Oontab [Episode 16]

Mama Yuttput
Mama Yuttput could not sleep well. Green dust was all over her head. When she drifted once or twice to sleep, she dreamt green dreams. When she sneezed, she saw green saliva bounce from her mouth. When she sniffed, she inhaled green smoke. It was time to get rid of the cancer, she decided. She could not wait for the sun to come up.

Fonjam came out of his room when he heard sweeping. Mama had woken up even earlier than she usually did. His mouth arched as he blew air out, yawning as sleep escaped from his bones. Without washing up, he rubbed his eyes and catapulted from his bed, walking into the cold dark of the morning. The sky was still purple and the sun’s orange was yet to make the sky smile. He walked to the side of the quarters where he heard sweeping. Sure enough, it was Mama. She did not notice him.

Fonjam greeted. “Good Morning Ma.”

Startled, she answered before turning to look, “My son…” he nodded, “Good morning.” She looked around and when she saw no one else around, she put her index finger against her lips, dropped her broom and beckoned him towards the back of the building.

“Is this what you want?” She unwrapped her clothes and removed a purse, from which she produced a tiny bag that was oozing with green dust.

“Mmmmm…. Urrr-err…” the question was too sudden and direct. “Yes…” he found himself saying.

“But what is it?” She asked, “Do you know?” She pleaded from the look in her eyes.

“Mama, it’s a long story, I –“

“Don’t worry, take it if you need it. I have no need for it.” She said, not knowing how to explain how she felt.

“Good morning Mama. But why are you up this early now?” Sapas had woken up and was rushing to snatch the broom away from her mother, not noticing the awkward corner she had been standing, talking to Fonjam. She stopped to greet Fonjam, then she took the broom and went elsewhere to sweep, leaving Mama standing alone, since Fonjam had also hurried off with his mysterious green powder.



Mogg
King Mogg’s health was unpredictable. Some days he would stand up and walk to the dining table to eat, other days he would remain bedridden and he could no longer predict when he would be up or down. This time, he was down and all he could think of was his death and the implications of it. He had cleaned up the mess of his past and his death would endorse it permanently, for him at least. It hurt him to see his son trapped in stupidity, but it would be over soon. It would be over soon. The elders had been pleased with the new King and had appreciated him for not relieving them of their eldership. They did not know that he was only doing as he was told. King Mogg was so pleased, he forgot about the loose end of his plan; that loose end that was swept under the rug and would go with him to the grave, never to be discovered by anyone.

He reached out beneath the cupboard. He did not feel the bag. He reached deeper; nothing. His heart thumped clumsily.

His peace had been stolen and in the days to come, his health deteriorated to the very thin point between life and death. He agonized and even though he tried to comfort himself that there was no cause for alarm since the curse was still in effect, he knew that when sticks began to move, then feet had been there earlier. Somebody knew. Somebody would break the curse. 'Don't be ridiculous, King', he lied to himself, too weak to even be pessimistic.



Kanaka

“Kanaka, strange things are happening.”

“How do you mean?”

“Mama said she found a bag with green powder in it when she was cleaning King Mogg’s room. ‘That when she touched it, it shocked her.”

“Green powder? Is it a charm mixture or something?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t trust King Mogg anymore.”

Kanaka sighed. He trusted Sapas’ every word, but now that she had building suspicion about King Mogg, he was confused.

If Bantaik had been him in his nightmare, then surely, not everyone in the nightmare were who they seemed, or were they?

“Does Mama have the green powder now?”

“She doesn’t. She said she gave it to Fonjam because he had seen it last night and he seemed to have needed it from the way he had looked at it when it fell from her hands. This morning, she woke up early to sweep the front of the quarters, and he met her there. I even saw them talking before he left.”

“But why would that boy need green powder?”

“I think you should ask him”





The Plot

The King, King Mogg was dying, and Rubinto, Tandoop, Edongo and Fonjam were wasting time.

They were faced with the challenge of not knowing when King Mogg would die and how to go about King Greda’s crown. They did not want to kill King Mogg. They had deliberated on it and found it easier than an unexpected death. It would have been better if he would be dying in his sleep, and if that was the case, they would lie in wait every night until King Mogg died. But then how does one know when a man stops breathing in his sleep? It was an impossible dimension.

Or someone could kill King Mogg. It was something none of them had the grit to attempt. But someone would have to kill King Mogg.


Mogg

King Mogg did not recover. He wanted to die. The sun was on its way home and he had been in bed all day, Queen Shere did not leave his sight. He contemplated killing himself to speed up the process of his plans, but she did not shift a muscle, promising herself that she would care for her husband till he got better. She had barely recovered herself, and she had refused to eat anything, but she was sitting up and tending to King Mogg. She had a cloth and a pot of water beside her with which she dipped the cloth and cooled his temperature down. He was hot.
Sometimes, he would manage to stand up and go to the throne room to look at his son, seated on his throne and wearing the crown, then he would go and fall back on his wooden bed.



Awakening

Fonjam returned to his duties at the palace, keeping a close eye to changes in events. Rubinto frequented the market place again and kept drinking. Tandoop, with Edongo went back home to Tanook, his father who had been paralyzed that day. The ball was in Fonjam’s court.

One day, it happened. Queen Shere rushed out of her room panicking. Fonjam heard the chaos from outside, and then he rushed in, yelling at the guards and the fanners to go find help. When he turned, to his surprise, the empty eyes of King Greda caught his. He joined in the chaos, walking behind the throne and into the hallway, Mama Yuttput soon came running through the hallway followed by a younger lady and after sending Fonjam a signal, they jumped into King Mogg’s room. Fonjam stepped behind the throne and yanked King Greda’s crown off. He fell asleep instantly before he could raise an objection. Then he removed the green dust from his belt and waited beside the throne.

After a few minutes, there was hard coughing and,

“Ah! Noooooooo! No, no, no!” came a high pitch cry.

Fonjam made his move. He untied the bag and thrust the whole contents into King Greda’s face. King Greda jumped up and landed to the ground, saying random words, his words not matching his gestures. It was like his words were someone else’s and his body was his, reacting to the curse. He rolled and made a whirring sound, and he started foaming in the mouth. The guards who had rushed into the room had feared to come any closer until King Greda stopped rolling. Kanaka rushed into the palace. The place was full of the loud screaming of women, green powder, and a confused King with a green face and a crown in his hands. Kanaka remembered that he had forgotten to ask Fonjam about something green.

The last thing King Greda remembered was the coronation. And a crack.


To be continued...

- Telsum Bini.