Chieftain

Twelve unusual guests bearing one unusual news item! For a moment, this seemed to be the assumed brand of the town that bustled with activity with curious onlookers coming together to gather the emerging details. The last twenty-four hours had not been uneventful for this town since the arrival of the guests from the plains in the wee hours of the morning. Word had it they had received a galactic visitation right in the middle of the night. Apparently, they had a song written that they swore was taught them by the visitors!

They had travelled across the plains overnight to confirm reports alleged by the aliens, that a young king spoken of in days of old had found his way into the planet and chose a manger as the platform upon which to launch his cause. At first no major attention was given to them but later, some reports corroborated their theory, in particular the place the child was born. What however puzzled many were the claims of Kingship attributed to this new-born. There was for instance the spectacle of the galactic choir and the radiance of sorts that they claimed covered them all throughout the hilarious encounter!

Marcus the local town genius who had followed the story keenly had been able to piece the details together and give a verdict that interestingly settled well with a good chunk of his mystified listeners.

He put it that what the twelve had experienced was severe hallucination caused by excessive intake of herbs in the plains. It could also have been a result of chronic loneliness that was characteristic of their lot.

To illustrate his position, he referred to the example of a cousin of his who a few years back, he claimed, had taken a poisonous concoction of herbs while serving in the plains that nearly cost him his life. From his hospital bed, he swore some aliens had paid him a courtesy call and warned him the earth was at the verge of imminent destruction if humans did not stop coffee farming!

They apparently spoke to him in pure English in a four-hour tele-conference from their flying saucer roaming just slightly above his head. They had even offered him what seemed to be mango juice during the session and in the end appointed him their special envoy.

And so the analysis went on and on. The twelve had also had the chance of meeting the Mayor with whom they got to share about their fact-finding mission when he hosted them for lunch at his parlour.News about the group spread like wild-fire. By 3:00pm that afternoon, they were en route to their base after a somewhat dramatic day in the town where they had elicited different reactions.

“I’m starving guys”, Benny cried out. “Someone has got to do something about it!

“There you go! I knew it was coming! Not even the Mayor can fill that appetite of yours! You’re in trouble buddy! Big trouble!”

“When will you learn a lesson or two about leaving me alone Zack?!My appetite too!”

“Then don’t you think you would spare us the torment by keeping it to yourself…”

“Talking of the Mayor”, Jack cut in, “he gave us an invitation to come perform the galactic song sometime. Who is coming with me?”

“You are on your own Jack, on second thought though, I know there will be plenty of refreshments and all! Well, not a bad idea actually!” Benny timidly responded, carefully avoiding Zack’s sneer.

“Tell you what guys! Is it just me? I mean last night was just so wow!” Lionel picked up. “That was one incredible choir!”

Naphe was burning with exhilaration! “A part of me doubted this whole thing until we got there but even then I still found it so fascinating. The whole set up is all so not kingly, I mean with the cows and sheep and twelve shepherds!”

“There you go Naphe!” Benny observed. “As a matter of fact, the cows seemed rather starved, almost as if given a chance they would have devoured the poor litt…..”

“Oh not you and food again Benny!”Retorted Zack, his impatience evident.

“Think about it for a moment folks…a child in a feeding trough!” Benny was emphatic. “A delicacy of sorts. Didn’t the visitor last night say the new-born is about the Peoples? Food! Food! Food for all the people!”

“Benny!”

“Zack!”

Naphe’s face lit up in a flash. “I think he was passing a message to us!”

“The Child?! What kind of a message?!” asked Lionel, all eyes on Naphe.

“Didn’t you feel the comfort around us as we watched him sweetly lying there? I felt at rest. Like I didn’t really have to go back to the plains. Like he was going to relieve me. Relieve us. He brings in a new order to the vocation. It will never be the same again!” There was a moment of silence among them.

“How unpatriotic of you Naphe! They call this desertion! How awkward! Even at the peak of your desperate creativity, you should have known better than to use such an innocent young soul as a scapegoat! I hope you are ashamed of yourself!” Said Lionel staring starkly at Naphe.

“Time tells lots of stories Lionel. The last twenty-four hours have been no ordinary hours at all. Time will tell.”

“I’m really hungry people!”

“Benny!”Barked Zack.

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