Hawa twisted the arrow in his bow. She used such force that the string vibrated a musical note, and the bow seemed to crack. The young woman exhaled all the air from her lungs. At the moment of the shot, she was holding her breath. The cool breeze of thin air fluttered her student robes. He released the arrow.

It spiraled through the air with a hiss and hit a straw dummy on the other side. Clap-clap, she turned to see who was congratulating her. It was Shomari, he had returned from his initiation ritual. Now he was a man. He looked weak, he had passed several tests. Her eyes filled with tears. The massai dropped her bow and ran towards her relative. The two embraced.

"You scared me, Shomari. Lucky for you, I hit the target before I saw you."

"I thank Enkai for that."

"Now you can perform the ceremonial rites and have a wife, own your manyata..."

Shomari's brow furrowed. She huffed, walked lazily and sat down on a rock. He stared at his brother from above, as his Posed his rungu under his chin. He looked despondent in his younger sister's eyes.

"What do you see around you, Hawa?"

“Mountains, grass, our Enkang… if you narrow your eyes, you can see Kenya. Am I wrong? Our land? Oh! Why are you upset?”

“Tsk-tsk, aren’t you curious about what’s beyond these mountains?”

"I don't know."

For Hawa, her brother felt unhappy living there. His thoughts were always distant, as if he wandered off to another place. This had happened after he received formal education. He had become enchanted by the world beyond his rustic kraal, with its low ceilings and walls made of wood, cow dung, and acacia sticks.

The young Maasai was afraid. She knew the tradition, and she curbed her curiosity about the outside world. She could not tear herself away from the teachings of her Laibon, her father and spiritual leader of her village. She had wanted to compete in archery competitions in the regional qualifiers. She had given up even before signing up. She did not consider herself worthy, nor ready to compete for a place on the podium. It all came down to fear.

“Little sister, do you remember when the German missionary came to visit us?”

“Yes, I remember, dad and him argued for hours about religion, hihihihi.”

“True, but that’s not what stuck in my memory. He said that the mountains were a staircase to reach God. But for both of us, they are prison walls.”

“Don’t talk like that, Shomari! It’s blasphemy.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

“Don’t pretend you don’t think so too.”

“You changed a lot after you learned to read and write.”

“I would change even more if they hadn’t taken me out of school, damn it, Hawa!”

He stood up from where he was standing abruptly. This scared the archer. It wasn't like him to have explosive reactions. He was a kind boy, he had always treated her well.

“You wield this bow and arrow because you can no longer stand being tied to this ‘tradition’. Otherwise, I would be helping the older ones build a kraal, or farming, I don’t know.”

The Masai pretended not to listen to her brother. She picked up another arrow from the ground. She tightened the rope in that vibrant way.

“You are the most talented archer I know, that's why I gave you my bow. I hid your training from Dad all these years. Don't be afraid to practice archery. Go to the damn selection. Win the championship, not for me, not for our people, but for you. Do something that makes you happy without meeting anyone’s expectations.”

Shomari turned away. He walked towards the village with the heavy steps of someone who feels very angry. Hawa did not turn around, nor did she say goodbye to him. He closed his eyes. He released his fingers. The arrow rushed towards the target.

⸎

The Masai's arrow hit Akachi. Azekel's grandson placed the two sticks in front of his body, with the ends together, forming a V. The impact threw him into the wall. A huge explosion occurred, and raised a curtain of debris. Even with all the armor of the translucent wall, the arrow, at high speed, caused enormous damage.

The dust particles settled. Much to Hawa's surprise. Akachi was alive and without a scratch. To the side, about two meters away, a huge hole had been generated in the massive wall. The Maasai archer's arms and legs trembled.

The young medium wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his right hand. He was panting as if he had undergone enormous physical effort.

“How… how did you escape? I have never missed the target in my entire life.”

“Everything has its first time. I confess, if that arrow had hit me, I would have lost the fight.”

Good one, my boy! The same time it took her to accumulate kinetic force, you used to concentrate Axé on the sticks. Then he created a convex-shaped repulsive force field. This deflected the arrow.

You made it look so easy, Fenyang. Look what that thing did to the wall. I had to concentrate Axé so much on my arms and legs that my muscles are hurting.

What matters is that it worked. Stay strong, the race isn't over yet.

“Fenyang, isn’t it? I can't lose to you. Without the money I can win in this tournament, I will not be able to sustain the resistance of my people. We will continue to lose our herds, our lands and our lives.”

“I don’t judge your purposes, nor anyone else’s here. However, I also can’t afford to lose…”

Hawa didn't wait for him to finish his sentence. He gave up the force of the impact of the arrows. He charged in a rapid and continuous flurry of arrows. Each time he shot, the bowstring made a low acoustic bass sound.

Akachi didn't counter the Masai's arrows, he used his super speed to dodge. They stuck into the wall and floor of the ring, causing small craters. They buried themselves up to the middle due to Hawa's strength. The arrows decreased as did the distance between the two combatants. Before the last arrow was fired, the medium was so close that the arrowhead almost touched him.

A cracking sound echoed in the air. Hawa's bow bent and broke. His eyes widened. She loosened her fingers. The arrow fell to the ground. Then her arms dropped. The public was amazed at the outcome of the fight. His mouth opened slowly, and she whispered:

"I quit…"

The audience went delirious. The big screen declared Fenyang's victory. The cubic roof rose. Akachi gave her his hand, however, the young woman fought back. Shomari came to the ring and supported her, and helped her out of the ring. The young Maasai looked back and said:

“I don’t need your pity. Assume your victory, just as I assumed my defeat.”

And to think that that day I also missed the target…

The medium took two steps back. Even without understanding anything, Akachi left the ring. He went towards his companions. Fadala said:

“Great, we got two wins in a row. We are already in the next phase of the tournament.”

Even so, he would need to get into the ring and declare a withdrawal. It was a way that the organizers had found to encourage all fights to take place. The undertaker didn't want to fight and show off his skills. Nyatui realized the ruse, grabbed the assassin by the collar, spun twice and threw him into the ring.