chapter one

CHAPTER ONE
Once in a small town south of the mountains of Shinibath which was famous for its mysterious activities during the rainy seasons, there lived four brothers who were orphans and were sold out by their uncle to pay off the debt their father left behind. They were sold to different families in the town and usually go to the mountains to pray for the souls of their departed parents. However on the fifth month of the year, the youngest of the boys had a dream and he sent an urgent message to his three brothers and they met on the mountain which was the safest place in town. Unknown to them this was going to be an event that would change their lives forever.
The cave was still as there was no sign of life in it, then there were sounds of footsteps approaching it. Rays of light began to brighten up the cave. You could see an old chair in the shadows with a portrait of a little lass by the chair. The cave became brighter as the person holding the torch entered it. He was not alone but two other boys were behind him. He placed the torch on the stand by the wall of the cave, and then went to sit on the chair. The other boys sat on stones that were positioned round the chair. ‘Does anybody have an idea why Sammy called for this meeting?’ cloud asked. Cloud was the eldest of them all. He was 12 but had the heart of an elder. He was the only parent the Stuart brothers had. He took the seat of fatherhood the moment their father died a year ago from an illness that robbed him of all he had leaving behind enormous debt which the children had to pay with their freedom. Cloud kept the family together even though they were sold off to different families. He was agile and capable. He had a big nose and solid brows. He looked older than his age and you could see the contour of pain all over his face as he was known not to have cried even when his parents died. Japheth stood up and went to a part of the cave and raised a stone which revealed a crack and in it was a small sack. He raised it up and opened it. He brought out some dry mutton with dry food. Japheth was 10 although a twin; he had a girly look as he seemed to be the most long-haired. He smiled at almost everything. He was stunning and if you happen to meet him for the first time you would not know he was a boy. His eyes had a serene look and when he smiled you could see the dimple at the right side of his cheeks. His brows were naturally carved and his lips looked just like that of his mother, perfectly engraved. He was the mother of these brothers. He usually saves rations and dries them then brings it to the cave where he keeps it for emergencies in case any of his brothers was made to sleep hungry. He shared the meat to his brothers, but cloud seemed to be upset when he realized it was dried mutton. ‘Where did you get mutton?’ sounding so irate. Japheth knew if he lied he would receive a lot of smacking from his brother. Although cloud was only two years older than him, he feared him more than he did their father. ‘I hope you didn’t’ ‘ n, no, I dint’ Japheth replied without dithering. ‘Then’ cloud asked. Although he was not a patient person, he knew how to make his brothers say the truth. ‘please let the guy be’ Jamie said reluctantly ‘may be he was given by his master.’ Jamie added. Jamie was Japheth’s twin but he was different from his twin. Although he could be egotistic he was almost the brightest of them all. He ate the dry meat not minding where or how it came about. Cloud looked at him with contempt. He turned and looked at Japheth whose head was down. ‘Did you steal this by any chance Japheth?’ he was getting furious . ‘There was a feast at my masters house and the guest didn’t show up so I was asked to throw away the meat’ Japheth answered. ‘hmm. So you mean instead of throwing it away you dried it?’ cloud asked. ‘yes’ Japheth replied. ‘you see, I knew Japheth didn’t steal the meat’ Jamie said still enjoying the meat. ‘no body said he did. I was only making sure he didn’t do the wrong thing’. Suddenly Sammy came into the cave. He was holding a little hoe and was panting