Although, it was found in the spot which has been in the boundary line of Lefulefu and Referefe kingdoms.
" The Mango tree which sows sweets” they call it. It is not particularly tall, as its branches spread out generously, creating a beautiful canopy of green leaves. It was a tree unlike any other in the surrounding area, famous for its reddish mangoes which were exceptionally sweet, almost as though they had been dipped in honey.
It had been there for generations, that supersedes time that no one knew who planted it.
The tree was a wonder to everyone who knew it because its branches were hardly ever without fruit.
As soon as one harvest season ended, another seemed to be approaching. It was thought the tree had made a promise never to be hungry or leave its admirers empty-handed.
Children and adults from both villages often gathered around it, eagerly waiting for its ripe fruit.
Then a rumour started spreading that it was owned by the kingdom of Lefulefu, and the people of Referefe also started claiming ownership. Each kingdom insisted that it stood on its ancestral land and therefore belonged to them.
The disagreement began with heated arguments between the elders, with each side presenting historical claims to prove ownership of the land on which the tree stood. Soon, villagers began exchanging insults, threats, and accusations.
One morning, youths from Lefulefu chased away some children from Referefe who had come to pick mangoes. This provoked retaliation as Referefe Kingdom youths invaded the disputed area and destroyed some farm crops.
The matter was reported to the traditional rulers, but their attempts at settlement failed. As tension mounted, both kingdoms mobilized their warriors, armed themselves with dangerous weapons, and prepared for confrontation.
Eventually, what began as a simple dispute over a piece of land with a mango tree on it turned into a bloody communal war, leaving several people injured and properties destroyed.
When the rulers couldn't bear the ruins, they decided to sit and settle their differences in a covert meeting.
“ We can't continue like this,” Alefulefu, the ruler of the Lefulefu kingdom, said, wearing the frown of a military personnel.
“ Let us eliminate the source of the problem,” Areferefe, the ruler of the Referefe kingdom, replied with a stoic face.
“ Yes,” Alefulefu uttered, looking up at the sky and continuing.
“ If we don't, there is a probability that this sort of war can still happen with the forthcoming generation,” Alefulefu concluded.
“ Now you are wearing my glasses,” Areferefe replied with a handshake, and they decided to get rid of the mango tree without the two villagers knowing.
The second day, the town criers took his gong and announced that no one should come out and that there was a curfew from morning till noon the next day.
“ The curfew is meant for the special prayers and rituals for peace in the land so that the war can stop,” the town criers announced, and everyone in both villages obtained the information from their respective sources.
As planned, both rulers met at the venue, which was a plot of land where the sweet mango tree stood in the middle of it.
As they neared the trees, a thunderstorm erupted, and the weather darkened as if an eclipse was happening. A thunderous laughter engulfed the atmosphere that everyone could hear, even the villagers who were indoors.
“ Let's eliminate the problem,” the unknown voice said and continued.
“ What is the problem?”
“ The sweet mango fruit” it replied to the question it asked and gasp then continued.
“ The problem is not the mango tree but greed.
“ Do you know why the tree was here?” the voice asked angrily as the rulers answered, trembling.
“ No,” they chorused in a dwindling voice.
“ During the first century, the people of both villages died and almost perished during a strange famine, and since then, the mango tree was given as a gift by nature.
The generations before maintained peace by sharing love because to love is to share, but instead of sharing love, the new generation shared greed, and it was this greed that made the rulers do things not to favour their people but to satisfy their ego”
The voice said and laughed gigantically in a simultaneous way.
“ As you both are here to eliminate the mango tree so the tree is leaving here to go to where it will be appreciated as a free gift it is” the voice said and after a lengthy silence, a tornado blew and the tree uprooted from the ground and flew away to an unknown place.
“ Now your problem has been solved,” the voice said before a total silence.
The rulers looked at each other. “ No one was supposed to hear that,” Alefulefu said.
“ Now everyone has heard it,” Areferefe replied.
Although the rulers ruled till death, the voice became the talk of the villages and was passed down as folklore to the new generation, knowing that their rulers could let peace reign if they wanted, but believed that the mango tree was becoming more important than them, and that was what cloud their decision for the mango tree that sow sweets was gone for life.