Gipiir and Labongo (Epilogue)

By Ashley

The hills of Pubungu stayed  poised as the rivers still ran to their never ending destination with calm. The turmoil was only in the people’s minds and the pain in their hearts. With downcast eyes, everyone mourned the death of Achola and her little one.  The dark loom that had befallen Pubungu would surely be hard to get rid of and no one knew if it would even ever go away. 

Labongo still seemed strong, like a true leader should be. In the dark of the night however, whenever he closed his eyes, Achola opened hers in his dreams. He many not have failed as a leader but as a father and a husband, he was a total failure. Was this the same feeling that Gipiir had for the past entire year? The longing, nostalgia and pain coupled with anxiety and regrets?

Did Labongo really have to worry about what would become of Gipiir now that he had taken his own path? Or maybe the monster in him would never let him get hurt again, unlike in the past when he was nothing more than a feeble young man?

As for Gipiir, he finally understood that hands that had blood on them were too dirtied to turn pure. Rebuilding was hard enough but living with the guilt must have been what was more painful. Deep down however  he could not help but wonder if the self righteous Labongo also had nightmares. Being able to share that pain with the person that caused it seemed like somewhat a consolation. Well, there was no turning back now. No one could ever change the past, but maybe the future.

Looking back at everything, all the pain and the turmoil had eventually paid off. Katabani smiled from ear to ear. Was he heartless for rejoicing over someone’ misfortune? Not in the least. While he had dried his skull over Nessi’s carcass, Gipiir and Labongo had stomped the ground with their feet in a joyous dance of victory. Had they not caused his pain and rejoiced over it? 

Flashbacks of the deep and dark forest came back flooding his mind. 

Their fate has already been sealed. 

That was the most honest thing about the dark jungle. He had no need to raise his hand, or even lift a finger because the two fools were doomed to destroy each other. He could not help but think that an innocent child had been slain but that guilt was quickly washed away by Nessi’s lifeless eyes popping into his memory.

“ Rest well dear sister. Justice has been served.” Katabani said, nodding his head while looking at the cattle grazing in the fields. 

Finally, his soul had found peace in the rapture of his enemies.

Every thing with a beginning must have an end. Sometimes, the end could be the beginning of a whole new chapter. A new chapter of hope, faith, discovery, rediscovery and even re birth. The end could turn into a new era in just a blink of an eye. There is  nothing that time can not change and there is no wound that time can not heal. 

Take courage therefore because as time rolls by, a heartache shall pass, a life shall be given in exchange for another and a soul can be born anew, fierce and strong. Take courage for that is the true way of man. Courage to accept the things we can not change, courage to persevere with storms that come your way and courage to smile in the middle of the storm.  Courage is the true way of man.

The end