Shadows

Present Day.

From the hospital, Thari and Rimon head to the stables where they saddle up two horses, pick up a few necessities and ride off into the forest. The sun was setting and to make matters worse, they were headed into a cloud of fog.

Thari’s arm also stings from his injury but he knows he cannot not dwell on it. He is careful, though, not to tear his stitches.

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Rimon worries that they may not achieve much and tries to persuade Thari but Thari is adamant and fixated on his cause- finding Siji.

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As the darkness of the forest engulfs them, they light their lanterns but the fog is unforgiving.?

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‘Destiny! Destiny!’ Rimon calls out.

‘Hey!’ Thari warns, ‘Don’t use that name. It’s pegged to controversy, plus we don’t want to expose our hand if we have an encounter with anyone. Use Siji, that’s her real name.’

‘Siji! Siji!’ Rimon calls out.

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After a bit of distance and a lot of name-calling, Rimon starts to realise the futility of their mission. It’s a huge forest and they are attracting the attention of any and all within earshot.

While hunting, they never ventured too deep into the forest and when they did, it would be with a well-armed squad. But even then, they would never let darkness catch them there.

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Rimon notices the crippling silence, interrupted only by their horses’ steps on fallen branches and the far-off cry of an owl.

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‘Hey, why did you seem to avoid the hospital?’? Thari asks to initiate a conversation.

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‘Ah, that,’ Rimon says as he takes a deep breath. ‘Pain, brother, pain.’

‘Hear me out,’ he continues when he notices Thari is about to interject.

‘When we were battling near the square, there was a lot of smoke and hubris from the grenade explosion so visibility was terrible. After a few shoot-and-duck manoeuvres, I thought I saw an assailant move near a temporary barrier. I took aim and shot only for a little girl to fall over. Her mother took her in her arms, not knowing where the bullet had come from…’

‘Oh, damn,’ Thari lets out.

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‘That’s not all. When the confrontation was over, the mom, with her bleeding daughter in her arms, thanked me as they boarded the ambulance. I caused them so much pain,’ recounts Rimon.

‘It was an accident,’ Thari consoles him.

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‘Guilt has been eating me up. I don’t know if she’s okay. I probably don’t want to know.’

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‘We haven’t been blessed with ease. You know that. We just do our best to stand tall with the tiniest bit of hope that tomorrow will be better than today. Don’t let this define you. You made a mistake, sure, but you are good. You’re my brother. Pain is a fact of life, suffering is not.’

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Silence seems to reign as Rimon mulls over Thari’s words.

‘We should camp somewhere till dawn,’ Thari suggests.

Rimon gestures in agreement. They veer off the path and venture beyond some huge trees that will provide cover for the night.

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After starting a small fire, Thari decides to take first watch as Rimon sleeps. Although hesitant, he agrees. But before he can drift off completely, a commanding voice comes from the darkness.

?‘Hands in the air!’

Silence.

‘I won’t repeat myself.’

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Slowly they both raise their hands as they try to get a glimpse of their adversary, hidden in the shadows.

?When they emerge from the shadows, Thari and Rimon are surprised to see that it is three of their brothers from the platoon.

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‘Thari! You’re alive’ one of them says happily as he steps forward to embrace Thari.

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Rimon’s excitement on seeing his platoon-mates is almost child-like. It swiftly replaces any traces of exhaustion and the sombre mood from his earlier conversation with Thari.

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After they exchange pleasantries, they sit around the fire to keep warm.

Thari tells them of his near-death experience at Kashata and the attack on the island, revealing how a warning from an informant saved the island from catastrophe.

For a few moments, the three newcomers digest the information before one of them, Lari, updates Thari on their mission.

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Thari, however, was curious about where the rumour of his death originated from.

‘The commanding officer, Sasi,’ Lari says.

‘What?’ exclaims Thari in shock.

Before he fully takes in the news, Lari continues, ‘We also have a prisoner. She was wandering the forest and from the ink on her, she might be Libra.’

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‘Where is she?’ Thari asks, now more alert than ever. He gets up and urges them to direct him.

Carefully, they lead him to a tent where the prisoner was being kept, her legs shackled at the ankles.

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As soon as his eyes lock on Siji, he goes forward to embrace her.

‘Thari!’ Siji exclaims as they embrace.

As the rest exchange puzzled looks, Rimon explains that she is their informant.

As they get reacquainted over this unusual encounter, Thari comforts Siji who is now unbound. Siji’s joy is visible on her face. When she’d heard of his death, her heart had sunk. On seeing him, the hope of what she was trying to achieve is alive again.

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‘I didn’t think I’d see you ever again…It looks like we were always meant to find each other. I’m glad you found me,” she says softly as Thari squeezes her hand in his.

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Seated in a corner by themselves, they speak of their common adversary whose movement is causing chaos even as their identity remains hidden in the shadows.

Siji explains that the recruiter at Kashata came from Maya, their peaceful neighbour.

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‘The company they work for is well established in Maya, with a triangular logo.

I’m familiar with it because of its entanglement with Libra. They finance alot of our work,’ Siji goes on.

Thari is intrigued, they are finally making progress.

‘The peace envoy also came from Maya,’ Thari adds as some of the pieces fall into place.

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Siji is worried though. The retaliation by Thari’s platoon was an unexpected move considering it was not as a result of the island attack.

Thari assures her that he does not know why the misguided information about his demise was circulated but he is certain there is a good explanation. All the same, he also assures her that seeking refuge in the hinterlands was the right choice.

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With the marks on her ankles from the chains still visible, Siji seems to disagree.

‘I’ll make sure they all know how grateful we are for all your help, Siji,’ Thari reassures her.

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‘Do you think we have the power to change the narrative?’ Siji as she looks up to meet his eyes.

‘What do you mean?’ Thari asks.

‘Stories are powerful. If we give them attention, they change our outlook on life. We both know that our people believe that they are adversaries. Do you think that will ever change?’

‘I don’t know but it’s definitely worth the effort. Let’s play our part as best as we can,’ says Thari after giving it some thought.

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‘Through conversation, in the interplay of thoughts and emotions.’ Thari continues,

‘Yet within the vast expanse of conversation, shadows lurk. Words can be weapons, piercing the armour of vulnerability, aiming for the heart.

With empathy as our guide, lets embrace the power of words to bridge divides, foster connection and spark transformation.’

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Thari notices Siji’s gaze into the sky. The fog had cleared, and the moon and stars reigned supreme.

‘Beautiful isn’t it?’ Thari asks.

‘Very, the dark side’ Siji says, her voice betraying her exhaustion.

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Soon after, he leaves Siji to rest as he goes to find some place to sleep as well.

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At daybreak, they set out for the journey home. As they make their way back to the island, Thari notices how the rest of his platoon are looking at Siji. He is not sure whether it’s fear and admiration, or both.

When they finally arrive at their quarters at the edge of the island, Thari asks Rimon to attend to Siji in case she needs anything. He then sets off to see Sasi. He needed answers.

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When he gets to her office at the town square, he is ushered in. It has been a while since his last debriefing and he notices that Sasi’s calm demeanour is as unwavering as always.

He narrates his encounters in the island and at sea, his journey back home, and how his informant was critical in diffusing the attack on the island.

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Eventually, he gets around to the question that has been bugging him- why she told his platoon that he had died.

‘That was a bit overboard, I’ll admit, but I needed them to prepare for the worst, especially after what happened in Kashata,’ Sasi explains.

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As he takes that in, Sasi’s voice suddenly forces his mind back to the present. ‘Thari, did you hear what I said? We arrested Destiny.’

‘What? When?’ Thari asks, shocked and confused.

‘Just a few minutes before you got here,’ Sasi responds, ‘and from what politics is demanding, the worst is yet to come.’

Without hesitation, Thari angrily storms out of her office.