Kojo's pov
"I never want to lose you, Kojo. "
Those are the only word that kept playing in my mind very and over again. I could not think of anything else. But can you blame me? It took me a lot to win Dembe's heart and the fact that she had admitted to loving me was a dream in itself.
It beats logic that I could afford to think of a girl under the circumstances that we were in, but it was not just any girl. Dembe is The only girl that I have ever genuinely loved.
Growing up, falling in love had never crossed my mind. It was something I had never thought of, or rather, no man ever talked about. We were taught about marriage but no one ever mentioned love, but the moment I met D, I knew that that strange but great feeling I kept on having was love and I loved it.
"Kojo! Kojo! What is wrong with you, man? "
I was so lost in thoughts of Dembe that I had not realized that someone was calling me.
"I can bet that you are thinking of my sister right now. "
Oh! It was Amare.
I had never met and talked to him in person since I started seeing Dembe and truthfully, I did not want to.
I was not scared of him, it is just that I wanted to be ready before I did it.
My mouth surprises me at times and I did not want to take that chance.
"Oh! Amare, so it's you."
"Of course it is me. Or were you expecting to hear Dembe's voice singing you an old lovers' song? "
He was smirking stupidly and for the first time ever, I felt beaten at my own game.
I did not know what to say to him to divert his attention because I was not ready to talk about my relationship with Dembe just yet.
"Um-um... I just came out here to catch a little bit of fresh air and look at the stars, because I'm on duty tomorrow and I might never get a chance to enjoy all this again. "
"Come on, Kojo. You do not have to sound so corny around me. And who said you are not going to be here tomorrow? "
He was right. Why did I suddenly sound so corny and sentimental?
Is that what coming face to face with death did to someone?
"It is just that... "
"It is just you are worried about my sister. "
I thought that I was going to get away from this conversation but it did not seem like it.
Amare was as determined as ever to get me to talk about it.
I guess I had to be ready after all.
"You are right. I am worried about Dembe, and the rest of the village of course. "
Why did I suddenly sound so defensive?
Amare was just a young man like me.
I could talk to him without feeling so insecure. I was sure he could get me.
"Kojo, I know that this is not the best of times, but we have to talk about my sister. We need to do it right now, in case we do not have tomorrow, Just like you pointed out earlier on. "
From his tone, I could tell that Amare was also scared of the unknown.
All of us did not know what awaited us out there even as we went to battle everyday.
We feigned confidence, when deep down we were slowly crumbling, but we had to do it for the ones we loved.
Every time a group of us went out to confront our enemies, we were filled with great fear.
What if none of them never came back?
What if they were taken hostage and we're forced to bring the enemy into our camp?
And if they died, what were we going to tell their wives,their children and their parents?
What if all of us never made it and the whole village was attacked?
The fear was so thick you could cut into it, but none of us was willing to talk about it.
We were not allowed to be scared, we are warriors after all.
"Your ability to zone out is really great. I am right here, Kojo, but I am not even sure you can see me. "
Amare was laughing and I realized that I had drifted off again.
"I am so sorry. "
"It is okay to worry, Kojo. We all do. But right now, I want to know what you intentions are with my sister. I know that she loves you, but do you? "
There it was! The very question I was buying time to avoid.
I do not even know why I was not ready to talk to Amare about it, because I had never been so sure about anything like I was with the fact that I loved Dembe.
"I love her. With everything that makes me a man. "
I guess I was ready after all!
"Eeii! Calm down, brother. It is not that serious. "
Amare was laughing once more and making me so uneasy.
"Anyway, I am so happy to hear from you in person that you genuinely love Dembe.
She is my only sibling and I will not be smiling like this any day she comes home crying because you hurt her. Keep that in mind. "
"You can rest easy, Amare. I have very good intentions with D and I am never going to hurt her. "
"I see, she is no longer Dembe. Let me leave you before you start blubbing about the things you two do to each other. "
This man sure knew how to get me uncomfortable. I could not even keep a straight face around him with him going about saying such things.
I bet Dembe knew how lucky she was to have family and friends who really looked out for her. That is why she was so confident about life and that suited me just fine.
"Before you zone off again, I just want you to know that I am expecting you to show up alive, tomorrow morning. For Dembe's sake. "
And with that, Amare was gone.
He really did care about his sister and I knew I would do the same if I was in his shoes.
Barely had he gone, when my thoughts went to Dembe once more.
The memory if when I first saw her swimming the stream kept replaying itself on my mind.
The dextrous movements of her arms, the glow of her skin under the sun, her rough kinky hair which was not wet even though she had been swimming for a while, her ample breasts, which looked so pillowy and welcoming and the way water flowed down so easily along her back.
I was indeed a lucky man.
A lucky man who was going to the battle field to fight for his community and might lose his life and leave behind the only girl he had ever loved.
What a life!
That night before I went to join Mulutu and other warriors and slept, I looked at the skies and swore on the stars that I was going to make it back alive the next day for my mother and Dembe.
The two women my heart beats for.
******
Thank you for reading. =)
Isn't Kojo just adorable? 😊
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Love,
Daisy. 💋