Secrets of the Sun
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Tension was in the air and daggers were drawn when I got to Chimusoro's homestead. Tambu had fled to her aunt's homestead in a show of defiance against her father's wish to marry her off and Chimusoro had immediately pursued her. Tambu's unfortunate fate was now common knowledge in the whole village and the stares which were shot my way were very humbling to say the least. Anyway, none of us were still going to school anymore, I couldn't take up the distance with very little energy in my body. All that was left was to work the fields and tend to the cattle. Takura, the elder of Chimusoro's boys on the homestead was fond of looking after a combined herd with his dear friend Big Mucha's beasts. It was on one of these combined escapades that Takura abruptly stopped us and drew a circle in the mud. He then announced, more to me than anybody else, that the herding rules had since changed and we all now had to take turns tending to the beasts whilst others go on their private business. Apparently, the onus was either on me or Big Mucha to kick this off. Being one keen on avoiding confrontation I immediately volunteered for the task, it wasn't anything new at all. Takura immediately interjected , “It's my choice to decide who it's going to be. Now here is how it's going down- you two are today's contestants. Gentleman please step into the ring!” I reluctantly obliged but I did not like the direction the whole thing was going. “I believe we are all men here?”.He inquired. The last time I checked I was indeed one or perhaps on my way to being one so I saw no need to offer any objections. “We are going to settle this like men. You guys have to fight it out. It's only fair for you Musi!”. The hell it was. Big Mucha was towering over me like an elephant and looked quite set to trample on my every bone. “Listen, I said I will do this, tell you what I will do it every day if it's too much of a hassle for you guys!”. Something in Takura's eyes told me that the elephant was in town to tango and right now I was in its freaking way. “Mucha, here is your mother's breast”, making a breast shaped heap of soil in the mud. “And Musi here is your mother's breast!” Takura declared and invited a few giggles from little Goliath. “What?” Takura inquired, looking at my annoyed face “Seeing how little you are, surely your mother's breast can't be as big as that of Mucha's mother. It's pretty obvious you were a little short of milk!”. Somehow it had not occurred to the guy that the differences in size between me and Big Mucha were more to do with age and greed than anything else and breast size has no correlation whatsoever with milk output but I chose not to make him any wiser. The act of obliterating the others' mother's breast had the intended effect of evoking anger in the other and was useful in starting the fight. The rest of the guys moved outside the circle with their whips in hand ready to punish anyone who violates the perimeter of the circle. Big Mucha proceeded ,without any hesitation, to kick my mother's breast away without giving it another thought. This naturally incensed me, though I was surprised by my allegiance to a mother who had not stuck around to see me grow. Anyway, I went forward and instead of imitating the norm, I decided to be a little innovative. I got hold of the heap that was Big Mucha's mother's breast and began to caress it ever so slowly to the amusement of little Goliath who began jeering. Big Mucha was definitely not appreciating innovation from the look on his face. I thought that at least instead of kicking it away, I was treating the big thing to some quality time and the block needed to show some gratitude. He soon did by giving me a vicious blow below the ribs that I felt my stomach churn and swallowed hard. “You little bastard, how dare you?” Big Mucha swore before unleashing another darling of a fist in my face. He threw his body at me and we carried on like two scorpions in a bottle before I decided that I had harvested enough bruises for just a heap of clay. My attempt to escape from the circle was cut short by Takura's stinging whip which he let loose each time I tried to step out of the ring. Big Mucha, on the other hand was finding it hard to forget my little mischievous act and looked set to settle the score ten folds. He worked on me until his knuckles were sore and my face, an eyesore. Takura reluctantly stepped into the ring and stopped the contest. “Gentleman!” He started “I know you guys are eager to finish this but perhaps let's leave it for another day he-e, this is an obvious draw!”.The only thing that was obvious were the scars on my face, the red hot rage in Big Mucha's eyes and the mocking smile on Takura's lips.
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About the Book
Secrets of the Sun traces the life of a young African boy whose life is shrouded in a dark secret. It clearly shows how society's norms traditions and expectations with little education and self appraisal can prove to be disastrous. Musiwa is born under disturbing circumstances and lives his life under an uncompromising and brutal Uncle without the knowledge of a mother's love and a father's care. With nothing to his name and no one to stand by him, he leaves his village for a better life in the city, little does he know that his journey is more of soul searching and would sooner bring forth shocking and bizarre revelations. The young man has to make a choice of whether to live a life that should never have been in the first instance. Secrets of the Sun explores, in a light manner, the various negative aspects of African tradition and how they impacts on the rights of children, boy or girl, on the rights of women and the preservation of the family unit.
About the Author
Anthony T Chirape is a 27 year old writer and poet. His work covers a wide range from fiction, non fiction, poetry and screenwriting. Writing has always been his passion from a tender age and some of his poetry has been published in various publications in the UK and in Zimbabwe. He is a new voice in African literature which explores serious issues in a light manner. His style of writing is modern,creative and sometimes philosophical which is why he has adopted the name Afrosopher for his poetry. His major motivation was driven by the work of African writers like Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Tsitsi Dangarembga Anthony was born in Gweru, Zimbabwe on the 10th of February 1982.He attended his primary schooling in Harare and was at Chaplin High School in Gweru for his high schooling. Anthony is a chartered accountant by profession. He is currently with Deloitte in Botswana. Anthony comes from a big family of 8 and is recently married to Sheillar.