The Journey of Two

I was jolted out of my reverie by my mother’s voice.
It rang in my ears like a bell,
striking my mind like a tuning fork.
I ran to meet her,
and she gave me a quizzical look.
“Lost in thought again?
I wonder when you’ll be out of your imagination meadow,” she said,
handing me the baskets
while she carried the cutlasses and hoes.
Together, we set out on our journey to the farm.

The road was deserted,
I could hear the sound of our every footstep.
My mother glanced at me from time to time,
sensing that I wasn’t pleased with the journey.
I could tell she was worried about me,
especially since I was supposed to be in school,
but she didn't have the money to pay my school fees.
Last night, we had a heart-to-heart talk,
and tears welled in her eyes as she expressed how unhappy she was about being unable to meet my needs.
“Son, you have to bear with me. I’ll try as hard as I can. If your father were here…” she trailed off, overcome with emotion.
I embraced her as tears streamed down my cheeks.

My mother loved nature and the arts.
Although not very well-educated,
she was a wellspring of inspiration.
She had passed her love of nature and the arts on to me,
I admired her greatly.
Sometimes I wondered how she could see so deeply into me,
but there was a part of me she had yet to know: my enigmatic nature.
Occasionally, she told stories that made me feel she had an inkling of my hidden depths.

We had travelled more than halfway when my mother suddenly shouted, holding up one of the cutlasses.
I was startled.
She said some words in my dialect that were too deep for me to understand.
I looked in the direction she faced and saw the grass moving.
Then there was silence.
My mother looked at me and heaved a sigh.
She explained that she had seen a man from afar,
She said he was a kidnapper from one of the neighbouring villages,
And they primarily targeted women and children.
She assured me not to fear,
saying we were in good hands and that good spirits would guide and protect us.

We arrived safely at the farm,
The encounter stayed buried in my mind.
As the sun descended,
We left for home.