Called to Protect

 

            Kalifa walked three full paces behind his father as they had joined the rest of the men from the tribe. It was the last day of the full moon and as a unified body the men and older boys embarked on a hunting campaign to restock their dwindling food until the arrival of the next full moon. He watched his feet sift through the damp earth but failed to stop moving with the rest of them. Kalifa stood alone as the rest of them quickly dropped flat to the ground at the arrival of another hunting party from a tribe on the other side of the jungle.

              Ten grown men and six older boys lay flat in the dirt, silent, waiting, and carefully listening for any approaching footsteps or signs of danger. The moment passed quickly and as the other tribe disappeared down a path to the far right, the men and the boys all rose to their feet and murmured among themselves.

              “Why are they this far into our land?” one of the men asked. “We need to be careful and assume that they are here for hostile reasons. We cannot allow our women and children to be taken captive while we are seeking for food.”

              “It is very unusual to see them this far from their own land,” Kalifa’s father said. “It would be foolish to continue this hunt, leaving the women, the children, and the village unprotected. We must immediately return.”

              A subtle groan passed through the group of men and boys as they reversed their course and slowly ran back to their village. They all remained low as they moved, keeping a cautious eye to the far right, presuming that the other tribe would be sensitive to their activity.

              “They seem to be taking the long way around toward our village, if that is where they are actually headed,” his father said. “Boys gather the women and children in the community hall in the center of the village. All of the men will position themselves to survey and protect everyone.”

              Kalifa was the largest, the wisest, the bravest, and the strongest of all the boys, and took the role of leader, giving directions to the others. He could envision the entire village, he formulated a plan and guided everyone into the community hall, warning them that another tribe had been spotted a short distance into the jungle. He and the second largest boy stood at the main opening, knowing that it was very possible that scouts from the other tribe could be separate from the rest of the tribe. Both boys held spears, knew how to use them if necessary, and thought through their hundreds of hours of training, ready for any attack.

              Kalifa caught sight of movement at the edge of the jungle, squeezed the shoulder of his friend and lowered him to the ground in a kneeling position. “Be ready to strike if necessary. I see only one, but there could easily be others around us,” he said. “We are the only protection the women and children have. I know that we both have the skills necessary to protect ourselves and keep the young and weak safe.”

              Both boys could hear whimpering coming from the community hall, prompting Kalifa to hurry back inside and chasten those who were making noise. “Please, everyone be silent. Any noise you make could draw the other tribe directly to us,” he said. He could see the fear in their eyes. He gave them all a smile and returned outside to find his friend speaking with two boys from the other tribe, roughly their age. He slowly raised his spear, keeping a close eye on any questionable movement.

              “Kalifa, wait, hold up,” his friend said. “We completely misunderstood the situation. They have come here to warn us about an invasion from the far north. We need to find your father and tell him what we have learned. They are here on good terms.”

              “Tell me more details,” Kalifa said. “I need to know exactly what you are talking about.”

              “Yes, of course,” said one of the boys from the other tribe. “We woke this morning to find that a large group of white devils had entered our village. The chief sent messengers around the village, warning everyone to stay in their huts, for we had no idea what they were doing or why they were among us.”

              The second boy continued the story. “The chief and ten of our strongest men approached the white devils with their spears. But the strange, pale men had odd spears of their own that threw small projectiles at a rapid speed. I actually saw one of them point his spear toward a monkey in a distant tree and with a sound like thunder, he killed the small beast.”

              The first boy picked up the story and continued speaking. “The chief spoke in our native tongue to one of the warriors, who then hurried away into the village to gather a group of men to come and warn you of these intruders. From everything that we have seen, they are dangerous and seem to be bringing animosity toward all of us who live in the jungle. We cannot understand their words and they seem very angry toward us.”

              “Come,” Kalifa said. “We need to find father and our chief. If the four of us approach them together and explain what is happening, we may be able to avoid violence between our people. We must not return violence for your goodwill. But wait one moment, I need to communicate this to the women and children, for they are very frightened of what appears to be happening.”

              When Kalifa retuned from the community hall, the four boys entered the jungle together, stopped moving, listened intently, and located the men from their two tribes. Kalifa motioned for his father to approach and told him the details of what he had just learned. His father pulled the other men together, repeated the message to them all, to hear the sounds of joy and relief.

              The men all scattered in many directions throughout the jungle and eventually gathered as one large group with the men from the other tribe. The same message was repeated to everyone there. A pact was made between them to protect their own, to protect one another and to send the same message to the tribes further south.

              Kalifa and his friends spoke kindly to the older boys from the other tribe, exchanged names, and made plans to reconnect once the white devils were gone. Both excited and disappointed, they watched everyone scatter in different directions. Some men from his tribe began the short journey further south to warn the other tribes and make plans for building a unified defense against this certain danger.

              Kalifa returned to the community hall, confirmed the truth of the situation to the women and assured everyone that it was safe to return to their homes. Within a few hours, over one hundred men from his tribe, and from the tribes to the south arrived in their village, heavily armed and ready to fight. With their arrival, Kalifa’s father sent out the command to regather the women and children in the community hall once again, for a battle of this size could easily scatter throughout the entire village.

              “We must have the women and children in one location,” he said. “Kalifa, gather the older boys and the younger men to surround the community hall. The small and weak need our protection. This is a great responsibility for you. Do not allow anyone to breech the hall. You and the other boys have the skills to succeed in this. I believe in you.”

              Kalifa hurried off as directed by his father, gathered the other boys, and they all scattered throughout the village, moving the women and children to the community hall. They surrounded the building with eyes in every direction. They were fully armed and prepared to keep everyone safe.

              Having been forewarned of the strange and noisy weapons possessed by the white devils, the men of the jungle secured positions of safety, knowing that these weapons could not penetrate through trees. Armed with spears and bow and arrows, they dipped the tips in poison and began a constant volley of direct attack when the white devils arrived. Darkness began to fall and the last of the white devils began to flee, leaving the village safe and secure.

              Plans were made for a multi-tribe celebration of victory over their enemies. The next day with the arrival of sunlight, hundreds of men, women, and children arrived in Kalifa’s village, bearing food and drink to celebrate the glorious victory of good men over evil. Kalifa rejoiced at the widespread celebration of so many different tribes and peoples. All of them spoke the same tongue, and he wondered why they had failed to connect before this time.

              One hour after the celebration began, Kalifa and his friends reconnected with the boys from the other tribes and established long lasting friendships. “I think we have learned that we are all the same, except the white devils who seemed intent on destroying us. It is as one people that we need to live. With knowledge and trust comes love and protection. This needs to be our goal.”