UNBELIEVING BELIEVERS EPISODE 6

-Dedicated to the People of Southern  Kaduna, Nigeria.

2 WEEKS LATER, Still @ Rann,

Kanbul howled with laughter, his first in three weeks. Mamza had been tugging on his heartstrings  with the tales of the Adams and the Eves in the bible up to Christ and church the way he never heard it.

"You see what, Mum!" Kanbul exclaimed, from the pile of his mother's clothes where he was seated in her shack, "I've really missed you!"

"I've missed you too. Especially your troubles." Mamza pat her giggling son on the shoulder as the chorus of children singing national anthem from the distance reminded her of Kanbul's heroics at the age of six.

"You were once like them, and I remember how you and the other pupils stood out at national stadium on children's day, waiting for the national anthem to run out for your match past. Then your own female counterpart suddenly slumped for fever or so,"

"Huh-uhn?" Kanbul expressed sheer ignorance as his eyebrows tailed his neck backward to check if his mother was talking to another person.

"Oh dear! Sure, you've forgotten, I still have the white and black picture your father snapped somewhere here."

"Seriously, what happened?" He probed as his mother groped into one of her bag zippers.

"You just sh-"

The words were left hanging in Mamza's mouth by a fiery sound of blast from nowhere in the camp. Next were mighty pockets of fireballs touching down everywhere. One landed short of her shack just separating Kanbul's feet from outside, consuming the shacks on either sides of hers. With all playing out too fast, a gust from the next blast wrenched both mother and son doorway. He impulsively grabbed her and both rolled over, out on the ground with no time left to judge if this was a dream or reality.

By the time Kanbul cleared his eyes from the subsaharan dust, the kitchen, the church tent, mosques and several shacks were in flames with screams and untold wailings that only reminded him of hell he had read in the bible pages.

"Lie down flat everybody!" The soldiers rang out a hard order that kept running from mouth to mouth as the public address system was already engulfed by fire.

"Mum, are you okay?" He managed to speak through some sands in his mouth.

"I am fine Kanbul, sure you're not hurt?"

"No Mum, our sins must have reached the seventh heavens. I doubt if the Angels haven't left this camp long before it was erected. Mum, is this not Sodom and Gomorrah, if only God can spare us like Lot and his family."

"The Lord is merciful my dear, but we aren't Lots, Kanbul believe in the demonstration of God's power. You are a believer, He has given His Angels charge over us, that's why we are spared till this hour. I won't lose you, a thousand shall fall by my right, ten thousand by my left."

"With my eyes would I see them," Kanbul muffled, "but is this how the terrorists attack occur? Mother, I'm getting you out of here, just before my lorry is torched" he yelled out in horror as Mamza pulled him back from crawling away.

"Your lorry won't be touched, I have covenant of exception not to lose anyone, anything, not even a pin again." His mother said reassuringly  and went on praying while Kanbul in frisson of suspense couldn't imagine anyone would react with prayers now. Then, he tried to shut his eyes, made a little confession but the thudding sounds were too loud for him to hear his own words of prayer not to talk of God hearing him.

Three minutes on, and still under the shower of fire, he saw children been dragged under the right shade of the date palm tree in the middle of the camp. And for once, he wished he were a kid. With half an eye opened, he looked around should any child be wandering so he could just pretend like those yanking them off their mother's breasts and bring such to the tree. But none was within sight as all sorts of thoughts jammed his mind.

"Mum, trouble is clearly following us everywhere, is anywhere safe in this country? Are we ever going to get out alive?"

"Shut up Kanbul! I'm going to ask you a question!"

"What Mama?"

"Are you really a believer?"

"Of course!" Kanbul protested. He cleared his throat. "I got born again at age of eight, got baptized at twelve, still speaking in tongues, have served virtually in all groups in the church and currently the bible-"

"I don't need an answer from you so quick," Mamza cut in, "just keep thinking about that question for at least seven days from now!"

Instead, he quickly doubted if they would last seven more seconds alive as the shelling on the camp grew rather heavier to cast all doubts on the brimming good news that the terrorists have been conquered.

He dared to look up, inclined his ears away from the blasting noise on the ground to the dronings in the clouds. Just then, he realized they were being bombarded by firing jet from the sky. A sight that left all but one question in his heart: were the terrorists displaced from the land into the air?

Though, the soldiers in their turtleneck and helmets were on top of their games, they were put under. Everyone could share in the outrage on their faces; radioing and threading orders to attack when the blasts wouldn't wane. Triggers eventually were left to reflexes.

With screams and pandemonium everywhere necks turned, a grenade obnoxiously tunneled down on the date palm tree at the centre, arresting all eyes. The tree in turn began to fall rightward exactly where the children were gathered. Too fast for anyone to do anything than watch and shout.

Then, Mamza rose up from the sands, "I command you date tree to fall left in Jesus name, fall leftward!" Immediately, the tree swerved from right to left, fell flat leftward without a child hurt. While all were nonplused, Kanbul's jaw not only stayed dropped, but was also packing sands.

"But mother, how did you-?" Kanbul asked his mother as he spit out some sands.

"Maybe, a bit of compassion and anger that I can't behold death again! But I believed it was possible. Help me pack the children over here please."

Then, the shelling ceased but an uproar began. Anything rope-like became tourniquets; while the soldiers snapped off the cords of honor strapped to their shoulders to save lives, women without a care who was looking at their underwear removed  their wrappers to secure bleeding limbs, not sparing scarfs and hijabs. And for the first time, Kanbul couldn't tell if religion existed in the IDP camp.

While helping out in awe of his mother, he happened to sight an active ooze of blood seeping from a collapsed shack, he rushed pulled off the log of wood and piles of liveless bodies, only for the bleeder to turn out to be Yersinar. He left no time to haul her out of the rubbles as he carried her in his hands without a care for haram.

Shortly afterwards, with utter shock, news abounded that the attacks wasn't from terrorists.

"What! Then who?" Kanbul was among the first to retort as other friends of his stood marooned. Curses went out unrestrained to whoever had unleashed hell on an IDP camp. Most considerate campers began to mill rumors that the attack was from neighboring forces across borders missing their targets until the final breaking news broke the camels back: the same government protecting the camp had rained bomb on it mistakingly.

Before long, military presence was bulked up, medical emergency aids were arriving in their numbers. Government ambulances had started sorting the corpses. International cameras swooped in while most local reporters were barred in their clutches. Survivors like Kanbul willing to vent on live cameras were curbed and causality figures from the media went hazy.

"Mum, aren't you angry at this nation? The twists and untruths in media is conflicting with our own bridled witness account!" Kanbul vexed and gave up fumbling with Yersinar's deep foot cut and handed her over to the bamboo gurney rolling by. He then came back to Mamza who was cuddling the orphans and continued "Didn't we all see it here or are all these hidebound? Imagine the truth had to come from international reportage!"

"Calm down Kanbul! Kadan kadan, at least there's truth somewhere, just be careful what you say."

"I'm not Mum, were they careful killing people? We could have died like those over there. You camped people and by mistake rained bombs on them! Even in a civil war, this calls for a subpoena. Why are all these displaced people here? For safety, where is the safety now?"

"Yaa kuri, Kanbul"

"I've heard of IDP camps being attacked by terrorists, that's so shameful but this one is worse"

"Kanbul, I don't want to hear a word of it from you now."

"Then, I'm leaving this camp, we are leaving today!" Kanbul pulled his mother up.

"I beg you, Kanbul, let's stay back just three more days to help out." Mamza went from persuading him to insisting.

"Stay back for what? Mum, I'm teaming up with some human right activists now!" Kanbul replied defiantly as he latched on the Internet from his lost-and-found phone. "Yet someone called these freak deaths mistakes!"

"Nothing is hidden from God. It shall all be revealed!"

"It's revealed already Mum! That's how they called for a curfew only to kill Papa Doya in Southern Kay Dee," Kanbul blurted as he typed fast, already tagging and posting pictures on his handset. "Too many mistakes in too short a time isn't mistake, mother. I'm going to show this irresponsible government that I'm a lawyer!"

"You are first going to show God that you are a carpenter, that you can help others that are still alive, build a few shelter before we leave"

"Oh oo, no!" He became deflated. "Ugh! You have come again." He paced off and came back tapping his head.

"You would construct at least two shacks here before we leave, other men would continue."

"Two? What mother! Two? NGOs are coming with relief materials, better mobile shacks, the camp commandant just said so, I'll just make one."

"No," Mamza objected. "I said two, you rebuild your own, so that our neighbors can stay there and then the church, my ears have heard lots of promises in this place that never came true, or rather came too late."

"Mum, you don't know how long it takes to build two!"

"Just start, we would leave in three days time, everyone will support you, including me. Didn't you say you have some tools in your hood?"

He left for his lorry without a word, fuming as people and soldiers flocked around Mamza.

"How did you stop that tree from falling on the children?" One asked, "Kai ka cece mu!"

"No, it's God, "ya be Sunan sa" Mamza replied pointing to the heavens"

"Wow! Wished it were on camera, I doubt I'd ever do that!" Confessed another.

"Because of your unbelief; for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed," Mamza replied as she stood up in her black widow gown and pointed to a mountain afar off "ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall be removed; and nothing shall be impossible unto you."

"Would have called you a witch, if not that we know you to be a Christian" The Ulama admitted through his broken jaw, "Mu gode!"

"Ya be Sunan sa! Glory to God." Mamza concluded as she disperse them. "Let's help, help others please, people are still in serious pains." Then, campers started repenting of their sins, and believing in Christ. Her demonstration of Gods power did much to pacify their hurts against the government, except Kanbul.

By evening, when Kanbul went back to check on Yersinar in the health kiosk, she had been stabilized and her ankle dressed by a W.H.O female nurse.

"Thank God, someone finally came for her. Are you her relative or a guardian?"

"Erm, well, hmm, kind of!"

"I need someone to sign here". She handed him her pen as he went blank for a moment, turning his cloudy head between Yersinar and the paper. Everyone in Yersinar's shack had died. No one was willing to add even a thread of another's weight to their already heavily laden bleeding hearts. Before he could find his tongue. "Sorry guys," the blond haired Nurse added presumptuously, "it must have been a long way for you, all the way from  Futa jalon, then Sambisa, then Rann"

"Futa jalon, seriously! How did you know all that" Kanbul finally betrayed his unfamiliarity.

"Of course, those are in her files. Don't tell me you don't know." She collected her pen from him and Kanbul quickly told her all he knew.

"I would adopt her if she agrees." Kanbul said resolutely as she showed him to the registry.

"Be sure you have her Ulamas consent. The Nurse advised as he made for the door.

"Come back here, Sir!" She called out to his surprise. "You obviously didn't know you also have a cut!"

"What?" Kanbul stood aghast as she tenderly nursed a big bleeding gash on his back and got his details in patients logbook.

"Thanks!"

"No mention, please help call the next person in."

"Sure I don't have more cuts?" Kanbul joked as she bang the door on him with her eyes.

By next morning, Yersinar adoption papers were settled short of court filings. The Nurse had left, with a wide space left in Kanbul's heart. He felt like chasing after her but she looked beyond reach. He had no contact of hers, don't even know her name.

"I should have asked for hers when she asked for mine" he soliloquized regrettably "well, how many patients asked for their caregiver's names?"

Then, his phone started beeping, he looked at the caller and it was Ewaloju.
                      ***

To be continued next week Friday 5pm.

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