The Lovebirds (1)

 The gold disc had gradually turned silver with blinding beams that pierced through spaces in the overly green foliage of the jungle. The dewdrops were spirited away. Though baking above the outer layer of the leafage, it was comfortably cool below.

Isang was sitting on a comfy spot on the bough of an African oil bean tree preening himself. The tree was quite leafy with its dark brown pods dangling from twigs. Now and then, a pod popped open and the seeds were scattered about. They dropped in the vast thicket below, slapping the leaves and branches of shrubs before thudding on the ground. A stream nearby was gurgling, a songbird was singing  and the big birds were soaring above, cawing, as they searched in all directions for brunch.

Isang had to groom himself as in a few minutes he was heading to meet his fiancee and her retinue of fun-loving friends whom he had promised to take out for lunch. (This is a long-standing tradition of lovebirds. They would whistle and mimic other birds and animals when going or coming back.)

He was checking under his wing to see no bug hide there to eavesdrop while he was chatting with his spouse-to-be. His beak also combed his down. Then he looked at his colours and they weren't as bright as they ought to be. 'Take a bath,' his mind told him. Without much reflection, he dived and alighted on the branch of an ndiya tree which was dotted with clusters of fruits. Without hesitation, he pecked on the bun-shaped fruit. The brown skin off, the orange-coloured flesh was and sweet like a freshly ripened pawpaw. (There is another type of ndiya with the fruits borne on the trunk of the tree and the flesh is white and sweeter. Its pod resembles the stick and the fruits stacked within are like the circular tablets of peppermint. The pod and fruit are fairly large.)

Isang pecked the fruit to satisfaction and then dived down to the edge of the pristine stream. It looked like a mirror and every object in it was seen: the school of fish swimming up and down, the glistening white sand and the multi-coloured stones sitting in the bed, the broken logs punctuating its length, a big crab jinking in the hope of catching a prey among the weeds which were dancing in the current of the water and up ahead near a boulder, a water snail was crawling around it.

Isang stared inside the stream and his image stared back at him. A long time ago, he used to fight that image but when he realized it was his reflection, he stopped. Now, he would look to see if it had any defects that he would want to fix.

He stilled himself for a minute and keenly listened. When he was certain there was no harm around, he jumped inside the water and shook his feathers deep in it. He dived into the water again, gave a thorough shake to his feathers and flew to the branch again for surveillance. At the opposite bank, he saw an alligator moving through the undergrowth like a headmaster on a stealthy supervision around his school. The lovebird flew high up to the branch of an ekom tree blooming - the mature nuts after drying in the sun taste like a mixture of milk and sugar. He gave himself thorough grooming there. He was still admiring his colourful shiny feathers when he heard a wham on a branch behind him. He jumped and wheeled around only to see it was his friend, Iwang. But his creased features told Isang something was wrong.

'Hi. What bit you this beautiful morning?' Isang asked.

'I'm doomed,' Iwang blurted out.

'Doomed? In what way? You lost a bet? What happened?' Isang was curious.

'I'm about losing my woman for life, I swear...'

'You fought her?' Isang cut in.

'No but ... I mean, I've broken a promise again. I told her I would take her and her friends out for dinner yesterday but guess what! I decided that morning to quietly go check again on the location I found the posh bar and its tasty meals just to be sure I wouldn't miss it when going there with the clique. I found the place but the magnificent high-rise was in shreds,' Iwang stated, looking more despondent.

'I don't get the gist,' Isang said, a bit confused. 'Any war going on? Who dropped the bomb?'

'Yes, a war is on and evidence abounds it is total. Our meals and accommodation are the targets. We might soon get starved to death,' Iwang said.

'You're speaking in parables,' Isang said with slight irritation. 'You've broken a promise, you said. Now, I don't want to break mine. Hurry up, man, and tell me what is going on. In a jiffy I'm taking out my woman for lunch and I've got not much time here to waste. In plain language, what happened to you?'

'I hope your lunch isn't in the direction I went yesterday for what you're about to see are vast swathes of this jungle being hacked with machetes and chainsaws as paths for large vehicles which are carting...'

'Oh, I get the hint now,' Isang cut in. 'I hope they haven't mowed down the five-star hotel I was planning to lunch with my date?' He grabbed his head with his wings.