I looked out of my wooden window, far into the horizon, I could hear the faint laughter of the little children playing in the yard but then it faded off into the distance, I sat a while, and yearned to hear the familiar voices from beyond the mountain, they beckoned to me with their voices

Awero sweet child of the brave hunter

Awero come home, the elephant has been killed

Tonight we will hold a feast

With my voice full of uncertainty, I spoke softly and gave my reply, as I always did, I begged for a little more time for yet, I must marry Aremu though he didn’t come. I heard them chuckle and in a sing-song voice replied “Aremu awaits at the door, go to him, and afterwards come to us, for your father demands we keep the trunk of the elephant for you” …

I felt water splatter all over my face and the cold torrents almost chocked me. I opened my eyes slowly and saw mother standing with a bowl of water on her hand and a smirk on her face “good morning mother”, I said, while visibly frowning at her rude awakening, prompted, I asked, “what was that for?”, she smiled and said “mama Alani came by yesterday night but you were already fast asleep, she came to aplogise”, not very interested, I said “well I guess I accept her apologies”, “Awero, mother started again, she didn’t come to apologise alone, she gave an explanation for her son, my inlaw’s delay, she said Aremu arrived at her front door very tired and weary yesterday and that he needed rest as it seemed to have been a very long journey,she said they would be here at noonday”. “Great, I replied, I’m very glad to hear that mother”. I didn’t pay much attention to all she said, I couldn’t, the dream had remained engraved in my mind and my head felt light, it had seemed so real and true, I could even still hear the vioces ringing in my head “Awero, the elephant soup is steaming hot, we need you to come and serve your fathers”…this wasn’t a dream afterall, I thought to myself. But then again, I shrugged, hadn’t I always had these strange hallucinations of going to a place faraway…a place of no return? I thought of Aremu, and immediately stood to go have my bath at the stream and prepare for his coming, albeit the second time.

The drums rolled, the women sang and danced and I looked through my window at this picture…this painting, it didn’t look so nice, it didn’t look like those Western paintings I once saw in my dreams, the kind that drew my heart and my emotions, it didn’t look like the picture of those beautiful mornings where the birds perched right on my window…it looked liked the picture of death and though, I tried to wave of the dark feeling creeping slowly over me, I knew deep within me that I was being led to my death, Aremu was my death.