The River Between
Page 17
“Let him deny her.” Kabonyi threw the challenge, which went bouncing on people’s ears to Makuyu and Kameno, to the trees that patiently waited and to the birds that did not make any noise. And Honia river went on flowing through the valley of life, throbbing, murmuring an unknown song.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountains, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.
And the people shouted “The oath! The oath!” as if they were warning their Teacher. Waiyaki stood up and his eyes met those of Nyambura. And he remembered her on this very ground that time she was praying alone; it was the day he first held her in his arms. And she looked beautiful now. She looked like a lamb on the altar of sacrifice. And Waiyaki knew that he could not deny her now, that he could not go back on his love for her.
There was a long silence. People held their breath. Waiyaki thought of making a speech. Then the thought went bouncing away and instead he could only hear the challenge of Kabonyi. How could he deny her now? How . . . ? He took her arms and the silence that followed was oppressive. And Nyambura felt a warmth and an assurance that drove away her doubts; they compensated her for the suffering of the day. How could she have doubted the Teacher? Even Waiyaki felt a new strength which drove away the bitter thoughts of why he had taken the oath. Yet the oath did not say that he should not love. And that was what he wanted to tell the people. But as he tried to open his mouth, one woman screamed “The oath!” and the cry was taken over by the other people as an outlet to the oppressive feelings that burdened them. How could their Teacher betray them? How could he work for the togetherness and purity of the tribe and then marry a girl who was not circumcised? How could he do this to them?
Waiyaki tried to silence them but they would not listen. They only cried “The oath” and their cry was echoed in the forest. And how could he tell them now that he had not betrayed them, but this was not what he meant by unity; that he was not in league with Joshua? How could he tell them that he meant to serve the hills; that he meant to lead them into a political movement that would shake the whole country, that would tell the white man “Go!” He looked beyond and saw the children he had helped in their thirst for learning; the teachers who were coming; Kinuthia . . . and he wondered “Where is Kinuthia?” And then in doubt, a doubt that shocked him into a few minutes of agonized silence. Had Kinuthia betrayed him? Had Kinuthia been in league with Kabonyi?
An elder stood up. Waiyaki could not hear what he was saying for his mind was full of many thoughts and doubts that came and went. Waiyaki and Nyambura would be placed in the hands of the Kiama, who would judge them and decide what to do. It was the best thing and the crowd roared back “Yes” as if the burden of judging their Teacher were removed from them. They went away quickly, glad that he was hidden by the darkness. For they did not want to look at the Teacher and they did not want to read their guilt in one another’s faces. Neither did they want to speak to one another, for they knew full well what they had done to Waiyaki and yet they did not want to know.
The land was now silent. The two ridges lay side by side, hidden in the darkness. And Honia river went on flowing between them, down through the valley of life, its beat rising above the dark stillness, reaching into the heart of the people of Makuyu and Kameno.
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