Chapter 5- Where the heart lies



It was a hot afternoon. The scorching heat of the sun made the Alammiri warriors sweat. Soon they became very thirsty and started gasping. They had run for three market days- day and night with little rest.
Oke's head dangled from the shoulder of a tall warrior, covered with a sack. On the first day, he had shouted for help. None of the warriors asked him to keep quiet. They just let him scream. Eventually, he got tired.
He started cursing and shouting at the men. They still didn't utter a word to him. Sometimes, he heard them whisper to themselves and laugh out loud. By the third day, Oke had given up. He just kept quiet.
At one point in time, the men had behaved like someone had seen them. They hastened their steps and moved faster. After three hours of running, they slowed down. This was the first time they rested during the day. The tall warrior dropped Oke to the ground. His sack was taken off. As he opened his eyes, the brightness of day forced him to close it back. He slowly reopened it and was greeted by the sight of a small calabash, dangling from the clenched fist of a...