Rainbow Blues (527 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.11 on 20 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by BillyGoat (View user info) at 2007-10-15 06:52:15 EDT
Before, I used to look at the rainbow with in complete awe. Overwhelmed by the splendour of the colours, hazy against a background of clear blue sky. Legend has it that my ancestors had travelled throughout Africa to pick the most beautiful, luscious flowers and returned to sew the seeds above the mighty Kilimanjaro that looms majestically to the north. The elders say that each time it rains; the seeds are nourished, rejuvenated even, to bloom into the amazing array of colours. The rainbow being their gift to us and a constant reminder that they are watching over us as we dwell within the savannah, on the edge of the Serengeti.
The joy I felt at seeing the rainbow was as sweet as the first scoops of honey from the honeycombs hanging from the acacia tree, when the bees had been roused from their hibernation by the intense summer heat. It was like the first dip into Lake Tanganyika after the winter, before the water was muddied by the fisherman. And finally, it was like the joy I felt each time I went hunting with my childhood friends.
But now, I see the rainbow in a different light. The haziness of the colours is gone. The colours do not blend into the background. No, they are completely divorced, sticking out, creating a stark reminder of the day when the crew was disbanded. The day my world fell apart.
When the sun is out and the rain has cleared, this is what I see and remember:
- Red-the colour that ran from the rhino's neck, when the 7.62 x 39mm round pierced its thick hide sending the mighty beast to the ground with a thud that kicked up a dust cloud, lingering for eternity before clearing to reveal the animal lying motionless on the ground. A mighty 1.5 tonnes, of prime African beast instantly demolished by a single bullet from a Kalashnikov, illegally smuggled from the rebels in neighbouring Uganda.
- Orange was the sun as it set behind Kilimanjaro, bouncing off the snow caps to reflect back into the sky as a yellow hue that offset the burnt sienna backdrop; dulling the blade that carefully sliced through the rhino's face to gouge out the valuable horn.
- Yellow-the man with whom we did all our business. A shy reclusive man that we never saw but were told lived somewhere in Beijing. He never paid in shillings, insisting to pay in American dollars instead. We used the money, mainly to buy ammunition and other supplies from the rebels. The rest would be kept in clay pots in our huts. Never in a bank, lest we rouse suspicion from the police. All we knew is that Chitewa-the middle man- would pay us, collect the horns at designated times and transport them into central Kenya. What went on afterwards was none of our business. We provided a service, they honoured it and that was that.
- Green-the truck that took Gachoka, Lusala and Nyamu when they failed to run away from the game keepers. It was only a matter of time before they were caught as their bare feet could not deal with the thorny undergrowth that carpeted the ground. Plus they had no choice but to stop, as the game keepers had authority to shoot to kill. I being perched on a small kopje had managed to elude the guards and watched in horror at the scenes unfolding just 50m beneath me.
- Blue-the uniform they wore when they beat my crew- to near unconsciousness- before hauling them into the truck and taking them to the maximum prison in Nairobi. The trial lasted all but a week and they were sentenced to 20 years each. There were no clauses for good behaviour, turning to religion- or whatever prisoners used to reduce their sentence. The law was set in stone and the government wanted it upheld. There would be no mercy for poachers. It was announced that the hard-line action was to preserve the fast diminishing animal numbers. But they weren't fooling anyone. Safari tourism was a booming industry and the 'white shilling' was too valuable to ignore.
- Indigo and Violet are the colours I see when I inject my veins with the white powder brought in from Colombia. I seem to be using more and more of it nowadays to numb the pain of losing those that mattered to me. I can not visit them as I'm a wanted man, so I hide here among the bushes. Chitewa has broken contact and there has been no word from the Chinese man. I feel so alone in this African paradise and I sometimes wonder whether the ancestors are still looking down on me.
And when the rain stops and the sun comes out, I want the rainbow to disappear, to amalgamate into nothing. Never to be seen again. It reminds me of what a coward I was for hiding while my friends took the wrap for me. Maybe things would have been different had I not fired that shot. But that's only hindsight; so I shut myself in and inject some more, immersing myself in a new set of colours.
User Reviews
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2007-10-17 00:27:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I'd rather read the extended story without the rainbow gimmick.
Submitted by forensicgirl3 (user info) at 2007-10-16 16:22:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Not bad. Not bad at all.
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2007-10-16 16:18:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
here is a tip for you - if you're gonna linkwhore - don't apologize.
Submitted by ChaosJester (user info) at 2007-10-16 15:57:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Hilarity_Ensues (user info) at 2007-10-16 15:41:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Don't constantly linkwhore your stuff. It's gonna piss people off right quick.
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This wasn't bad, but not all that great either, mainly because your main character is a strung-out poacher.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the gentle imagery in the beginning was entirely incongruous.
I realize that you were trying to paint a picture of sullied innocence, but it didn't work for me.
I might have started with the small steps that led up to him sullying his hands (like being too poor to eat and seeing some fat, rich tourists drive by his village, laughing and sipping coca-cola).
Submitted by Hilarity_Ensues (user info) at 2007-10-16 15:41:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Don't constantly linkwhore your stuff. It's gonna piss people off right quick.
Submitted by TheGoat (user info) at 2007-10-16 13:28:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
attention seeeking,wtf? i'm a noob and i'm just trying to get some airtime.tell me what's wrong with that?
Submitted by Nellypaal (user info) at 2007-10-16 09:31:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
-2 attention seeking
Submitted by Hilarity_Ensues (user info) at 2007-10-16 08:48:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Oh, I read this, just didn't rate.
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2007-10-16 08:46:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I like
Submitted by TheGoat (user info) at 2007-10-16 08:01:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
whatever he says
Submitted by BranDo (user info) at 2007-10-16 12:50:42 BST (#)
Ranking: 2
moet nie stroop nie
Submitted by BranDo (user info) at 2007-10-16 07:50:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
moet nie stroop nie
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2007-10-15 16:42:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-10-15 12:10:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Good premise.
Why the hell would you shoot a rhino with an AK?
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Just to say it weren't a good day.
Submitted by TheGoat (user info) at 2007-10-15 14:25:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
no idea, but i just wanted to show illustrate how the AK is a multi-purpose weapon.Also its the most popular gun in Africa
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-10-15 17:10:13 BST (#)
Ranking: 1
Good premise.
Why the hell would you shoot a rhino with an AK?
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-10-15 13:19:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2007-10-15 13:19:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2007-10-15 12:28:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I like this -
Submitted by BLITZKREIG_BOB (user info) at 2007-10-15 12:10:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Good premise.
Why the hell would you shoot a rhino with an AK?
Submitted by firefly (user info) at 2007-10-15 10:26:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2007-10-15 09:10:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by skrapmetal (user info) at 2007-10-15 07:49:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Well, I liked it. A bit more description and research, and it would have been +2able. A good read, all in all.