Zack and Kuukuwaa reluctantly stepped apart as the Medicine Man opened the door and entered.
His face was flushed and energetic as he looked at Zack.
“Come, Zack! The King has heard about your design and he came in person to look at it. Come, he is so impressed that he wants to see you. Come immediately!”
Kobby giggled.
“The King of Densua came out of his palace to see a house for shit? I’ll be damned!”
The men left the kitchen, and Kuukuwaa slowly sank into a chair. She was shaking badly, and there was a lot of pain inside her!
The King of Densua was a slight man.
He would not be more than five feet or just a bit more, Zack guessed. He was draped in rich kente cloth, and a golden crown adorned his head.
There were gold bands on his wrists, around his upper arms, and his ankles.
His feet were encased in a beautiful pair of locally made sandals for royals known as ahenema. And there were more gold rings on his fingers.
He was flanked by Elders, Kingmakers, his two children and sword-wielding guards, and he was sitting on a beautifully-crafted stool, with a man and a woman seated at his feet.
His linguist, known as the Okyeame, was standing beside the king and his warm eyes roved over Zack’s face, and then he smiled slightly.
“Aah! So, this is the native with the white man’s mind!” he said expansively.
Zack moved forward with a smile on his face and his hand outstretched.
“Pleased to meet you, sir!”
Suddenly two of the guards drew their swords with harsh growls and advanced on a startled Zack. Opanyin Amoah moved forward quickly and grabbed Zack, pulling him back quickly.
The Medicine Man suddenly went down on one knee and spoke without raising his head.
“Forgive him, My Lord of Lords, for he is with the white man’s mind, and he has lost that mind, and is nothing but a foolish goat,” Opanyin Amoah said anxiously.
The king motioned to the guards, and they sheathed their swords.
He giggled and looked at Zack admiringly.
“I see a brave man when I see him! This boy is certainly no fool! He is a warrior because he did not cower even in the face of drawn swords! Come, my son! It’s been a long time since I felt a man’s grip.”
Zack, bent a little and moved forward, making some of the people gathered giggle.
He took the king’s hand and shook it. “Pleased to meet you, king Lord!”
The king laughed, and as Zack stepped back, his eyes met those of the beautiful princess who smiled at him and winked slightly.
But Prince Obodai was absolutely chagrined!
This cannot be happening!
Only he and his sister were allowed to speak directly to the king in public. All others had to do so through the linguist! And he did not even remember the last time he held his own father’s hand in a greeting, and now this total stranger had!
He stared at his father with pure anger, and when he looked at Zack, there was total hatred in the depths of his eyes.
Opanyin Amoah, who missed nothing, took notice of this extreme emotion in the prince, and it worried him a great deal.
“Get down on one knee now, Zack! Now!” Opanyin Amoah whispered desperately.
Zack got down on one knee and looked at the agitated old man.
“Why? Why should I get on my knee?” Zack whispered hotly. “I’ve not done anything to harm him, and neither have I stolen from him.”
“This is custom, you moron!”
“You two can get up now!” King Obodai said with a giggle.
Opanyin Amoah stood up and pulled Zack up too.
His face was filled with worry, but Zack was smiling broadly, absolutely oblivious to the fact that he had incurred the wrath of the Prince.
“Linguist, let it be known to our Majesty that we’re profoundly honoured to have him visit us today!” Opanyin stated humbly.
“Your Majesty, the greatest of all Kings, your servants are humbled by your presence here,” the linguist mentioned after clearing his throat.
“Linguist!” the king called.
“Nana! He of the perfumed breath, your subjects listen!” the linguist responded.
“Please let it be known to our Visitor here that I’m well-pleased with what I have seen, and I shall be extremely grateful if he and his men can come to the palace and put up a bigger version of this edifice I’m seeing here.”
“Yooooo, as you’ve heard, the Lord of Lords has spoken, and it is his wish that this man from another land, the son of another earth, will make himself and his men available at the palace, at his earliest convenience, to perform another miracle, a bigger phenomenon than we are witnessing here,” the linguist said animatedly.
“It will be an –” Zack began.
Opanyin Amoah hammered him in the back, and he stopped, and looked at the older man with such confusion and fun dancing in his eyes that the Princess giggled, and even the old king smiled.
“Okyeame, let it be known to His Royal Majesty that at the earliest convenience, his servants would begin work!” Opanyin stated.
There was a nod of approval from the king, who gestured to the linguist and whispered into his ears.
The linguist straightened and hitched up his cloth.
“Yoooo, Nana, the Wisest of them all, wishes to inform all gathered here that he thinks this project is a magnificent one! For years we have had to erect the public toilets in the woods because of the sweet aroma!”
“Sweet aroma? What do you mean sweet aro –” Zack started.
Again, Opanyin Amoah thumped him in the back, and this time it shook him, and he looked at the older man and giggled.
“It is a way of speaking, you fool, and you don’t interrupt the King’s linguist when he’s speaking,” Opanyin stated desperately.
“It appears to me that this stranger of another earth really needs to learn our ways,” one of the elders said as he pointed a finger at Zack with a warm smile.
“They’re all like that! The ways of the White Man corrupt their brain and warps their thinking,” a second elder giggled and said.
There was a general hum of laughter, and Zack looked from one face to the next, opened his mouth to speak, received a thump, and sensibly shut his mouth.
“Now, as I was saying before I was unceremoniously interrupted by the bad spirits of bad ancestors, our esteemed King and Wise One, Nana Opambuor Obodai, the Fire-eater, the one who walks through flames and ties the tails of ten lions together, says that the visitor, who is now a brother amongst us, known by the honourable name of Zack, is kindly requested to marshall the young men and women of Great Densua together, to put up a public toilet near the town, so that our old men and women wouldn’t have to trek to the bushes at night and risk being bitten by snakes and stung by scorpions again! And all those who will help in this project are going to be handsomely paid! So says our Lord!” the linguist concluded.
“Our Wise One, we have heard you!” Opanyin said.
“He with the perfumed tongue, Great One, you speak wisdom,” the first Elder said.
After a few minutes of fun interaction, the King asked to leave and he was helped to his feet, and some palace servants carried his stool.
Amidst drumming and chanting, the entourage made its way slowly out of the compound.
Opanyin Amoah, standing beside a befuddled Zack, was not the least surprised when the Princess suddenly peeled away from the group and approached them.
She ignored the Medicine Man and placed her right hand on Zack’s right shoulder.
She smiled warmly into his eyes, and Opanyin Amoah saw that her eyes are filled with more than mere admiration for the young man.
“Zack. I’m looking forward to cooking for you,” the princess said.
Zack raised his eyebrows, puzzled obviously.
“Cooking for me?”
“When you come to the palace to work, silly!” she said with a giggle.
“Do you cook?”
She giggled and shook her head, smiling fondly at him.
“That’s what I like about you, Zack. You make me laugh a lot. Of course, I won’t do the cooking, but it is our way of speaking. My servants would, but I will serve you myself.”
Zack stopped smiling and looked at her warily.
“Thank you very much, Princess.”
One of the Elders was now approaching, and so the Princess rubbed Zack’s right cheek tenderly, then she turned and walked away.
She looked back briefly and saw him still looking at her, and she winked at him.
The Elder had now reached them. He was holding a bottle of Schnapps in his hand which he now proffered to Opanyin Amoah.
“A gift from the Prince to you, Great Medicine Man, for being the father of a beautiful noble and virtuous woman.”
Opanyin Amoah looked at the Elder, and there was discomfort in the eyes of both.
“Maybe you should keep it, Ampadu.”
The Elder smiled wanly and shook his head once.
“Eyes are watching, Nana. As a friend, I’ll advise you to take it,” Elder Ampadu said.
“You know it’s not just a gift, Ampadu,” Opanyin said anxiously. “He’s making his first move for Kuukuwaa.”
“I know, my friend. It is a hard decision, I know, considering how we all feel about the Prince. But, take the gift. With the night comes the thinking caps of men. May the gods guide you to a peaceful resolution of this!”
“Thank you, my good friend,” Opanyin Amoah said and reluctantly took the Schnapps.
The Elder bowed in gratitude and turned away.
Zack and Opanyin Amoah looked at each other, and presently Kobby joined them, looking worried.
“Is that bottle what I think it is?” he asked.
“What is it, Kobby?” Zack asked painfully.
“A first greeting. The first step for my sister.”
Zack felt a sudden pain in his heart, and he became very afraid.
Trembling, he looked deeply into the eyes of the Medicine Man.
“Please, sir. I know you’re a wise man, and I know you miss nothing. I’m in love with your daughter!”
“The two of you shouldn’t complicate things, young man!” Opanyin said painfully.
“Love is not a complication of things, sir!” Zack replied passionately. “I don’t really know a lot, but I believe Kuks feels for me as I feel for her. You should know how to handle this, please, or you’re really going to make two hearts very unhappy.”
The Medicine Man whirled on Zack.
He grabbed Zack’s left hand and lifted it, showing him his ring finger and the faint line of a ring etched into the skin.
“Look at this, young man! Have you seen this? You’re a married man! You should stop this madness, and let things take their course, my boy! What will happen if you force your way on my daughter, only for us to know that you have a wife and children waiting somewhere? That, my son, will break my daughter more than being married to the Prince of the land!”
“But I’m not wearing a ring now, sir!” Zack almost shouted in his pain. “That should tell you that maybe there is more to this than we think! Give me a chance to find out!”
“I do like you, Zack. I like you a lot! But this is out of my hand! You better regain that memory of yours, and fast, otherwise, no one can help you,” the Medicine Man said, pointing a hard finger at Zack, turned and walked quickly away without saying anything more.
Zack could not speak. There was a painful lurch in his throat as Kobby put an arm across his shoulders and hugged him gently.
“Don’t fret yourself, my man. Between you and that pompous prince, I’ll always choose you as a brother-in-law! But the old man is right, you know. You can’t stay in this mad zone forever. You must try to remember your past, you insane bastard.”
“Kobby, do you have Schnapps?” Zacks asked desperately.
“Yeah, a couple or so. Why?” Kobby asked with raised eyebrows.
“Give me one, please, fast!” Zack said desperately.
And then Zack ran after Opanyin Amoah, who was heading towards his room.
Zack ran past Opanyin.
Kuukuwaa had come out of the kitchen and was standing at the entrance looking at Zack with a slight frown of incomprehension on her face.
Zack now stopped in front of Opanyin, barring his way.
Opanyin stopped and looked at Zack warily.
“And now what has gotten into that fuddled-up head of yours, young man?”
Opanyin’s wife was approaching from behind, and she also stopped and looked on.
“Please, sir, can you wait for just a few minutes?”
“And why is that? Why should I wait?”
Kobby, holding a bottle of schnapps, suddenly came to Zack and handed him the bottle.
Without warning, Zack moved forward and intentionally collided with the Medicine Man.
Opanyin moved back with a cry of surprise, the bottle of Schnapps in the man’s hand falling and crashing on the cemented step in the process and breaking the bottle and spilling its contents.
Zack then thrust his bottle into the startled man’s hand.
“Please, sir, accept this gift offer, for the beauty of your daughter.”
Obaapa began to laugh, and Kobby clapped his hands.
“Dayummmmn! Well played, mad boy, well played.”
Zack did not say a word further. He walked past the Medicine Man, who now had a little smile playing around the corners of his lips.
Across the yard, Kuukuwaa stared at Zack, and a sweet look passed across her beautiful face but they do not see, however, that one of the workers, a smallish man had come into the yard to put down a shovel and had witnessed everything that had happened, and he was licking his lips as he began to think of the reward the Prince will give him for this piece of news.
The little man left the house quietly and headed straight for the palace with some news to give Prince Obodai.
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