Arrows, Bones and Stones

by Donna White

  Charlie smiled. “But you have that courage. You are here, yes? You escaped. There is your courage there. You have it. How can you say you are wanting what you already have?”

  “Yes, I escaped. But not of my own doing.” Eseza looked into the hut and watched the slight rise and fall of Sam’s chest. “If it was not for her, I would still be in the LRA camp, preparing meal for the general, ordering the children, and preparing for the raid on the next village.”

  Charlie stood and looked into the hut. “Who is that?” he whispered.

  “That is Sam. She is muzungu. She threw the hot water on the general and took me away in the truck. We traveled down the river and footed it here the rest of the way.”

  “She is smart.”

  “Yes.”

  “Then I am thinking that not all the bazungu are stupid.”

  “No.” Eseza smiled and patted Charlie’s foot. “She is wanting you to tell her about the stone. It was a stone that brought her here, but she is scared and does not want to stay in Uganda. She is wondering how to get home.”

  “A stone brought her here? Like Bruce and Scott?”

  “Yes, that is what she say.”

  “Then I must talk to her,” Charlie said as he stepped into the hut.

  “Wait.” Eseza put her arm across the door, stopping him from going any farther. “She is tired now. Let her rest.”

  “And you must rest.”

  “Yes, I will. But tell me this. Where are Salume and Maisha?”

  “Salume has footed it to the refugee camp. She was scared scared when you disappeared, so she took Maisha and her children there.”

  “Eeh? It is as I thought just.”

  “Naboth has also disappeared. There are no sign of the LRA. But we cannot think of—”

  “He was taken. I saw him at the LRA camp. They beat him quite badly.”

  “They were wanting to hear about the Arrow Boy?”

  “Yes.”

  “And did he speak?”

  “No.”

  “Nothing?”

  “He spat on the commander.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes.”

  Charlie shook his head while a faint smile crept across his face.

  “But I do not know if he is still alive. When we escaped he was at the commander hut, tied to a tree. I am thinking he is dead now. If he was not willing to talk, there is no reason for them to keep him.” Eseza paused. “He saw his brother, though. He saw Samson, but it was not good. He refused to acknowledge Naboth was his brother, saying his only brother were those who were loyal to the LRA.”

  “He could have said that to keep him safe just. You have seen time when brother were made to kill brother?”

  “Yes,” Eseza closed her eyes and inhaled a long, wavering breath. The words stumbled from her lips. “And sister to deny sister.”

  “So there is still hope he may still be alive. Samson would try to do something, wouldn’t he?”

  “I do not know. His mind is not his own anymore. He wore the dreadlock and the rubber boot.”

  “Then we must not waste any time. We must go to the camp and find Naboth.”

  Eseza shook her head. “You are talking stupid. We will all be caught. And you will be put on the goyo tree. You know this. Naboth is dead. I am sure of it. There is no need to rescue a corpse.”

  “But he could be alive. There is always that hope.”

  “You cling to nothing, Charlie. There is no hope. When he was at the hut, I tried to put the water to his mouth but he had barely the strength to swallow it. With no one there to help him, he will die.”

  “And that is why we must go.”

  “Why the concern, Charlie? Why do you want to save someone who tied the rope around your neck and strung you from the tree?”

  Charlie met Eseza’s gaze for a moment, then lowered his eyes.

  “You do not know because there is no reason,” Eseza said.

  “But there is,” Charlie said, still staring at the ground.

  “There is a reason to save a boy who tried to kill you?”

  “Yes. It is because he tried to kill me that I want to save him.”

  Eseza shook her head. “You are foolish, Charlie.”

  He crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Perhaps I am.” He paused. “I am going now. I will be back. And do not worry. You can go to sleep. There are many Arrow Boy guarding the area. You are safe. I will talk to this girl who has the boy name when she wake up.” He took a couple of steps, then turned. “I am glad you are back . . . Eseza.” He walked toward the path.

  “Charlie.”

  He stopped and turned again.

  “I am glad I am back too.”

  Eseza walked into the hut and lay down beside Sam, placing her head on the hard ground. She watched the slow rhythm of Sam’s shoulder rise and fall with her breathing. Eseza’s eyes closed, and her breathing took on the same beat. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out, much like a pair of drums beating in the African jungle.

  Chapter 23

  A fight between grasshoppers is a joy

  to the crow. ~ Lesotho proverb

  “But there is no reason to believe Naboth is alive. I am telling you. He was not of his right mind when I escaped.” Eseza shook her head.

  Jonasan glared. “Yes, you escaped and left him there to die.”

  “Do not look at me like that, like I am a beast that leave the weak behind for the tooth of the lion. I am not heartless.” Eseza straightened her back and stood taller. She returned Jonasan’s glare. “But there was nothing I could do. I have told you that it all happened quick quick. I did not know what the muzungu girl was planning. One moment I was bringing the pot to the commander, and the next I was in the truck with the girl and we were flying through the bush like a kob with the lion on it tail. There was no chance or time to save Naboth.”

  “Hmph.” Jonasan crossed his arms over his chest. “Go and wake the girl, Michael Jackson. I want to find out who she is and what she is doing here.”

  “No.” Eseza grabbed Michael Jackson’s arm and held it. “She need her sleep. She has been through much. I will wake her when Charlie come back with the food. Besides, she does not have anything to tell. She did not know until yesterday where she was and who the LRA were.”

  “Wake her. She will tell us something. There will be time for sleep later.”

  Michael Jackson entered the hut, knelt beside Sam, and shook her by the shoulder. She woke with a start and sat. She stared at the young boy, the mud wall surrounding her, and then at Eseza, standing in the middle of a group of boys with bows and quivers of arrows slung over their shoulders. She gasped.

  “It is okay, Sam. They are my friend,” said Eseza.

  Sam rubbed her hand over her face and rose to her feet. “Oh God. I’m still here,” she said, her breath leaving in an exasperated sigh. She ducked under the low doorframe and half walked, half stumbled toward the group. She stood near Eseza.

  “Sam, these are the Arrow Boy. They are part of a group that protect the children here. This is Edach Michael Jackson, Osipa Peter, and Ebitu Jonasan.”

  The boys glanced in Sam’s direction, then quickly looked back at the ground.

  “Michael Jackson? As in the singer Michael Jackson?”

  Michael Jackson looked up at Sam and smiled. “Yes, it is a good name, is it not? I do not think I have the dance like him, but I am better looking . . . I think.” He took a few steps, did a quick twist, grabbed his crotch in typical Michael Jackson style, and let out a loud “Whoo-ooo!”

  Peter choked as he tried to stifle a laugh, but Sam had no such reservations. She laughed until it came out in a loud snort. Jonasan cleared his throat and gave the boys a stern look. They stopped and quickly stood with their arms pressed to their sides.

  “I am confused, Sam. You wear the uniform of a soldier, but Fire tell me you are not a soldier,” Jonasan said.

  “Fire?”

  “Yes, Fire. This girl here who y
ou helped to escape.”

  “But her name is Eseza.”

  Eseza glanced from Sam to Jonasan, then to the rest of the boys. Her breath caught fast in her throat.

  “Eseza?” Jonasan said, stepping forward. “What is it, Eseza or …?”

  The sound of branches parting and quiet footfalls stopped Jonasan in mid-sentence. Peter grabbed his bow and reached for an arrow.

  Charlie stepped out of the bush, laden with ripe red mangos. “It is fine fine Peter. Drop the bow please and come here.” He walked to the group and placed the mangos on the ground. He saw the anger in Jonasan’s face and the fear in Eseza’s. “It is foolish to discuss anything on an empty stomach. That is what my mother used to say. Come. Please. Sit. Eat,” he said, sitting cross-legged on the ground.

  “And since when do you give the order here, Charlie?” Jonasan asked.

  “I do not give the order. We must eat when the food is near. We can speak when it is not. This is what family does. This is what we as Acholi do. Brother and sister, all of the same tribe.” He repeated himself, spacing the words out for emphasis. “All of the same tribe.”

  Peter and Michael Jackson sat and each grabbed a mango, bit into it, and peeled off the skin with their front teeth.

  “Sit. Please.” Charlie tugged on Jonasan’s pant leg. Jonasan sat between Peter and Michael Jackson, while Eseza sat between Sam and Charlie. Eseza stared at the pile of fruit while the rest of the group ate.

  Jonasan cleared his throat. Even sitting, he appeared to glare down at Eseza. “So why is it the muzungu girl call you Eseza? The snake and the lion cannot share one name.” He glowered at her.

  “No talking until we have finished eating, please.” Charlie said as he grabbed a mango and tossed it to Jonasan. He placed a mango in Eseza’s hands. “You must eat too”—he paused as if for emphasis—“Eseza.”

  Eseza hesitated and then bit into the fruit. The group ate in silence as Charlie smacked his lips and sucked on a seed. He grabbed a twig from a tree branch and used it to clean his teeth, then placed a small pail of water in the middle of the circle and washed his hands. The rest of the group followed suit. Finally, they sat and waited.

  Jonasan spoke first. “So what is your name? Fire or Eseza? Or should we call you traitor or spy? Perhaps these name are more suited for you.”

  Eseza stared back at Jonasan. His eyes narrowed and the muscles in his face tightened around his clenched teeth.

  She lowered her gaze. “Ojone. Please. All I ask is that you listen. Then perhaps you will understand.”

  “Speak, girl,” he commanded.

  Eseza closed her eyes for a moment as she found the right words to begin. “It was not long long ago. Perhaps four month, near to the beginning of the dry season. The grass was beginning to show the sign of rest, and the bitter wind covered everything in the LRA camp with the red dust. There was talk of a group of people who were taking it upon themself to fight Kony, and Kony, he was not happy with this. He was mad mad. He could not understand how his own people would go against him when he was fighting the government that had hurt them.

  “He began to suspect the children were planning to escape and join this new group that called themself the Arrow Boy.” She paused and drew her knees to her side. “It was a time of great great fear for us. Many children were used as example of what would happen if anyone tried to escape. The goyo tree was kept busy busy, and many body were brought into the bush and fed to the hyna.

  “No one dared do anything that showed they were wanting to escape. We cleared the thought from our mind so Kony could not read them. But he did read them. Many children I knew who had been brave enough and were looking for a chance to escape were killed. But I knew many other who did not have these thought and were also tied to the goyo tree and beaten.

  “Something had to be done. The camp reeked of death, and the hyna bark filled the air for many, many night.

  “Kony did not trust anyone. Not even his general. But he trusted me.”

  “He trusted you? Why would he trust you?” Jonasan said with a sneer. “You are a girl. You—”

  “Yes, I am a girl, Jonasan, but I was always ready to do what Kony or the other commander ask. I wanted to survive. You will not understand this, and I do not expect you to. But that is what happened. Every day I was told to do this, this, and this. To kill this person, to feed this general, to be this man wife. And I did. I never questioned it. I always obeyed.”

  Jonasan drew his head back. He looked at Eseza with utter contempt and disgust. “You were a commander wife?”

  Eseza hesitated. She could not admit she was Kony’s wife. The Arrow Boys would think it was horrid enough that she was forced to share a bed with a commander. They would despise her, hate her, and treat her worse than a dog left to beg at a poor man’s table. But it would be worse, much worse, if they knew she was one of Kony’s wives.

  She spoke slowly and chose her words carefully. “Yes, I was a wife. And I was respected in the camp. That is why I came to Kony and told him I could go to the village and find out who dared to go against him. I reasoned with him. I would be a good good cover, I said. No one would suspect a young girl with her newborn child. I would find out, and I would come back and let him know what people opposed him. I filled my mind with only these intention. I did not allow the idea of escape to enter it. I knew Kony witchcraft, and I knew it was powerful.

  “I set off with Maisha, fresh from his birth, and came to Kitgum. I stayed there for a week and then footed it to Pajule. I learned nothing of the Arrow Boy. The people were too scared. Many feared even to say Kony name. You know this. I am not telling you anything you do not know already.

  “But when I came to this village, the thought of escape did enter my mind. I worked hard to fight these thought every day. But the seed had been planted and the tree did start to grow. Day passed, then week, then month, and no one came to find me and bring me back to the camp. I began to think I had been forgotten. That perhaps the camp had moved and I had been left behind.

  “It was a wonderful thought. And for a short time, I let my guard down and good thing began to happen. I could no longer feel Kony presence. I could no longer feel he could read my thought and know of my plan. Perhaps his spirit was becoming weak or my spirit was becoming stronger—I do not know.

  “But they had not forgotten me. The evening after we met with the Arrow Boy and Ben, they found me near to the hut, and they took me. I did not resist, for it would have been of no use. They took me back to the camp, and the commander tied me to the post and left me to hang by my wrist. He did not know of this plan for me to spy out the area. He thought I had escaped. And he was right.”

  Eseza gathered the mango seeds and threw them into the forest then washed her hands in the bucket.

  “I do not wish it upon anyone here to understand this. You would only understand if you were taken and made to be a soldier. And I do not wish that on anyone. For when you are taken by Kony, you are forced to do many horrid thing.” Eseza’s voice cracked. “You know this. You have heard the story from the children who have escaped and returned.”

  Eseza returned to her spot, sat, and laid her hand on Sam’s shoulder. “We are not the same, Sam. Us, the child soldier. How could we be? We have been made to kill our own mother and father. Our own brother and sister. We have been forced to behave like wild animal, doing thing I am too ashamed to say. And who does this? Who force this evil onto other? It is only the devil himself.

  “But there is something I have realized is inside all of us—the will to live and to survive. And a person will do anything if he think the next day may be the day when the evil will end.

  “That is why I came here. To survive. I know I cannot ask you to forgive me for what I have done. And I cannot ask you to understand why I did this. Perhaps I should have had the courage to refuse to do the evil and to let them kill me. But I did not. And I cannot change anything. Not one thing.”

  The group sat in silence. Eseza
gazed at each one of them. A tear rolled down Sam’s face and landed on her khaki pants, making a bright green spot on the dusty fabric.

  “But maybe you will consider this when you look at me. My magic showed you where the cache were. You saw that when all the bone landed in the same spot. It show that I am wanting to be on your side. It also show that the spirit are wanting me to be on your side.”

  “That does not prove anything.” Jonasan stood and backed a few steps away from the group. “For all we know, it was a trap. You led us there because you knew there were some soldier there, guarding the cache.”

  “I did not know the soldier were there.”

  Jonasan glared. “How dare you lie! You are possessed by the evil spirit. You are heartless. Go. You have brought more evil into our land. Go. We do not want to see you again.”

  Sam’s eyes widened as Jonasan spoke. He hovered over Eseza, standing taller and taller as she cowered under his shadow.

  “No, you have it all wrong, Jonasan,” said Sam. “There’s nothing evil about Eseza. I know. In the two days I’ve known her, I think she’s probably the most courageous and kindest person I’ve ever met.”

  Jonasan scoffed. “And what do you know? As if I am going listen to you! A girl. A white girl. You know nothing of this war and the treachery that exist.”

  “No, I don’t.” Sam stood. “But I know what I saw at the LRA camp. Eseza risked her life for me—and Naboth. She snuck food to us, and water. And if she was caught, she would have been beaten. That I know.”

  Jonasan stared at Sam. His eyes filled with contempt. “And what does that say? That she was trying to win you over to her side. That it was only a ploy to make you think she cared for you. That she was going to use you in some way. That is all it can be. More treachery!”

  “No. That’s not it at all. She saved Naboth’s life. He wasn’t going to talk, so they were going to kill him. But she convinced them not to. She told them to tie him to a post and let the sun do the work. She was—”

  “Let the sun do the work?”

  “Yes, she was buying time. You know, trying to . . .”