SMILES OF THE MOON.

 SMILES OF THE MOON

Harry looked up at the moon, he saw the beaming God’s heavenly night creature, which is meant to provide light and hope for lost souls like him. He wondered if the smiles of the moon were a ray of hope for his situation. His tear-drained eyes met with the eyes of the shining moon, she was still smiling at him. The reflection of his tears seemed to him that the moon was also shedding tears, but no, she was smiling. He wondered whether God got some beautiful girl and crafted her into a moon. If she were on earth, he thought of the moon, I would marry her. But then, things had failed him, his situation was hopeless. He could not think of marriage again at this stage. It was as though all the troubles of the demons had befallen him. Harry was no believer in superstition, but he knew some information on the creatures of the dark, the vampires he had heard in stories, the demons he had heard of, and the witches whom he had been told move at night. Life for a White in a Black society would always be good only in the presence of money, and in the absence of war. He regreted the millionth time why he dared give a response against the village chief. His protection- the godly protection had been with the Chief, but now, all the hounds come against him and he has lost his guardian angel.

He wondered whether the so-called witches would pass by in the night, or grab him and take him for dinner. He had been told these witches like the taste of White flesh. Mr. Wilkinson of the neighboring village had disappeared, and later only his head was discovered near the river. It was said that he was feasted on by these witches and wizards. The thought of Mr. Wilkinson frightened Harry the most.

 

But the ray of hope from the moon, he thought, will not allow me to be eaten for I have suffered enough. He once again turned to the moon, and the moon was still smiling at him. He wondered whether she was making fun of him, for why else would she smile at his desperate situation? He resolved that he would never blame people who committed suicide. He heard a hissing sound and thought it was a snake. He had been advised to stand still at the appearance of a serpent. The hissing sound passed without a freak. It occurred to his mind that the first witch had passed, and because of the rays of hope, the witch had spared him. Ms moon in the sky was still smiling at him. Harry wondered if he could become a star in the sky and dance around the moon. Maybe he would have a chance to reach her and tell her how he liked her. He felt resigned himself and came back to his senses resolving that he was in impossible illusions. Under no circumstances could he become a star in the sky. He had failed to become a star on earth, he had failed his wife until she divorced him and flew back to Lisbon. Here he was all by himself, with no roof under which to hide from the rain, no pillow on which to rest his head, no warm chest in which to hide his body from the raging coldness. Here he was in the wilderness, in the old woman’s cassava garden, hiding under the big mango tree. He tried to scout for some ripe fruits from the tree to quench his river-flowing hunger but it seemed the tree was like that accursed fig tree in the bible. It bore no fruit.

The pre-storm wind passed, it carried with it the stench of cannibalism, the order of man’s unfairness. He wondered what evil he had done to deserve this treatment. The dead silence that filled the air, made him wonder whether he was in a cemetery. But even Cemeteries have owls that are always hooting, especially the African cemeteries.

 

Then all of a sudden, a huge shriek of lightning and thunder tore through the sky. This is what he had least expected, a storm. Throughout his life, Harry learned that rain was a symbol of luck. He, therefore, thought the rain would be a good sister when she came, and maybe he would drive through this situation with ease. He considered himself lucky that he was going to be a beneficiary of this luck. But then, a louder thunder tore the sky again. This time, he expected not the rain that brings luck, but the tempest that sweeps and cripples the desperate. He could not go to knock on any door to be given residence. The phobia had been too intense. He had to stand under the avocado tree in the old woman’s garden and brave the storm. He remembered some words from famous philosophers, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”. He believed if the storm doesn’t sweep him dead, then he would be made stronger to counter all his challenges and rise on his feet once more. And yet he was sure he wasn’t that insane as to believe in the words of the so-called philosophers.

He wondered why human society, was eviler than the dark society. It seems darkness resides within and around people's hearts. He wondered what he should have done to avoid being at crossroads with the Chief, this could be the worst error in his life. Making the village chief feel unamused was treasonous act. In the eyes of the Chief, Harry no longer had value attached to him. Indeed, the philosopher was right, “Words have Consequences”. Here alone he was, facing the consequences of his words- but no, he had equally been wronged. Perhaps the situation could have been averted if he chose death silence instead of proving a point.

He closed his eyes and convinced himself into a deep slumber. Nature would determine his fate.