The Devil's Bonfire

Chapter 1

Errand boy

Simon had been driving for about an hour since his stop at the last trading center, according to the map he was about 4 kilometers away from Kyalika, he kept a constant look out for the Warid billboard which he was told lay just outside the village, his instructions were to park anywhere near the billboard, text his grand father and wait.

He was thirsty despite the two bottles of Rwenzori mineral water he had gulped in a space of 5 minutes, he cursed himself for having agreed to carry out this stupid errand, he had made plans to be with Brenda at Alleygators, now here he was in the blazing heat, 150 km out of Kampala with two pigs strapped to the back of his dad’s pick up truck.

The pigs belonged to his father and he had express instructions to deliver them to his grandfather unharmed, he had a good mind to set them free right there in the middle of nowhere but then the words came back to him - “Your granddad has a feast on Sunday he’s counting on you Simon” his fathers words played themselves over again in his head despite his most ardent attempts to banish them from his memory, according to his father all grandpa’s pigs were wiped out by a swine fever epidemic that had engulfed the entire Kyalika village, his home village.

Simon Katende had never been to his home village, which explained the map and he’d last seen his grandfather when he was eight. Now at 23 he hoped his first adult meeting with his grand father would be nothing like a confrontation with his father who was domineering and heavy handed, despite his latest attempts at independence Simon had failed to establish any degree of freedom from his overbearing father, John Katende ran a tight ship and he kept his son Simon on a tight leash. The old man had even instituted an 8:00 o’clock curfew the minute Simon had come back home after completing his bachelors at UMU.

He had his left arm on the wheel and had crooked his right arm to rest easily hanging half out the window, as the hills rolled past he leaned back and dreamt of Brenda’s soft brown skin rubbing next to his as he caressed her sweet supple lips with his own, he could almost smell her body lotion and shivered as he recalled the way it always made him want her so badly……………………..deep in his reverie he failed to see the slim figure that darted out from the shrubbery and raced right onto the tarmac straight into the path of his racing Hilux………..the scream brought Simon snapping out of his daydream and he braked furiously while swerving sharply to the left to avoid hitting it (what?), he heard a thud as the right side of his bumper hit something and he cringed as his entire body froze with the alarming possibility that he could have killed someone.

He fought to regain control of the vehicle as it veered left and right while heading dangerously into the bushes, as he swerved sharply back on to the road the engine died and he came to a sudden stop with a sharp jolt that made his teeth clap together painfully.

He was not sure what to do, he was shaken and frightened and he was doubly sure he had rammed into a person. He sat in his seat his hands tightly clutching the steering wheel and sweat profusely dripping down his face, he was too scared to look back for fear of what he might see. Something told him to turn the key in the ignition and speed off to his rendezvous but an unnerving paralysis seemed to have gripped his entire body.

Suddenly with a resolve that surprised even himself Simon reached out for the door handle, pulled the lever while pushing the door open, with one foot on the tarmac and using the door for support he pulled himself out of the truck.

..................to be continued.