Children of War

The governor was the offspring of the perversities of the First World War, born out of the frustration of his mother and the failure of his father. Their fierce love-making shook the village. The incident was so crude that the governor’s father never returned to the woman, he joined the war to escape his fate. 

 

The governor was born near the sea. At his birth, dogs licked the amniotic fluid off the infant and the roosters fluttered their wings to keep the flies away – portents of the struggle in his life. The governor grew up in the middle of a chaotic world. He witnessed dark pangs of death all around. He lost count of the number of cripples, corpses arriving in the village every day. 

 

The innocent mind of the governor was hurt and he tried to kill himself one night but could not. There was a naked man on the shore who mocked at the governor’s inability and waited to see if he would actually commit suicide. Nothing happened. The governor returned home. Next day, the naked man was found dead. 

 

The governor fled the village the very next day. He served in the army with the least dedication, whored around like his father and rose to the post of governor when every member of his regiment was killed by the yellow fever. He fell in love with Andréa, a solitary figure, who used to sew clothes and sell guavas for her living. Their marital life was not ideal, but they got along quite well before the governor fell head over heels in love with Gabriella, a mullatto woman who narrated ancient stories in Kiswahili. The governor gave in to Gabriella’s mysticism and started predicting his death. The episode ended with the governor sure of his death... he would die on a Tuesday, but...

 

Agent: Anuj

Edit: Sharvani