A Boy and His Lion

Dwanh

Hallucinations; An experience involving the perception of something not present. An experience you have when walking the 6km through a golden landscape that seems to stretch all the way to the moon; that mocking moon that rolls through the vast, velvet blue, stopping only to dash through the clouds in a teasing game of chase. It sounds almost pleasant doesn’t it? Well that’s what Leeu says; Leeu is peculiar, he’s my lion; well I suppose he’s not really mine, but he appeared on my second day of travel through the Nubian Desert. I hadn’t drunk water for a long time back then, but Leeu rescued me, he did! But like everything in this mediocre world, he has faults...

A perception of something not present; that’s Leeu’s fault. He’s only a hallucination.

Leeu

Humans are truly remarkable characters; always saying and doing such peculiar things, I cannot help myself but giggle at the sight of them. I once walked up to one with the palest of skins, cleared my throat and exclaimed “sir, I’m awfully sorry but your rifle seems to be pointing at me”. Dwanh was no different, but he was company. Although he has a particularly desirable liking towards me; a characteristic I fail to find in these discrete creatures. He speaks predominantly about himself.

“Leeu, I don’t see how we are going to reach the water, six showers of blood-red sunlight have danced upon the sand and sky and there is still water no-where. You do know why I am walking these desert hills right Leeu? Water for my family is why. Although my broer says it’s to become a man. He say “Dwanh, you are a useless boy, what will we eat and drink when the water runs out, how are you going to be a big man?” and I tell him “Broer, I will write a book, and then I will become rich and live in the big city Khartoum”

But he say this is foolish and no black case from the slums lives in Khartoum; and so it is here I find myself, with a bucket and my name. Dwanh means ‘to run’ did you know that Leeu? And run I will.  I shall run until I find water and become a big man like Broer.”

I glance at Dwanh with remorse, and with pity I whisper, “That is a fine idea Dwanh”

To which he replies, “hush Leeu, you are nothing but a hallucination”

Humans are truly remarkable characters. 

Dwanh

Home; A place where one lives. A place made metal slates crumbling like the dying children’s bodies when the missionaries don’t arrive with food. A recycled town. That’s what it is. Plastic bottles, cardboard, mud, bags, scraps of wood if you were lucky. Yet there was beauty, no denying. I called it “A man-made Rainbow” for there was every colour I dared to imagine, strewn out across the limitless landscape. It was vivid, vibrant and vanquished the sinister moods of its people within. This was my home, a rainbow; not this path to demise, not this desert. Evidently noticing my pessimistic attitude dawning, Leeu smiles, “Dwanh a waterhole sits waiting ahead.”

I exhale slowly, his presence and ability to interpret my emotions was beginning to drive me into a whirl of insanity, I close my eyes and squeeze out five words repeatedly said throughout my journey “Leeu, you are not real!”

Leeu smile becomes weak; there is a feeling of content shown in his eyes, which as I stare into seem to resemble the dunes stretched for miles in front of me, he glances down and his smile becomes large, he says, “humans are truly remarkable characters.”

I follow his penetrating gaze, across the golden waves, shimmering with the intensity the sun; and I stop. My eyes flicker across a shade of blue. I follow it; the rim of the water darkens the edge of the sand which appears to almost swallow the lake with greedy intentions. It ripples as the water respires; desperately taking its last few breaths before the full impact of summer arrives, leaving it with nothing but cracked earth and its own compunction.

Leeu

Humans are funny creatures. Always doubting, only once a human is sure that success is in his grasps will he admit to being successful; and I have seen this in the flesh. For success was blooming from Dwanh’s face and only then did he truly believe it. It is hard to describe blissful happiness, to put Dwanh’s expressions into words. His face shone and sparkled much like the sun danced on the lake stretched before us, he became a man-made rainbow like he had told me about, and what a sight it was. He danced upon the lakes surface, laughing a melodic rhythm which was so strikingly different from his usual monotone voice. But it’s strange how faces can change so quickly on you humans. How utter paradise can turn into melancholy with three sharp sounds. Three bullets which shook the land shattered Dwanh’s rainbow and landed neatly in my chest. I sensed my head tipping slightly and watched Dwanh cry out with despondency. The lake meant nothing to him anymore. The idea of becoming a man meant nothing to him. He whipped around like a tree flailing hopelessly in a powerful wind, but the shooter was gone.  It was irrelevant anyway. Dwanh came running, he resembled a weak animal, being hunted dashing across a vast isolated space.

He spoke with anguish in his voice “Leeu your no hallucination!”

My eyes rose and reflected the sand slowly consuming my body, as it will one day the lake.

“Humans are truly remarkable characters”, I whisper; my words choke in the air and fall hopelessly in a tangle.

Dwanh roars, “and so too are lions”.