Dating : They finally wrestle him to the ground.

They finally wrestle him to the ground. It took several of them to do it. He had to kill one of them. The one that chased his family. They are gone. Safe now. Someone clubs him on the back of the head and he knows nothing. It was the only way to stop him without killing him.

He is a Warrior.

He wakes in a pit. A swaying, reeking pit. He can smell salt. He is on the big water. They are taking him from his home. He tries to get up. Metal rings in the dark. He has never felt anything so cruel against his skin. In that darkness, no one can see his tears.

He is Strong.

He is shoved on to the shore. His knees buckle and fail him. He lands flat on his face. He is helped up by strong hands. He can taste blood in his mouth. He is shoved forward again. This time it is followed by the lash. He feels his rent back accept another stripe. He keeps his footing.

He is Unbroken.

He is hung by his arms with others, displayed like a goat for sale. Someone comes forward and presses his cheeks together in order to force open his mouth. He spits and finds his mark. He knows he will pay dearly. He is beyond caring. This far from all he knows and loves, he is already dead. He smiles. All his teeth intact. It will be the last time.

He is Beautiful.

The day that his spirit leaves for the land of his ancestors is an unusually bright day of summer. A man is forcing himself on a woman in the back of a grain room, her screams can be heard across the fields. He walks into the room, picks the man up and he snaps him like a twig. He runs with a battle cry at the one riding toward him on horseback. He sees a plume of blue smoke and he is lifted off the ground. The last thing he thinks of before he breathes his last is how much damp earth reminds him of home.

He is a Man. And He is Free.

© Yagkong Musa