I always loved it when he pulled the string of my waist beads. The way it slapped back on my skin always sent a sweet sensation down my spine. We would lie side by side on our bamboo bed taking in each other's presence.
That night, I felt him remove from me as we lay gently asleep in the last hour of the night before the cock crow. Reaching out for him, I felt the warm bamboo in place of his hard chest. I opened my eyes to find him dressing up.
”sleep back my lady. This is the time for men to go and guard and provide for their own. I will be back soon my love, with enough to make your backside bigger.” He smiled and pulled me in enclosing me in all his manliness.
”Go well my pride. Go and lead the men as always. You will emerge victor once again." I traced the lines of his tattoo, the mark of honor all the warriors in our clan wore. He had six of them because he was the best of them all.
That evening, I had prepared my lover's favorite meal. It was an unusually hot evening. The mild blowing breeze had come to a halt and the leaves on the tree were still. I sat in my hut oiling my skin to a shine and adorning myself. The light from my lamp flickered as I felt a sharp pain run down my spine. My waist beads broke scattering all over the ground.
I started to hear voices from afar. It was the warrior's chants. This time, they weren't chanting songs of victory but that of mourning.
He goes where no one has gone
He comes home with tales of his adventure
Today he has gone down the path
The path he will never come back from
Today he leaves us with no tale
Toma, my lover's best friend came to my hut and presented me with the head of a bull. "He didn't go down without a fight," he said.
