Arrows, Bones and Stones

by Donna White

  Jonasan glared at Eseza. “You left him tied to a post, under the sun? To die?”

  “No. No,” Sam said. “You don’t understand. If she hadn’t done this, they would have killed him. Right then and there. But she knew if he was tied up, then maybe there was a chance—”

  “A chance to let him die a slow, painful death?”

  Eseza stood, her fists tight to her sides. “No. Do you not see that if I did not do this they would have killed him? At least by tying him to the tree he had a chance. And I could use the time to think and plan something.”

  “But you never did, did you? You escaped with no thought of Naboth.”

  Eseza hung her head. “Yes, you are right.”

  Jonasan walked toward the bush then stopped at the edge and cleared his throat. “Fire, or Eseza, or whatever your name is, you must leave. Go. We cannot trust you. And you, muzungu girl, get out. You do not belong here.”

  He walked into the bush. Michael Jackson and Peter followed close behind.

  Chapter 24

  What you help a child to love can be more

  important than what you help him to learn.

  ~ African proverb

  Sam stirred the coals and watched the smoke drift into the forest.

  “So you have no idea how I can get home.” Her voice was heavy with disappointment. “But you must know something about how the stones work.”

  Charlie thought for a moment. “No,” he said. “Bruce told me it was the stone that brought him to Uganda just. That is all he said, and I did not ask anymore. It is magic.” Charlie shrugged matter-of-factly. “That is all. What is there more to know? The stone brought him, and then it brought Scott, and then it brought both of them to help me again.”

  “Again?”

  “Yes. When I first met Bruce, I had escaped from the LRA just and I was footin’ my way to Lira. But Bruce and Scott came again after the LRA attacked the refugee camp and took me and some thirty boy and girl.”

  “But how did he leave? I mean, how did Bruce go back home? What did he have to do?”

  “Eeh, what did he have to do? I do not know. Each time he left I was asleep. I woke up just and he was gone. That is all.”

  “You didn’t see him do anything, say anything?”

  “No.”

  “Not any spell or chant or something like that?”

  “A spell?”

  “Yeah, a spell. A bunch of words, a little dance or something. You know.”

  “No. I do not think a spell is what you are needing to go back.”

  Sam sighed. She was getting nowhere. “What about Scott? Were you there when he went back home?”

  “Yes, but it was dark the first time he left. And I was asleep. But I saw him when he left the last time.”

  “You did? And was there anything he said or did before he left?”

  “No, but he knew he was going soon—he said that—and that is when he gave me the stone.” Charlie paused for a moment and laughed. “But the second time Scott left, it was original!”

  “Original?”

  Charlie laughed. Eseza peeked out of the hut and stared. She shook her head.

  “There was Scott, tied to the tree. And there were the soldier. They were looking for me when I went into the bush with the stone. But Scott, he yelled. ‘Hey! Over here, you!’ and the soldier, they turned and looked at him and then he vanished!”

  “Vanished? Like completely disappeared before their eyes?”

  “Yes, exactly like that. One moment he was there and the next he was gone, and the soldier, they ran round and round like a chicken with it head cut off. They grabbed the rope and they looked at it, and they yelled ‘Jok! Jok!’”

  “Jok?”

  “Yes. An evil spirit. They thought Scott was a jok. Imagine that.”

  Sam grinned. She was imagining it. “But what about Bruce and Scott? What can you tell me about them?”

  “They are bazungu, like you just.” Charlie shrugged. “Bruce was big and fat. He was well fed just.” He lifted up his feet. “See my shoe? They were his, but he gave them to me after he healed my feet.”

  “Your feet? What was wrong with your feet?”

  “When I escaped from the LRA, I ran through a field of thorn. My feet were cut and bleeding and oozing with yellow pus. But Bruce was a good angel. He saved me when the police wanted to kill me, and he lifted me up and flew away with his two big wing.”

  “Wings?”

  “Yes, I did not see his wing when I met him first. They must have been hidden under his shirt. But when the police hurt me and I could not walk or think, Bruce lifted me in his big arm and held me tight to him as he flew away. Then he fed me manna, healed my feet, and gave me these shoe.” Charlie wiggled his toes. “They do not fit, but I do not care. They keep my feet good good.”

  Sam took a closer look at the running shoes: blue with dark red stains, very well worn, toes that curled up from having nothing inside them. And their size? Bigger than her dad’s, that was for sure.

  “And what about Scott?”

  Charlie paused to think. “Scott was as stupid as Bruce. He did not think. He did not think because he thought he knew it all. He tried to escape, and because of this they used a boy as example and they made us shoot at him to practice our aim.”

  “To practice your aim? Like target practice?” Sam couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

  “Yes. To teach us. There are many lesson to learn when you are with the LRA. And the way many learn is by the other mistake. If you try to escape and you are caught, you are beaten. We are given the cane and we must whip and whip and whip, and then when our arm grow tired more children are given more cane and they whip and whip and whip. It is a powerful message. Especially if you are one of the children made to whip. You will think again if you want to escape.”

  Sam blinked, trying to dispel the vivid image from her mind. She didn’t know what to say.

  “But Scott. He was a good angel. He was sorry sorry for what he had done. He told me he was. He told me he cried when he buried the boy. And he asked me to forgive him.”

  Charlie thought back to that day.

  “And I forgave him. I had seen much much worse. And if I could not forgive him for the boy death, then how could I expect anyone to forgive me for all I have done?”

  Sam studied Charlie: small build, thin sinewy arms, quick to smile, but also quick to become silent. He was silent again. He looked into the bush, but Sam couldn’t help but feel he wasn’t seeing what his eyes were looking at. She had seen the evidence of the LRA’s destruction; she had witnessed the grip of fear the army held over the children. And she had learned of its lust for power without any concern for the lives of the children. Children were seen only as tools, things to be used in combat, things to be traded for more weapons, things that were quickly disposed of because they could easily be replaced.

  She squeezed Charlie’s hand.

  “And that is why I listened to Scott. He asked me to bring the last stone to Kony, so I did. He said the stone have the power to change people, and that Kony needed to change. Otherwise more and more kid would lose their life.”

  “The stones change people?” Sam asked.

  “Yes, that is what he said. And I do believe it. When I first met Scott, I thought he was stupid, but he was not when he left. He thought more. He was not stupid anymore. It was the same with Bruce. He too was stupid. But then he learned how to think.”

  Sam smiled. It was funny how Charlie called Scott and Bruce stupid. “Yeah, I guess there’s a lot of stupidity going around everywhere.”

  “Yes, sometime when I hear a person call an animal stupid I have to think. The animal, it care for it herd. But I do not see that in the human. It does not respect the herd. It kill it own kind. We are Acholi people from the Acholi tribe. Kony, he is Acholi too. But he does not respect the tribe. He does not respect the life of his brother or sister. I do not understand that.”

  Charlie fell silent as his though
ts turned inward.

  “I do not know if the stone worked on Kony. He and the LRA are still taking the children and turning us into monster. And I do not see how it will end. But if he have the stone, then perhaps it is time just that is needed.”

  Sam wanted to reach out to Charlie and hold him. But would that provide any comfort? The evil needed to end. And Charlie needed to be a kid again. She couldn’t do anything to change the past or anything to make a better future for him. She slid over and held his hands in hers then wrapped her arms around his small body and hugged him. Charlie laid his head on her shoulder. His body trembled.

  “Apwoyo. Apwoyo matek.” His voice was soft and grateful.

  Eseza stepped out of the hut and placed two sacks on the ground. She tossed a pot and a couple of plates into the open sack, pulled the ends of the rope snug, and tied it tight. “Are you ready to go, big muzungu woman?”

  Sam touched Charlie gently on the shoulder and stood. “Yeah, I guess.”

  Eseza turned to Charlie. “I am thinking that Jonasan is planning to go to the LRA camp and rescue Naboth. He did not say it, but I know he would not leave him there to die. But there is something you must know. Another group of children are on their way to Sudan to get the tin and the arm. It is going to be a big trade because many many children are going. I know this because I saw them grouping and spoke to a soldier who was taking them.”

  “I will tell Jonasan.”

  “I do not know if he will trust the information, but at least you will know that some have left the camp and there will be less left behind. And I do not know what Jonasan plan to do, but I can only think it is all foolish. Naboth is dead. I am sure of it.”

  Eseza crouched and looked at Charlie intently. “I do not know what it is you think you and the Arrow Boy can do. They will capture you, and you will be tied to the goyo tree. And you, Charlie, you run the greatest risk of all. You have escaped, and you want to return with other to attack the LRA? They will be searching for me. They will be searching along the river and into the bush. They will have guard all around the camp. You know this, and that make you the most foolish of everyone.”

  “Yes, it is looking that way.”

  “I am thinking that your arm are hanging limp to your side again. You are wanting to die. You do not value your life. Am I right?”

  Charlie shrugged. “But if I do nothing, there is no hope.”

  “There is no hope if you do anything, Charlie.”

  “But there is. Look at you. You are alive. You are alive because of an angel. I am alive because of the angel. And if God give us the angel, he must be showing us there is hope.”

  “Here you are speaking the foolishness again. Yes, we have had good fortune on us when these people come to us and help us, but that is it. We are free. Why would we risk our life again now that we are free?”

  “Because Kony has the stone now. And Scott has told me that the stone has the power to change people.”

  “But there has been no change. He is still taking the children. The war is still going on. And there are more and more bone that are needing the grave.”

  “But maybe it needs more time. Maybe Kony . . .” His voice now became more assured. “Maybe Kony is needing more time because there are great change that must happen in him.”

  Eseza stood and shook her head. “Perhaps. But I do not think he is a man who is able to make the change. He is set in his evil way. There is no hope for him.”

  “But—”

  “Eeh, Charlie, do you not think I would know these thing? I shared his bed for many month.”

  Charlie was silent.

  Eseza lifted the black sack onto her head. “Now it is my turn to leave. I am sorry for this, Charlie. I wish you well. And do not let your arm hang limp. You are worthy of life.”

  He smiled. “And you are too, Eseza. But maybe this is not goodbye. Maybe you will find Maisha and I will return with Naboth. Then we can have our own hut, and raise the chicken and eat the egg every day. Slowly, enjoying each and every bite.”

  A big tear coursed down Eseza’s cheek. She offered a half smile.

  “That would be beautiful and good, Charlie.”

  “Then when I come back with Naboth, I will go north to the refugee camp and look for you. And perhaps we will hold on to the good and there will not be a thin thin line.”

  Eseza steeled herself. She wiped the tears from her eyes, turned, and walked into the bush.

  Sam picked up the other bag and held it to her chest as she followed Eseza. She stopped and turned. “How do you say ‘thank you’ in your language, Charlie?”

  “Apwoyo matek.”

  “Oh,” she said, recognizing the words he spoke to her as she hugged him. “Ah-poor-you,” she said, trying to pronounce it correctly. “Ah-poor-you ma-teck, Charlie.”

  Charlie laughed. She turned and followed Eseza into the bush.

  They took the pathway until they came to the field that surrounded the school. Without a word, Eseza turned to the right, keeping to the edge of the bush. Once they reached the bush line she turned again, this time following a pathway that ran parallel with the path they had taken away from the hut.

  Finally, Sam spoke. “How far is it to the refugee camp?”

  “Two day footin’, I think.”

  “Two days?”

  “Yes. Two day.”

  Sam shifted the bag and tried to get a better grip. The pots and dishes clanged around inside, falling to one side, making the bag lopsided and more difficult to manage. She grabbed its corners and hoisted it to her chest. A mosquito buzzed by and landed on her neck. “Git!” she said as she slapped at it. The bag slipped from her grasp and fell to the ground. She sighed as she watched Eseza follow a turn in the pathway and move out of sight. She grabbed the bag and ran.

  Eseza turned and watched Sam fumbling with the sack. “Why not put the sack on your head?” she asked.

  Sam lifted the huge bag on top of her head and took a few steps forward. She reached up with one hand and held the bag in place. It shifted again and dropped to the ground.

  Eseza shook her head. “Here, do this,” she said, taking a wrap from her waist.

  She spun the cloth around and around until she created a small circle and placed it on Sam’s head. She positioned the bag on the cloth and stood back, examining it. “That should do. And do not drop it again. Our food is in there.”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  Eseza quickened her pace. “We will follow this path until we reach the main road. Once we find it, we will take it until we come to the next town. Then we will stay there for the night. It would not be safe for us to stay in the bush. And there will be plenty of night commuter we can foot it with.”

  “Night commuters?”

  “Yes, when Kony started taking the children from their hut in the night, the children started footin’ it to the town and sleeping there. They sleep on the storefront and the sidewalk. Sometime, if they are lucky, they find a business or a bus station that have it door open for the night and they stay there.”

  “Did you have to leave your home at night, too?”

  “Yes, I did. For many month. I would take my book with me from school and sit under a light and do my work. And then I would sleep, and come the morning I would walk home again and then go to school.”

  Sam considered this. “It must have been very tiring for you.”

  “Yes, and frightening. There are other thing you must be fearing when you are alone in a town at night.”

  “But if you did this . . . then how were you taken?”

  “At my school.”

  “During the day? In broad daylight?”

  “Yes.”

  “But wasn’t there anyone around to stop them? The police? The army?”

  Eseza laughed. “The police? They have not the gun or the men to go against the LRA. And the government army, the UPDF? They are coward. They knew Kony army was going to the school. But what do they do? They run. They run with the tail
between their leg, like a coyote from a lion.” She paused and shifted the bag on her head. “But I do not put the blame on them. No. I understand their fear. There are very terrible thing the LRA children are made to do when they capture a UPDF soldier. No, I do not put the blame on them.”

  She stopped and looked into the distance. “There is the road now. It will be easy footin’ and we will be able to go fast fast. Come, my strong and brave muzungu girl. It will not be long.”

  They stepped onto the red clay road and continued on their way.

  “I think I’m getting the hang of this, Eseza. Look, no hands.” Sam took her hands off the bag and took a couple of steps. The bag shifted and started to fall. Sam grabbed it just in time. “Okay, maybe I’m not that good at it yet,” she muttered.

  “Eeh, do not be too hard on yourself. It is an awkward load. It is full of the pot and pan and it shift much.”

  Sam glanced at the bag on Eseza’s head. “Yours looks a lot easier to carry. Do you think we could switch?”

  Eseza stopped momentarily. “No, that is not a good idea. No. It is a heavy load. I would not want you to carry it.”

  “What do you have in there anyway? More food?”

  “No.” Her tone was abrupt. “It is not the food. It is nothing. Now come, let us go. The sun is going to hide itself soon, and we must be in the town before the darkness come.”

  Chapter 25

  Birds sing not because they have answers

  but because they have songs. ~ African proverb

  Sam was ready to collapse on the ground and fall asleep right then and there when they entered the city of Gulu. She spotted a mess of broken red bricks next to a building, mumbled something about a taxi and giving up a year’s worth of allowance, and then sat on the pile, worn out, miserable, and sore. The place reminded Sam of an Old West town she had seen in a movie. Not that it had any old wooden saloons, water troughs, or cowboys, but because everything was covered in a fine layer of red dust: the cement buildings, the signs, the trees and flowers, and even the people.