The Amistad – Spring 2007 - COAS - Howard University

The Amistad – Spring 2007FICTIONmen, and the village of his birth. The look in Miatoo’s face was one of concern. Maybe he should have told himof his dream.Once out of the low-branched trees, Majabu squatted close to the ground and silently slid alongthe dry soil like a soft breeze. All his senses were firing at full capacity. The slightest noise or snap of a twigwould have him ready his spear, in anticipation of a 400 pound man-eater flying through the air.The first sight of lions sent shockwaves through his system. There were several lions under alarge tree in the distance. He knew he had to find a solitary lion. He cautiously got out of the line of sight of themain pride. He circled for what seemed like days but could not have been more than an hour. He saw him. Anold male was coming his way, the head low to the ground. Majabu dropped to his knees. He looked around andfound a rock, planted the base of his spear against it, and aimed the point towards the oncoming lion. No onesaid to use a rock to anchor the spear that was his idea. He thought he would let the charging lion’s weight drivethe spear deep into his chest. He would roll to one side once he was sure it had been driven home.The lion didn’t look up until it was 10-12 feet away, then it stopped. It was only three or fourseconds but it seemed like an hour, the lion watched Majabu. This was it, he couldn’t run now. The male roaredand bolted ahead. Two strides and the lion went air-bourn, timing the jump to land perfectly. The spear wasraised slightly to adjust for the angle. As soon as the point entered the middle of the chest, Majabu rolled to hisleft. In doing so, his right foot ended up in the air, providing an easy target. The muffled roar of pain from thespear was lessened by Majabu’s foot. The lion shook his head violently, severing the foot above the ankle.Majabu looked down and saw his bloody stump, a dead lion just beyond, still shaking frommuscle spasms. He went into shockBack at the fire Miatoo stood up, threw his arms back, and bellowed. He had seen an image inthe fire of a young warrior, his foot severed, a female lion on his back. His piercing cry echoed through thevillage. “MAJABU !”-- 29 --