Wakeful Nights
Published by Peter Lumba at Smashwords
Copyright 2011 Peter Lumba
Smashwords Edition License Notes
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Also by Peter Lumba Published at Smashwords
African Greenhouse Cooking Kit(Non-Fiction)
Not Even The King’s Daughter(Fiction)
Four days With Grandfather(Fiction)
Moth’s Pursuit of Beauty(Fiction)
The Guardian Angel Of Stolen Love(Fiction-Adult)
The Sexism Path Gets Narrower And Darker(Non-Fiction)
CHAPTER 1
There once lived two young twin brothers whose names were Galana and Sagana. They lived in a small quiet African village called Nyika with their parents. Their father, Batian, owned a rich farmland around his homestead of mud, grass-thatched huts. In the farmland, Batian primarily grew maize, beans and bananas among other secondary crops. Besides, he kept large numbers of cattle, goats and sheep. Since he did not have sufficient grazing land around his homestead, it was the responsibility of his only two sons to take the animals down to the plains for grazing. Even though the two round-faced brothers were identical in more ways than one, Galana was leaner, cleverer and more cunning than Sagana. He too had a dear friend called Tana, whom he treasured very much. Tana was a young pretty girl from a neighbouring village. At the age of fourteen, she was a year younger than Galana. Despite their homes being at least two kilometres apart, the two teenagers took pleasure in meeting regularly to share lovely stories.
Galana and Sagana not only worked in their father’s cornfields in shifts, but also took the animals for grazing in turns. That is to say, while Galana would be working in the cornfields, Sagana would be grazing the animals in the plains and vice versa.
Initially, wild cats frequently preyed on Batian’s herd of cattle and flocks as they grazed in the plains. However, with time, Batian had managed to trap and kill all the bothersome beasts with the exception of one leopard. In his struggle to eliminate the wild cats, he was able to kill two lions, a leopard and a cheetah. After killing each animal, he skinned the carcass, dried the skin and kept it in the granary for future possible use. In spite of trying all possible methods to trap the cunning leopard, all his efforts were in vain. His animals therefore still faced the risk of falling prey to the mysterious wild cat. As a result, he repeatedly emphasized to his sons the need for being on the alert every time they took the animals to the plains. Notwithstanding the danger therein, both boys preferred taking the animals for grazing to working in the cornfields, for they found no fun in farm work.
One day, tired of working in the cornfields, Galana began thinking up a plan to ensure that his brother worked there permanently. He said to himself, “If only I could find a secret way of protecting the animals from attack by the wild cat, then Sagana would permanently work in the cornfields.” He spent days and sleepless nights thinking of a solution to this problem. Then one night, an idea crossed his mind. The next morning, he secretly went to the granary where his father had kept the skins of the wild cats he had killed. He used one of the lion-skins to make a disguise that would make him look like a lion. Hopeful that his idea would work, he went to the grazing field and hid his disguise in a safe place. Later, he realized with amusement that every time he put on the disguise and walked on all fours, he would easily scare off the leopard whenever it came near his father’s animals. As a result, while Sagana continued to lose at least a sheep or a goat to the leopard within every fortnight, Galana no longer lost animals to the wild beast.
It did not take their father long to notice this new development. Consequently, he called his two sons together to declare his observation. “My sons,” he began, “there is something interesting I have observed of late.” He gave a brief pause. The two boys stared at their father attentively. Then he continued, “I have noticed that while Sagana is losing at least a sheep or a goat every fortnight, Galana is no longer losing flocks to the wild beast.” Sagana quickly looked at Galana enviously.
“Therefore,” continued their father, “henceforth you Galana would be taking the animals for grazing, while Sagana would be working in the cornfields permanently. That is the new arrangement, my sons.”
CHAPTER 2
No sooner had Batian left his two sons alone, than Sagana turned to face his brother. “Brother,” he called in a pleading voice, “you know how tiring it is to work in the cornfields day after day, so please, tell me your secret of protecting the animals from the wild cat.”
Looking at his brother in amusement, Galana replied, “No brother! If you know that working in the cornfields is hard, why do you think I will tell you my secret? Don’t mention it! You continue working in the cornfields and I will continue taking care of the animals.” Then Galana walked away proudly leaving his brother disappointed.
After that incident, there was hardly any meaningful communication between the two brothers. Nonetheless, Sagana faithfully worked in the cornfields daily. After a long season of hard work of ploughing and planting their fields with corn, it was now time for the farmers to rest and wait for the rains to come. Therefore, just like the other farm workers, Sagana had his well-deserved break. However, it pained Galana to see that his twin brother had ample spare time. Galana also wanted more leisure time to go and share stories with his friend, Tana. Thus, he went to his brother and said to him, “My brother, Sagana, it is no good for me to be so selfish! I have decided to come and share my secret with you!”
Seeing through Galana’s attempt to deceive him, Sagana replied, “No my brother, I have worked hard in the cornfields and now it is my time to rest. Your sudden change of heart is meant to rob me of my well-deserved break. For that reason, it is fitting that you should keep your secret to yourself.” Just then, Sagana walked away from his brother leaving him terribly upset.