Zafarawa, Nigeria
23 year ago.
__________________
___________
In the ring. White mat spread like butter on bread, red strings held attached to poles and black metal rings.
Two men circled .
Eyes locked. Brewing brutal cheers and laughter from the crowd around.
Slowly from Titan to Razor hawk tension was a breeder. It loom really to crack.
Muscles flex , veins raisin, chest heaven that nipples twitch, first clech to bruise a woman thighs. Yet_ Razor hawk was loose.
To loose to earn a predator glare and a spite case to jam.
They close the distance. Tension hang so hostile.
Boot were Gris back across canvas, squeaking and within the few first minutes Razor was case to the turnbuckle.
And the crowd erupt. A child with thin limp, dark in skin and a nude upper body razzle with hot knife sculpting: squeal louder.
He never liked Razor.
All Razor arrogant words with the belt were comedic. And this made his fat face break into a big smile.
In the early morning,the first light of dawn spills softly over Zafarawa touching the clay rooftops down to dusty streets with a warm, golden glow. Which the air is crisp but carries the faint scent of burning wood from early cooking fires, mingling with the earthy smell of dew-soaked soil.
Market begins to wake. Vendors trending across, their broom swept hardly to the ground. Time was a paste and being fast was a o intake of survivor.
Adhan rang throughout the town, the narrow way now held prayer of many. The little one in swatches rhythm along whisper prayer.
One within the lip.
" Suliman? Come pray!"
_ But the boy couldn't rip his eyes away the small button shape tv placed on the brown dintung shelf fixed to the wall. His small light brown eyes captured Razor winning.
Each straw of the mat snap within his fingers.
His eyes captured the violence.
Razor ducks, sliding beside Titan with a low, smooth motion. You hear the hiss of his boots skimming the mat.
He pops up behind Titan and wraps both arms around the waist.
German Suplex!
Titan's body arcs like a pulled bowstring before crashing down. The ring shakes, and you feel the vibration move through the metal of the barricade.
Razor suddenly grabs Titan's wrist mid-chop, spins under his arm, and pulls Titan forward into a rapid knee strike—right to the ribs.
Titan huffs, folding slightly, air knocked out of him.
Every volent he didn't like.
Razor was winning and he doesn't want Razor to win, He want Titan to win but Razor was winning.
But he didn't_
" SuLiMan!"
Another call but harsh.
It made his spine straighten and his eyes hase. The last woven straw snap. Little suliman had to obey or is would be another hell. His little legs walk to his mother where she kneel on their sleeping mat close to some ash bags where their little clothes reside.
" Pray." Her voice soft, her hands large and warm but linder on his bald head. He nodded.
" Pray for your mama, pray for papa, pray for the little ones, pray that God protect us, pray for big brother, pray that our sins being forgive... Pray saliman, don't watch me pray."
He nodded and let his head kiss the ground.
He would pray for Titan to win. And one day he would be the next Titian. Big and strong and he would protect his mother and buy her a big house.
So he would pray.
The mid day gave way and sun scorch on human wet skins. Eyes get inching and troat get dried. Self advertisement echoes within the Garage and those pass by get hauled by needy vectors in wants to get their goods sold.
To someone new, they could be tricky accused to pay from something they don't want.
And it get pointless to argue.
Hawker pinch in stalls of others. Agonizing going within the sun to sell, yet mouth held water cold from Mama Amad.
A young maiden despite marriage still had men edging for her. Her Pink ajab can't her the robust of her chest and nipples that pick through the light blouse, and thick wrapped can't shield her round hips perky ass within.
Men who hit on her are hiss away but they still come and women who aid insults on her as grease with her mouth.
Many claim her marriage to a herd of lies and her children as inturted basters but only behind her back but they laughed with her.
Many of times they haste her to summoning and swears. Many she coercion, many she declined and yet she condemned.
And many she win.
Like today, she winning.
Her husband and elder son were coming back.
She would sing and dance, most times urge her little son to dance but he wouldn't. Even when she explained that his father and brother were coming.
He didn't seems to understand but he dance when she told him she was cooking Miyan Wake.
A Hausa delicacy, nutrition and tasty: especially with tawo.
His big head shook more than his waist and it made her laugh hard.
" You such foul child." Is was low even to herself.
Her eyelashes lower to the dice pepper and the fast dice of her finger. Thought lace though her iris but she kept to herself for now till they came.
" Ma... What more I bring?"
She wince. Suliman voice wasn't cute like a 4 years old, it wasn't deep either but it was loid, sure loud for his small mouth.
" Get me water."
" Wata?"
'" Yes, also go get the tuwo. "
" Tawo?"
" Yes oh! Go. "
His picked pace was ridiculous. He ran faster than certain times. Ricky times they were.
She head shook and she felt cold just to think. If mental were sentence then is would be well. Her hands held the other hard and not until the knife fell she didn't realize it was shaking.
She gasp and blick the dread away.
Assuring herself it would be ok because it would. It must be okay.
Day darken.
One raisin sun drift down behind a big loaf of tint clouds, behind the dark shadows of trees and a shepherd and his rams and the tilted grass befallen then.
The shepherd or herdman. Had woven baboon shielding his face and his arm hanged on the pole that hover on his neck. His eyes were narrowed on the ram that graze and tilted to the large scale of field ahead.
" I'm tried." In Hausa.
A hand holding the stick to the ground. He watch his brother from the distant. A smile crept his face at there struggle to make the big male cow move.
Is was entertaining.
" Can't take care of cows now." His tone teasing but his brother didn't seem to take it too well.
So he responded with a pronouns hand stretch and a widen of his five fingers. Adu laughed he was enjoying this.
" Mind your business Adu." Another brother called out.
" I minding my business. I just feel a little sorry for Narud father, his elder son can't tend cows, can't milk goat and can't get a woman." " Still live and expect his father to filled him. "
" ADU! "
" Hahaha, someone is angry... "
" Adu that's enough." Another chime in_ but Adu laugh. It was a hard laugh that made Narud more irritated and now was heading for the laughing Adu with swearing and a orge to beat someone father.
Even due Narud approach he laughed like he didn't consider the Narud as a threat, even when the latter hand clutch his shirt. His first collide to Adu skinner cheek.
" Not laughing anymore?" Adu wasn't laughing anymore. His eyes was squirting to what seem to be coming ignoring Narud harsh pattes on his head.
" Narud look."
The latter sneer fell from his face, his eyes too squirted and then it wilden.
" Is that smoke?"
Black smoke snooze from the field afar and what ever was coming aid power.
" Is that fire?".
" What idiot would burn weed in the field. "
Confused Voices from their brothers look in the air but Adu and Narud on more higher ground could see something.
But is wasn't a farmer. It wasn't another brother it was. It was...
" RUN!"
Sounds of gun sprayed around.