, trying her best to contain the pain. Sarafino paced to and fro but never leaving his family's side. Maria broke the silence," please sit until the rebels leave this trail then you can do whatever you want to do."
He squatted near the children only for a few minutes until he assumed they had taken another way. They were no where to be seen. He patted Maria on the back, " take care of yourself. I will be back in a few minutes with the tba."
She was hesitant. He did not mind how she felt. He had to help her, and it was all that mattered. He stood out of cover carefully walking over the grass.
Four guns pointed at him when he stepped onto the path they had walked earlier on.he cursed under his breath.how did they even know that he was there. These people were indeed demons!
He recognized the boy who had earlier shot at him.
He crossed his arms against his chest," what do you want from me and my family?"
They boy wore torn worn out cloths that looked like they had been saved from a cow's mouth. He was dark .not as his colour but from the lack of bath for over three months. Dirt had tightly knotted his hair such that they looked to be in small knots. He laughed sarcastically, " I heard that your wife is pregnant and that she was almost due."
" I have strict orders to ruin you so that you never set your eyes on that child."
" I want to cut you to pieces and watch as the ground drinks up your blood."
" And then I will personally kill your wife and children "
An older one picked up," we want to cut off your family from the face of this world."
His hands curled into strong fists," you will do no such thing."
" Do anything you want to do with me but leave my family alone!"
They all laughed at once. " You are only a roaring lion now. There's nothing you can do to stop what we want to do."
Droplets of sweat formed on his forehead. They were right. There was nothing he could do to protect his family. He had failed them, especially Maria's brothers. He had promised them that he would take care of her no matter the circumstances.
He burst out laughing. He clapped more to himself " you are lying. You don't even know where they are."
" Sorry, for you plan has failed miserably!"
The oldest man ordered the young boy," cut him to small pieces and leave no flesh attached to his bones. "
"Then the cultures will bury him in their bellies!"
Sarafino laughed as the first boy approached him with an axe in hand." I can die in peace now that I am sure of my family's safety.?
With one mighty swing of the axe, he visited his ancestors as his head crossed the path, landing at the same spot they had rested a few minutes back.
The rebels enjoyed every moment of cutting flesh away from his bones . His flesh was thickly built with hardly a hint of fat beneath it's stores. They congratulated themselves as they spread it on the village path .
Maria's heart thumped wildly against her chest. He had taken long, yet he had said that he would return as soon as possible. Something was definitely wrong. How was she to survive with the children on their own amidst this war. She woke Dickens from his slumber. Her rubbed his eyes, as he stood. She handed him a white five liter Jerry can,"something has happened to your father, so you are going to help me."
She added after he had taken the jerrycan,"
Move as carefully as you can . There is a swamp the other side of the savannah. Draw some water for cleaning the baby after it's out "
Her waters broke just as she watched her son run across the grass. How careless he was. He had ignored her strict instructions. A puff of black smoke shot into the air after a loud explosion. She ignored the situation even knowing that her son was in danger. She was stuck in between a rock and a hard place.
She felt her legs go numb. She shivered as she pushed the baby. She couldn't wait to deliver to check on her son. She was a mother, and the situation could not easily leave her mind. She squatted, stretching both hands beneath her vagina so that she could the baby as soon as she delivered. It took her another push for the baby's head to be felt. She had to let thoughts of her son slip by if she wanted to deliver a healthy child.
With one last push, Maria felt her womb remain a gape as the baby sliding over her hands to the ground. Her breath normalized. It was a girl. She wailed so energetically like she was aware of the harsh conditions She broke the leaves of the sisal plant . She used it's sharp edges to cut her umbilical cord, disconnecting it from the placenta. She smiled, rocking the baby to calm," you are such a youthful girl". "Your name is Juliet. And you are so lucky. Lagum is your surname." She added, briefly breastfeeding her.
She wrapped a few leaves into a soft patch and covered them with a folded blanket. She carefully lay down the baby. All she thought about now was her son. The only heir to the three thousand acres of ancestral land previously owned by her husband.
Heaps of earth was piled around a shallow hole made by a land mine. He had stepped on the explosive. Tears brimmed her eyes as she searched through the debris for any remains of her boy.
Her legs felt limp when saw a white jerrycan lying a few meters from the explosion site. It was unharmed. She felt nauseous. Next to it was shuttered flesh. She could not tell which part of his body that was. She should never have sent him, she wished, letting free tears that had filled her eyes. She swallowed back the tears. It was no longer necessary to cry for the dead.
She had to get back to her daughter's. To see the way forward and not look back. She would contact one of her brothers for help. All she wanted was to give her daughters a future.
Finally we get to meet Maria, and her two daughters in this, my first book . Please send in comments, and any advice is highly appreciated. Don't forget to vote in the story as well.