CHAPTER 3: THE CONFRATERNITY.
Weeks went by as Regina bonded with John and started to move on. Alex could sit easily but needed help. Andrew stayed awake all night discussing his feelings with his mum. They, too, were strengthening each other like cracked, crumbling walls about to fall apart but luckily stumbled oppositely to find each other some support.
On a long random walk, Regina suggested to visit the outskirts of Naraba. Regina had seen a far away green speck and they began the miles long journey.
Upon arrival, there were lush green trees that called out to seeking peace. The forest was shrouded in mist and felt mystic inside. "So I am planning with raising funds first and foremost, be they monetary or goods", said John. "Yes, we must find benefactors first and members for beginning an organization. We need volunteers", added Regina, "as charity begins at home, we should start inside our colony". "Grandpa gave me immense hope last night. He was reading the Quran. He says its a really amazing book. He told me a line from it. It said 'with every hardship, there is ease’. It has spurred a huge initiative in my mind", said John delightfully.
Their conversation was stopped as a loud feminine cry echoed within the trees.
They began to search for the person in need of help. After a while, they saw a woman get down from a tree.
Her face was terrified and looked pale. She was no ordinary woman. Her dark chocolate tan and archetypal attire spoke a lot about her. She was not from around this place. She had multiple long braids, all made of dense, 3C coiled up curls as Regina noticed her fallow, fawny knee-long dress blend her in the barks of the trees.
They cautiously went up close to her. "Hello, are you hurt?", Regina went ahead. The women turned around startled and pulled out a dagger from under her sleeve.
"Who are you and how did you find this place?", inquired the woman. "We mean no harm. We were on a walk and heard your scream", John explained, closing the distance.
She starred widely at both of them for a while and then put her dagger back.
Regina noticed shiny crimson linings border up lovely patterns on her dress. She had read about some native tribes living in the lands outside Naraba. She thought they would have vanished by now as the articles were from nine years ago.
With the rate humanity had progressed and eaten up every inch of earth, she had not imagined the tribes survived. "As much as I remember, are you wearing a habesha kemis, they do wear a shawl too with it, right?". The woman grew fond as she saw Regina acknowledged much. "I am surprised to know your people have regard for us. Yes, its called a netela”.
Seeing they had no weapon and were harmless and new, she began, “Come, let me show you our place, we live nearby. By the way, my name is Ada. What are yours?". Her pure afrikaan tone in english accent and her deep soothing voice made Regina fall in love with her.
After the introductions, Ada began, "I was being chased by wild hogs on the way as I came out to view the devastations. From that umbrella thorn up there, I usually see places I can not go to. I come here often when I am alone and need some me-time. I have watered that one since I was a little girl", pointing out to a shady, outspread tree that really was a natural green umbrella.
"Well, John and I too go regularly on walks for a timeout. Today we discovered this new place", said Regina excited to see Ada's place.
"I have been staying up here lately too much. Alone, I sing out to the birds and we share stories until it is dark", said Ada going gloomy. "What has been bothering you so much?", asked John.
"My dad went to the Naraba city for an official meeting. The clan had captured poachers and the government was pressurizing us to release them without any penalty. Dad got angry and went to talk to the officials himself. It was when the earthquake came and took away Dad from me forever", said Ada going into tears.
"He was an overprotective person and always looked to preserve our culture and maintain its safety. His name was Hamidi. He was our tribe leader".
A fear ran up Regina's spine as she felt goose bumps and noticed the same on John's face. Ada was the daughter of Hamidi. What had they brought themselves to? How would they escape now? What if Ada knew of them already in the forest and was preparing for them a pitfall?.
"It will be alright, dear. It is hard for now, but a better time will come", John consoled Ada. She looked into his eyes and read out the same sadness amidst the hope.
"I always knew you people were like us. It was just all the elders who said never to trust an outsider. I would always love to see the lit up city from my tree and go join it. The sounds and melodies of humanity cheering drew me a lot. It looked like the sky had descended and stars wanted to enjoy with you people and not us. That was what I thought as a child", said Ada clearing away her tears.
They came to the tribe village. It was firmly fenced with barbed wires to keep out animals. The guards saw Ada and got into a respectable form. Regina noticed them give out a queer eye at her and it followed as everyone inside watched them accompany Ada to her majestic bleached tent.
She greeted them inside as she opened up a kente interstiched curtain with patches of lime and aqua colour in a chess pattern. The inside was lovely. Regina smelled a composed aroma of leather and timber. It was all so unique. A servant brought them clay cups, filled with what looked like tea. They sat down to chat on a vintage rug on the floor.
"So who is the head of the tribe now?", asked John. "I am", said Ada solemnly. John quavered a bit. Ada talked further, "It hasn't been decided yet. I am listening to the walls and people are in a majority for Adana. She is my younger sister. She is a prodigy at how my father wanted his successor to be. She believes in sovereignty while I wish for an everlasting prosperity for our people. I want our people to interconnect with your people".
She was different. She too was a new outlook of what John thought at once on beginning his mission. "What if our people do mix up well? It would be great to learn things from your people and same would go for your people advancing with us ahead", said John.
Regina badly wanted to roam around the tribe. Suddenly, a knock on the wooden frame of the tent disturbed them and Ada went outside to meet the council of viziers and went along saying she will be back in some time. They could use the time to rest.
After about an hour, Ada came back with another gorgeous girl who seemed a bit younger than her. "Hello, meet Adana, my younger sister. Adana! John and Regina I told you about", said Ada, pointing at them.
Regina noticed her sleek braids in a cute bob. Her eyes were sharp, highlighted even more by a sleek mascara. She was a beauty with a tawny, moisturized skin and rosy, full lips. Her body language was confident and dynamic. Adana greeted them with love and energy and Regina got to liking her.
After the meal had arrived, Ada took them out to see their tribe village. Everywhere, Regina could see a place she never wanted to leave.
"Over there is our school. The children learn to hunt, fish, learn about farming. It is we all had to cram names of plants that had herbal and toxic effects. From here, boys and girls go on separately to those huge huts. Boys are taught about arrows, spears and wood construction. The girls study the art of making perfumes and condiments from all the plants surrounding the Naraba land. Men are taught to hunt for the tribe and guard it while women make hides from skins of animals and clothes from cotton crops. Such is the simple way of our survival", guided Ada. Astounded, Regina and John looked around as they were being shown different parts of the tribe.
The Azizi clan held a very large area. Its spanned from the tip of Naraba's beginning, controlled all the forest and grassland bordering it to the other tip in diameter and spread further beyond sideways to the wilds. Regina could see happy children play with their masks, wooden toys and imitate warriors fighting under a tree. John noticed the women gathering at one point and discussing over what colour should they choose next for their fabrics as large pieces of textiles lay bundled on a wooden stand to dry off in the sun.
"Come, let me show you our medicinal plantations. All the medicines and herbs that we use are derived from these plants. We have aloe vera, honey brush, castor beans and shea nuts. Over that ridge are plantain and burdock. Oh look! Baobab! Gotu kola! Myrrh! These are all the new sprouting. With mother nature by our side, we won't face much casualties this year", said Ada as she moved them past the herbs. Regina thought to herself if these people really did use only nature for all their needs. How was it even possible.
"Okay, up ahead is the reason our tribe has had to keep up with so much trouble from your government", said Ada coming out into an open field and pointed away. Regina was awestruck. There were some animals she had never seen. They were the size of huge cows but had unicorn horns. "Oh my God! Rhinos! I can't believe they are alive! Did they not go extinct like seven years ago?", said John to Ada in excitement.
"That is exactly what you people were told. These are the last seven of their kind. Our people have kept guard for them as they are our guests on earth. You see, our people live deeply ingrained in our ideology of Ubuntu. It means 'I am, because you are'. It has stayed amongst us for generations and has let us outlive all dependencies", Ada explained.
"I am, because you are", repeated Regina to herself. "Hey, we can all work it out. With John's concept of renewal, your concept of Ubuntu and my dad's official approaches, we can change the geography of Naraba for our people". Both of them looked at her in awe.
"How do you plan that?", asked John.
"We think of a truce. Whatever Ada dreams of, we will be provide it to their people. In return, they teach our people their native practices and ideology. It would be an intersocietal mixture", said Regina.
"How would that be of help to our people?", both said monotonously and looked at each other.
Clearly, the people had a lot of margins. "For start, our people have never liked your lifestyle. They think that you are a violent species. It is like you are going to scavenge all of earth", said Ada. Her point had gravity. Mankind had grown so much blind and greedy that concepts of nature, preservation and the word 'enough' was unknown to them.
"And why would our people go back to living wild?, especially after such technological advancements", added John.
"And if you provide both of them the vacancies whilst keeping the originality?", said Regina with a gleam in her eyes. Both understood her point. Regina had something up her sleeve.
They grew attached to each other soon. Every day, the trio would meet in the umbrella tree and would talk about their lives, how they felt and what they wanted from their lives. They discussed their concepts and spoke about lame jokes and sometimes deep about civilizations. The group grew official over the days and John and Regina would come every afternoon to this far forest in their car.
Another day followed and their plan began.
Regina spoke to Alex to talk ahead in the official state on renewing Naraba in an exotic fashion. The old Naraba site was just ruins. The government could spend billions making up the city and before that clearing up the mess or they could let nature handle it.
According to Regina, the symbiosis that she saw at the Azizi village, she wanted that to be for everyone. That way, people could be rehabilitated soon as they could and they only had to keep a check on their wastes and keep mindful of not destroying the orders of the earth. Meanwhile, Mother Earth would revive all that site into dense vegetation and forests as soon as human interruption would leave.
This sparked up Alex's mind. He encouraged her stand and gave an optimistic response that the settlement project would be a success.
In his colony and neighbourhood, John spread the message everywhere. With a naive but welcoming leader like Ada, he could either think of vengeance for his father or see his dream get fulfilled. He began the collection of data on asking on every door to lend a hand by monetary funding or by the volunteering youth.
Everyone had been affected. He just hoped people would believe in him.
Far away, Ada spoke to Adana and her viziers. One amongst Ada and Adana had to become the new leader. Adana rejected it wholly and left the meeting. The viziers said they would think over it.
After Hamidi had died, both the girls were in a conflict on nearly all views. But Ada, being the elder one, had to show compassion. She just believed her people would trust in her dream of the merging.
She had seen her people left to die all her life, in plagues and wars if they could not keep up. This would guarantee every right of her people to live. If she could make things simple for the weak, their tribal claims of socialism could be accomplished. She just wished they could see what prosperity she was able to see. War and conflict had no answer other than another war. But what if she had trusted the wrong people. What if Adana was the better successor? What if she was just a weakling who believed in mere love? Only time could tell.
It was the dead of the night when the sound of hooves galloped right into Ada's tent that she nearly shrieked as she came to life. It was Adana. She dismounted at once and ran to her sister out of breath.
"How...could..you trust those..people so plainly...and give them our land!", her voice grew fiercer as her low sound gathered strength. "What happened to you? Come sit", said Ada worryingly, offering her a glass of water.
"I used one of her hounds with me for a journey with our intel spy. We tracked that John guy to an already familiar home. Did he tell he is the son of that Richard Vince?", said Adana vigorously.
Ada held her hands to her face in horror as she had given up her father's struggle so easily to an enemy. It was that same enemy that gathered a revolt against him and took away the tribes people. She was shattered. Adana went out fiercely, ending the conversation with, "I hope you know what you are doing, and if you don't settle things straight, I will have to do it myself".
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