‘ANarrojy Escape He had beaten her up again thi Bight, even more viously than ver before. Une iron .pper tooth had been knocked in, and it nly fang loose onto the sires ofthe inner gum. The inside the upper lip was lacerated, it had barely suvived th sharp claws PF maddened leopardess. The whole ip drooped Sellen over her ‘mouth, forcing it out of shape, so thatitlooked like that of tortie, She also had found herself unable to swallow the saliva that kept ‘weling up into her mouth; nor could she ick clean that which kept ilecting inthe comers of the mouth and then dripping ono her powom. The hard knees of his clenched fis, big ike the head of {giant python and rough like the bark of a hard dry tee, had also blackened the right eye, and the lower lid was puffed up, with its tft inside turned out rather like a loose peeing of an overboiled fender sweet potato Tears mingled with thick clotted blood kept oozing out, again dripping onto her breast. She could fee the blood ‘hrobbing and pulsting under the eyelid close to the nose bridge, ‘wth the persistent pain penetrating deep down into the very core of the sinus veins. He had banged her forehead hard against the mud wal of the ht, repeatedly, and now the two decorative tattoos shone too bright on the ovestreiched skin. The forehead too w wvth te swelling. Every par of her head felt bruised and s the neck muscles under her nape and below the ears were hot and ‘ff. She was breathing widk much dificult, as her anks and the sibs abov hot and sore with pulsating cramps. He ‘had planted his big Fock onto the small of her back as she lay face down, digging into her sft spine withthe rough ragged heel, while he repeatedly kicked her withthe rough toes of the the, pulling at ter hair inthe end withthe rough fingers ofboth of his hands. He had returned from a drinking fpee tht evening. And then fiom what he alleged tobe quite a long distance, he had heard thebaby crying loudly, a mes its voice hing the very apex a Ditch and turing into an exhausting shel hse, “Lheard the baby crying when I was very far away, and iti on eying fre very ong time. Why was the baby eying? Wi ‘wer you then? Who were you wit? What were you doing they “Iwas giving her bath, You know very wall that babi al ry when they are being given a bath” “Don't ever ie tome, woman,” he exploded, lashing cut wit ‘cous lap, using the back of his right hand, the baboca cpa Which man were you with?” he shouted as be sicek | clei, holding herby both ofthe shoulders. His rm grip ain shook the collarbons right out of ther sockets “Todsy ben fave to tell me which man comes here whenever Iam ne ceeunt he hissed, clenching his teeth igh to bear the rage ‘And so, the beating had stated [Whenever Liko was beating his wife these days, nobody in entre village of Nthondo dared 10 intervene Nobody had evenand ofen very briefly. And sit was that nobody came to reseue ‘Njelek that tly night as she wailed loudly outsider main bat twas diferentin the past nthe many months tat had gone by. ‘Then is od grandmother Mulaya was stl live. Bectuse whenever she heard Neleka wailing loudly, abgye Lika’ explosive inslts fnd accusations, and the hollow thu of his bids to he cage, ‘Mulaya would era othe troubled compoung, ing fat on all four lite an agitated cab, She wduld then foreelly lant herself betwee hepa 3 4 “Yau will have to kill me ft before you kil Ypur wife," she woud isp to him in tremulous voice, weakened with both the er and the rage, her thin lips remblingapé-smaring, her Sunken toothless gums sprinkling a generous ao of pte in every Girecton, and er retreating watery «jes piccing Lko's own with sparkling md fry aot Lilo would then hesitate. twas ot ber pial ttre that he feared rather it was the spit in het She embaiec the spirits of all thow ers ofthe extended family who had gone 10 the otter ‘wold, Nothing on earth was ever as potent as her case. She also commanded his respect by the sheer power of her will, and she tlnays spoke wih hat cvine ir of authority a8 bow age and filial sas woud ever bestow ‘Grindmosher, she does nt listen to me" he would say a8 he stepped bic, viciously wringing his fingers to contain bis own rage. All the ime se does not fellow my instucions. am the nly main inthe house” day tell you this If she doesnot iste to you then ke her back che people. Tell tem what itis that she does wrong. They will advise her Then she will mend her ways. Not beat er ike Yyouare always doing. You wil ill her one day. Andif thats what you want, Lam ony asking ou to wait until Iam dea, Then you anki hell you want Andif know what he spins aetinking, you wil aot hive very long owt”‘Then Liko would soften up. That would be the end ofthe fig He would subside and exhale his anger loudly like a deftated BA, ashe st down ena stool. ‘But Mulaya was now long gone, Njeleka realised that she had lo something to save her own life Liko would never stop beat he She would now be teibly disfigured, as she was cbvious losing ane front upper toth. She needed 0 escape or else he we Kil he. She had heard in the past about husbands who had Kile their wives. Ofcourse she had not believed such stories But ace she was coming closer io believing them She just needed to aay, she told herself. (On one ofthe several previous occasions, Headman Nthondo, wh vas Likc'smateral uncle, had himself cycled tothe village whee Nielekacame from. On arriving there, hehad briefed his counterpan Headmar Mulopwe, who was Njeleka’s maternal uncle, about hoo ‘heir daughter was no living well “We are finding it very difficult to intervene.” Nthondo said “You esthe problem that she does not complain atl twanyboss about the beatings. If she did, we would assemble elders and ec the matter once and fr al" Deep down his hear, Nthondo was doubtfil as to whether Lik would eve allow people to assemble wad str to discos hs marcd ffs et alone go slong with whatever would be thet resohaien Nihondo's hope was thar Njleka’s rlatives would themscloes tmterene, that they wauld come and cisim her back by fone ut You see my fellow inlay,” Mulop we said, visibly woubled futbeing very careful thecresescn his Forehead showing the sheer intensity of is thoughts. He was having to choose his word Sit we fore her back 1 our village, the mariage wll end, and then she Will be blaning us for meddling ito her marital afairs Nibondo's hopes were dashed, He fel terbly apprehensive. He id not know where Liko's cruelty would teed to. Bur he hada 7‘ie ight bellow wehad 0 his own part, he Fel, by informing the relatives about the beatings Ifthey chose todo nothing about the mater, it would not be because they had not ben tld. So they would not have any sight to blame sim. ‘Nevertheless, something was tried out Mulopwe instructed ‘hee of Neleka’s brothers in the extended fam to pay er acasual vist pretending that they were just passing by. They could not go there and tell her straightaway that they had come to attend to her imarial problems because she had not reported any. Rather, they ‘pould pretend to have come to some neighbouring vilages looking FPraheifertobuy and to have then taken advanageof the proximity tocall at her home and just see how she was, with the children and her husband, "You have done well have come to see me,” she said, at a convenient point when they had setled down and had recovered their breath. “Tam in good health, as you can see for yourself, and ‘yur brother in-law isin good health oo.” “And whete is he himsel?” enquired Mbizule, another one of er numerous brothers. “fe has gone tothe feds," She lied. He nad gone to the next silage to drink, and she was already worried about what would happen when he resumed later inthe da. "But my sister, are you happy?” asked Néombo, who vas her immediate elder brother He looked at her sraight into the eyes, scninisng the pupilsto sse whether they would squintin hesitation. “The wrinkes on his brow shoved that he waned an honest answer “Lam living. well” she replied, averting her eyes from his. piercing gaze. She reached out her hesitant hand for a dry wig, troke it into half using the thumb and two ofr fingers, threw one flava, and then used the other half wo serach and poke wide an anthale nest to where she was siting "No, do not hide, my sister," insisted Makoza, another one of her ‘others, “We have been hearing that he is aay’ beating you. Tell ‘the tat, so that we can help you”“Who is saying that he is always beating me?” Njeleka ash, rather defensively “Canta man have a small quarel with his w ‘Don't you yourselves sometimes quarrel with your wives? 1 ‘asking which one of you doesnot differ wih his wife times?” “Yes, men do quatel with their wives,” suid Makoza. “But » ‘we hears tht he actually bers you very often and that he doe: ‘very badly, That snot what many men doto thei wives, my sist, “No itis not tre,” Neleka persisted. “Yes, he has beaten once or twice. But what does that matter?” Which real wife ever been disciplined by her husband once or so? This is WE some people ae not good, meddling into other people's affairs. T Should just mind their own mariage, nt other people's” She tensed up in anger, shrogging er shoulders and pouting her lip iter eispleasure as she intensified her scratching of the earth ‘As far as Njeleka was concemed, she loved her husband v much and she was intent on Keeping her mariage. As far as knew, no person inthe world was ever perfect. Every person something good about him, and then also something bad. L was a very resourceful husband. She and her children never hungry. They never went abou naked ether and he was very sto ahysicaly, perfectly potent. As to handsomeness, he was perfor all ight, by the conventional standards of men's physical outlo. hich dictated that andsomeness was feminine. No she was g0 ‘okeep her mariage toLiko, She was going tolive by what shel been ght o simply close her ears off and not to mind what people around her were saying. If she listened to them, she wo ‘ose her marvage, and then the very people now encouraging he leave her hushard would be the very ones laughing at her as hav iled lo maimain her marriage “We are not saying that you should leave your husband, no,” s Ndombo in a tone intended to soten er defensiveness. “What are saying is thal ihe is erul to you, if he beats you too often, ‘example, his people and our people canst dow together with 1 and advise him to desis from it. The marriages all yours, Nob will end it for you. You see, a man can quarel with his wif, 1 6‘weal do ftom time to time. But he doesnot have to go on beating ‘ou. Asiter differing should just end in harsh words that's all. SO jve are ot saying thal you should end your marriage” "Ne, he doesnot beat me too often,” she insisted. “He has done ienly once or twice But not to much as people seem to have told Besides, she feared that she would attract more frequent and severer beatings by having elders tlk to Liko on the matter She tvas mich better off nt disclosing the beatings, she concluded. She Tyas a woman, she reasoned to herself, and as a woran, she was __txpected to always obey her husband and to even bear his beatings. "They say that person who Fels the movement ofthe bowels at right isthe one who opens the door to go out and reieve himself,” he Néombo wearily "What ean we da? We just wanted 1 help. But if he owner fees that she does not need our hel, we just have foleaveitat that, But letus not be blamed in future for having dane nothing about the matter” “What matter?” she sid again defensively “There is no matter todo anything about here” ‘And s0 the three men late cycled back to their village, When Mulopae sas told about Njeleka’s response, he remembered what he had sid to his counterpart in-law, and he felt sufficiently ‘indicted. He also advised there and then for nothing more to be done about the mate. " You 522" Mulopoe std to the smal ynhering in Font of his hawse "Sisters can be very dificult Ifyou ry to reszue them from ‘bad fusband, they wil en on you later and blameyou for trying {odestoy their maniage Njeleka has already skown his behaviour. Sothere is nothing we can do. It is her own matriage and itis her ownlife” “They are like bitch which is being pursued by many male dogs," intejected M'kotwe, the oldest inthe clan ard in the entire vilage- It was as though old age had given his toiless mouth lance to be sou. "Do you see what a bitch does? If you see itbothered too muchby the males, you may feel pity frit and decide to rescue it fora vile. But den when you try to chase away the ‘males, your bitch wll be the very ist to run away into the bush Shere the mas en follow” | This comparisen drew loud mirhful protest from the side where the women were ating. As they scrambled back onto ther fet, they chattered plantively not having relished the comparison. All the same, they liked the jovial atmosphere that it had created afer the tensed up discussion of Nieleke's Frustrating proud respons. “Yes, that is how you sisters behave,” M'kotwe insisted as he tottered back onte his feet and the walking stick, is knees end ‘clbows trembling, dusting of his bottom afer all the effor. “That was sometime beck. Today, however, Njeleka had finally decided to un away, 0 leave Like for good. She had decided to save her life. She no longer tated what people would say. Her life was more important han the marriage She needed to save her life, ot only for her own sake but so at mainly fr that of her three children The children needed her alive She knew fron past experience that Liko would not sirbacc consciousness, st lzast until the son was actually peeping throu thr horizon tothe exst The roosters se village had jst erowec the third round, 2d soon smaller wild birds in rhe ousirs woole Sar twikenng, lo celebrate the new dawn, which would be her ney dan too, It eas time to start off. She would not tell anybod it case they ried to stop her oF announced her atempt to Rie. She Svould just sneak out oF the hut, quietly, leaving Liko sill snarin, oily‘ the red mat Their five months old baby was with then jn the but, lying lose © her armpit. She would carry her alone tne’s ow child was never too heavy to carry onthe back, it wa lays said. The ther two children were sleeping in their paterne ‘xenemother’s hatin the mai par of the village. She would hav 8| decide yg lene them behind. Waking them up woud slet many other ray the! peopleand then Liko would also wake up She wined at the mere the bush, gh of what be would do to her once Re escovered What she fa nent on doing Besides, the eilren would not walk at the de where | ace required; they would nly slow ber down Is fll y's cree, | Fumes to et village, walking bisky. They were also much safer sn. All| tpt way, She id not want to dvell much onthe posit of her fer ig tac yw airs eer hah at gd ed | Fie har consciousnes from ime to dine, The villages were very ste] fy and the game management sen svar otf aay Quite and | hen, dephans had stayed into peol’ sis, Lion had alsobeen | psec on and ff exch year, These were the most daxperous 0 of |, Rewit spices known soir, apart fom the mambas. But Njeleka |) Ntaldnot be siopped by anything, fouregged bea or siherng, | reptile | pndsoshegotu,slowiyandcaefily Shed notneedanything eave | eisetowear. She was sil in the dress in which he tad besten her. longer), yastom onthe le shoulder and under the righ armpit and it ante) ad bods al over to the Fon, especially immediatly below but |r fate, Bt she could norsk alerting Lio by rusting around in ceded |) the dak for something cue cleaner to wear The loth on which the baby ly was suficent a8 «cover for er own shoulders and the tol) paby'stead while that which she hers was using fra blanket, ough | yuld serve Forth baby’s hammock. Ske tiptoe tothe door redding er bel to avoid her soles sraping the mud compacted floor Id She uhookd the stout stick used to fasten the door agains 0 ew | ples Ana to the ground, ted the door and puske it o one yin | ice icing it defy wih the outer side ofthe te of her right She | font he snayed is Fe side a lite inward and then pulled the fxing | wile dor back, at an angle o shield the gaping doorway. She sem | tok ater risht breast, in eadinesstoslence the Biby incase she ong, ]siredandtheatened lo wiper orc. Se plot bck the vas baby, scooped her no her arms, lifting her up byte armpits, and itd er stow her fet breast wit he let am, Wile she gave her ef] the nip of the sgh breast wo suckle. She rocked the baby to and 9fro genly with her torso, fighting the usual instinct to hiss and in sotting accompaniment. When the baby had relaxed backe ‘slep, with the nipple gently clamped between the Font ots de ‘gums, Njeleka scooped the two pieces of cloth and threw them + her right shoulder. And then nimbly, holding back her breath, tiptoed outside, drawing the door back into fosition using the than and the sle of one Foot. "The dogs were what she feared would beray her; tree bit and four of what had remained of ther previeus offspring after rest ia been sold of. They always lay aroure the wool fire at ‘centre ef the flor in a shelter in the mide of the compound, knew that they were always ale. But she was gratefully rele ‘hen they just lay all after they had smelt her, only wagging tails weakly to show that they had recognised her. I was the + that kept them at bay, or else they would have bounded forw prancing about and whining loudly to demonstrate ther affec for er That would have avakened Liko. But they just kept ‘peace, their snouts comfortably resting on the front paws, and ¢ ‘ears haaging loose behind each eye "And 50 she stuntered out of the clearirg of the compot taking she footpath sviking out behind the maize granary. small feotpah was leading towards a much wider one that in ‘was leaing into road that connected the vilage with the dis ‘others She was only able to breathe freely when shehad reaches ‘outskirts of the village and had entered the ultimate road, which ‘side enough to allow two oxcats to eross each other ‘Themoon was onthe underside, as Uey would ay, end then was dak closer to the earth, although the shy was fast becom brighy espciallyto the enstem horizon wher: the sun would s emerge The wind was gentle but terribly coldso that her eyes v perpetually submerged in biting teas. The upper lip had gone br SH inthe cold breeze, and the throbbing pan simply tore thro. her upper jaw Both swellings vibrate jellyike in rhythm x hr three the one below her eye and the other on her brow. “10and c00 ck into) ts docile On| he at, she the fre | _yould have clenched her teeth in sheer determination to escape her Fisband, but er jaws were on fire, on account ofthe upper toh {ir was hanging loose. And so she just swallowed har, wincingin proces as she ied the baby securely onto her back. She spread A her ck piece of cloth, holding itby the strategic comes, and ‘row it behind her, to cover her own shoulders and upper arms, as isl as the baby’s head. She fell back onto the ron leading to her “hag fill day's journey tothe south, Se was half walking end haf tote, gasping and panting. “phere was a sharp bend at the point where the road was abbut to | Spposch he main watercourse ofthe river ioe. That curve tad Teerto creumvent large all bare ail. As one approached the hl the slope became somewhat steeper, and one always walled | ey ning backer sa nbn on spg own. Bul behind the mound, the slope became gentle, unt itewed Sno the water's edge Atthis ime of the yea, the river was sll ‘aaning firly fst, Buton acount ofa brief spell in the April rans, {tus lap possible for any strong willed woman to eros without ty assisance. And in any case, Neleka was not just any woman row, she was someone holding her destiny inher own hands. She twas morethisn prepared for any raging rivet “Thy san was perping on the hoizca tothe east when Njeleke stared desecading the steep slope ite ould see a Tong distance in evey direction, except forthe tall acacia tres on either side of the ro. She could hea the frogs eroaking in the direction were the was heading, She could also see that there had been 2 fog daring the night, but that it had now cleared, leaving transparent ‘wisps fcatinghesitany above the elephant grass downstream to, the west As she reached the curve, she felt the skin atthe back. of her neck creep, craw, and twitch, and the hair above her mape Stood on end. She stopped. A sudden cold shiver scuted from the nbase of her spe, tckled through her shoulder blades andthe sp in between, and crawled up to the back of her head. She stil herself to listen around, looking carefully but quickly both bet her and infront. All the Fogs ad erick had now gone abso Auies, she quickly noticed, excep othe fr left and tothe fa ri slong the river. The only external sound that she could hear was that ofthe bird whose continuous screeching was well kne for announcing temible danger. It would often be ether @ man slithering on is tail with its head held up inthe ar, giant pyt basking pnceflly onthe clearing ofan antl, a leopard esting the forked branch of thomy acacia tree an licking its laws cle ‘oF indeed a ion prowling casually inthe tal elephant prases ale the riverbank, with bush les buzzing around its nostrils and ey ‘The other sound was that of her own hear as it pounded so inside her chest and the continuous ouzz inthe head as the ble kept rushing into her bran. She waited, as she struggled to thi "tying the best she could to ealm herself dowa, ‘Njeleka was almost certain that there was something turk somewhere, most likely at the wate’s edge, now nat inher vi fn account ofthe antill Ske debated within herself as to whet to wait litle longer, forthe danger to pass. But then she quic thought of Liko. She didnot know how he was taking her abse from their hut. He definitely was up and out now, and if he f guessed that she was attempting to escape back to her own vill: he would be coming in hot pursuit Whatover danger lay ahead, rerninded herself. was nothing compared to the fury with wh Liko would come after her. Going tack was absolutely out of (question and waiting much longer was equally perilous. She dcit to go ahead. Her usual tendency at ths point would have beer Diteher lower lip viciously, asa way of holding firmly tight grip her strong determination. But she quickly fought back the instix because the throbbing pain all over har hea threatened to returt ‘The baby was sil sleeping atthe back where she was secur strapped. Njeleka eased up the ends ofthe hammock and then shit herto the front, beneath hele bread, leaving both armpits feb “2oo {the space| per propulsion, again just out of sheer survival instinct. She took out 7 sled. fright bean readies silence the baby i she awoke. Then behind | ding her own breath tightly, he eaeflly sumed towards the solutly | ant ene mound, caning up her neck as as she could 0 4310 far ight | Boab toss beyond her onm height Aer ging round the cuve, ‘ow | tshewas in view ofthe var abou a strong sone throw aay, she iI known | cguld not see anything else on either side of the road. She breathed mmamba Sigh though cautious, and decided to advice with quick Soh python | eps She was just about 0 relax guard completly, and then she tingon | jearé some nisting inthe all elephant grass to her left but in Font She ust went fozen. Tat loud buze in her eas resumed, as slong | the ear shok her bosom again, fray. Tow but deep raspy | ural pur from the roadside rose above the buze in het head, peters” went The blood in her hearturded. Nelka fl blood | giazy at irs then numb all over, before shelly slid inta stupor | She sod tantined tothe spt her open palmspread onthe baby’s | back protectively andthe righthand clenched into a tight fst but | nging stfly beneath the ip. She as able tse everthing, but view | twas rater lke ina cream Although both her feet were firmly ther | planted onto the ground, she could not feel her own weight; it was picky | though se was floatingina thik ellyofnchingness. She could feu butt wae a though ie ees were not he own, and as tough had | She was sexing though ome water ‘And tes one lrg arimal, with the amber colour ofthe drying speelehan ras, emerged Like giant poy, but with shor ears Uke thee fs nora et and the et mile of ea aed asthough pray inthe clearing of he oad, themassive shoulder ded | blades taking tts as they stood out toping inthe middle, i 10 | tamed is head and looked inthe direction ct Nella, is eyes ‘eight and spring and its long smoot al twiting and tithing pad down rather suagesvely and in shyhnic undulating waves, |) kes ply cat that had spotted either aor lizard Then i ly | sumed back asta ignore er presence, ad walked on to he ight | sae the rod, wher it iy down nthe sho geen grasses as if |} ‘ovaitin oc ambush. The continued ring the as tthe 3Jef suggested thet there was sill anther beast there, perhaps lor perhaps several, Njeleka could just not tell. Shot after, «buy, nal emerged, but stood stil onthe edge of te road, with bhndquaters stil hidden inthe thick grasses It kept slashing at © ‘vast with it huge long tal, as it gazed at Njeleka with its bla yes Itwas the sameamber colour ofthe other beas. But unlike ati animal whose neck was bare and smooth his one had lo anes all ovr its neck, with splashes of Back, and its ears cov barely be noticed. Shaking the manes vigorously, it bent dow gathered « huge tut ofthe grass into one bundle, using its tons {nthe fashion ofa cow, uprooted it with 2 massive bite and hea pulling with its age jaws and neck, and then tossed it up and acre the road to near where the other animal lay hiding, The one 10 right got up and repeated the gesture, tossing a huge tft ofthe grt ‘Mh the brown thick mud sl tuck tothe roots, The huge anit to the left initiated the ritual once more, andthe one to the i jpromplly responded. And then a respite ensued "Afra bret spell of silent inactivity, the animal tothe sig emerged back ino view. Keeping along he edge othe road, a8 if elberate cautiousoess, it advanced towards Njeleka, came close the hems of her dress and set about sciffing her loudly is tail st tiring an twitching in undulating waves. Asif satished with ¢ nffing it tumed and walked away as if towards the water’ ed but sapped inthe middle of the roed nea where the other ai a> al hiding Facing to the igh, with ts hindqarers tothe le itsuated down ensconced and then emptied its bladder, casual but daily, the feoet making the sound of the wind whist through the reds, and the urine quickly spreading out into them. ols of the rain washed pebbles onthe rad, The beast othe ‘ide ofthe road now emerged into the road too. It was much bigs than the other one It front legs were also much bigger, andi pws would spread out wide as itseteach fot down deliberately the pebbles. It came to stand where the other ane was. It sniffed the trie briefly looked up and gazed at Njelekt, as if undecide and siffed atthe urine again. Looking straight ahead it bound ahaps two, garward towards where its companion was waiting by the edge ‘er, huge fhe road, And then the pair walked on into the thickness ofthe. 4, wih its phan grases. Soc the hyserieal bird was heard sreching ving atthe ther downstream, And tat was when the fogs by the water's tsblazing (ge resumed their ereakng and he eckets the screchig unlkethe “"jeleka was only roused back to fll consciousness by the +d Tong, py, who bid now started quioning and whimpering in iocent sas could pcs gata the col reese. Neleka raised then at her ght -Prent was sil anging out Thrusting the nipple ito the baby's te ith litle instinctive bis of reassurance. she bounded eave | Fl hal walking an al rig. and tipping on soneooe sdacross| pes The water vas rather col, especialy a he edges where ‘0 thee carrent flowed slowly. But she dd ot elit much, she stad the grass posime to feel it. She plled up one side of the hems of her ress «© eninal | “and plunged right into the water, not even thinking about how deep the right) the main watercourse had become since the torrential rairs had | sured in ery December The water was almost wasine deep the right gpd she had 0 itch up the Baby Yo prevent her from geting her Lasifin gall fet wet She did ot mind herself, he held onto the hems Gloseo| fer desig, but ony so as tolessea the eet ofthe strong tal sill Ganentin the midcl of the minsreem with the | She was now’ on the opposite bank when panic aripgd her. AS "sedge | she acended the slope, she hada Rashbac ofthe whole incident ‘animal and she trembied when she realised just how lucky she had been thelef, ig ecage ihe pas and We jaws of those two Beasts, Ske was vasually not certain us 10 what animals they were, although she strongly Wisling | Sspeted them to be Hons besause they fied the despton " ‘tlins perfectly well She knew of many stodes where ons fesued nd se was almost convinced thet those were indeed the eves. But she didnot need any explanation 2 to how dargeous they were, ter looks alone could tll She doubled her pace, althaugh she could not clench her teth or bite her lowe lip ance the efor, as her mouth vas tery sore. All her senses Tad now retired She half anand half walked, ll the wy back coher village 15“That was a female ion and it's male,” sid Simpha at agathe ‘where Njeleka narrated about her narrow escape. As an experier Inunter himself he knew the behaviour of ions very well The ri [Njeleka had wimested was thatthe lion had been intent on ki thet but that the lioness had been totally opposed tothe idea, fee pity ona human being nd her child especially. So, going down « her knees and urinating was the humblest act of pleading with, Tonto just let the mother and her baby live “That was now on the momting of the following day. Neleka arived at Mulopore village dep in the night announcing ner am ‘with the walling on top of her voice. Because that was when she: terribly sad about her elatonship with Liko. And the ene vil hned now gathered to hear wiat had happened, both a the villa her husband and oa the way to her own. “You see, my’ sist,” said Ndombo, scolding her impatie “You were hiding the truth when we were aking you thatday al how your husband was ieting you. You see now how rou ha fe, even risking being exten up by lions. ‘Mulopse assembled the same group of young men as befor {0 to Ntondo village that same day to bring the children who remained. For according tothe tradition, they belonged to 1 mother As for Like, he could do whatever he wanted, Njeleka not going back to him, and ithe wanted to marty another wor replace her that was wel and good. ButNjleka was going now and that was that. ‘On thei way to Nthondo village, Ndombo and the two ot sade sure to tie an axe and a spear each on the carriers of 1 bicycles. They knew Liko quite well 16