Arthur rested his head against the warm glass of the airplane's window. His eyes watched the yellow ground, bathed by the hot sun and the tall trees that made shadows where some animals and people rested. These past days seemed to have gone in a blink for the boy. He soon had his baggage ready and he was thrown onto a massive airplane by the NGO members, and now, he waited for the airplane to land, selling his destiny.
He didn't really regret anything but, it just had moved way too fast... In less than a week he had to convince his mother, pack up his most essential items and travel to the airport, where he met with his guide for the whole trip...
A couple of seats in front of him, in the executive class, was his guide. She was light-skinned, in her middle 20s, and was wearing a classic safari outfit with a hat, white shirt, khaki pants, and boots.
As soon as they landed in a crowded airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the boy almost had a panic attack. The way people speak, their clothes, their food, it all felt too different to him, almost like he was on another planet! As he started to hyperventilate, he felt something on his shoulder.
“Hey kid”, Arthur's guide said, “I know you are nervous, but these people are surprisingly chill. They probably aren’t going to be violent, unless you give them a reason to…”
She placed her hand on his shoulder, he felt the warmth of her palm and took a deep breath. Feeling a little more confident, he said:
“S-sorry, this place is just… very different from home…”
“I know”, she smiled, her white teeth contrasting with her light-black skin, “But the tribe that we are heading to is very different from here too, but don’t worry. You can trust me, in less than a week, you are going to get used to the life there. Some months, you are not even gonna want to come back… Also, remember, you agreed with this, we paid for the whole trip and the people in the NGO aren't gonna get very happy if chicken out now...”
Feeling almost threatened, he nodded at her and grabbed his baggage. After they got out of the airport, Arthur and his guide got inside a big car that was parked near the exit. It was a huge white jeep, with sand and dirt all over itself. When they got inside, the woman drove through the main road for a couple of minutes, until they left town and got into a dirt road.
They drove through the savanna for some hours. Alex saw some animals at distance, near lakes and under trees. The sun was very hot and he had to use some sunscreen and sunglasses. His guide grinned when she saw him rubbing the white paste on his skin, she was used to the heat and power of the star on her skin. In the afternoon, when his mouth was dry and his head was pounding thanks to the heat, they saw some ruts on the horizon.
"Here we are, your new home", she said.
They both got outside the car and Arthur asked:
"Why we don't drive there, we are gonna need to make a quite long walk and carrying the baggage..."
"They don't like cars", his guide said, walking in front of him and taking a sip out of her water bottle, "Look, what I am gonna tell you now is very important, pay attention, ok?"
Arthur nod.
"These people are called Tûpenui, they don't interact much with us and are quite... hostile, towards foreigners. I manage to interact with some of its warriors and teach them English, they are going to take care of you after I leave. Y..."
"Wait", Arthur said, "You are not staying with me?!"
The woman slapped his face and he almost fell to the ground.
"Don't interrupt me, kid! Here I will slap your face, but if you try this with one of them, you are becoming their dinner, understand me?!"
"Sorry... I..." He looked over at her again and cringed, "Sorry, sorry..."
"You stupid males, this is the only way you learn... Well, another thing, they are an almost entirely shemale tribe. Men are considered impure and when they come to age, they are forced to leave, women aren't treated much differently than toys and their job is only to breed more warriors... Normally, they have a slavery-based society, but since this is quite illegal nowadays, these girls begged us for some cute little thing from the other side of the world that they could use, this is when you come in... I am only coming to this village again next month, then I am gonna ask if they liked you, or if they just roasted you", She giggled, "If that happens, I think I am gonna ask them to give me your skull, pretty sure it will make a good souvenir"
Arthur looked at her in disbelief and started to sob.
"P-please, please... Y-you can't leave me here..."
She walked to the car and got inside, closing and making sure to lock the doors. Opening the window, she said:
"I recommend you to walk over there kid, they already know that you are here and are going to hunt you down if they don't see you coming to them..."
"W-wait! Please!" Arthur screamed as she turned on the engine.
"See you in a month! Or don't..." laughing, she closed the window and started to turn the car around.
In despair, the boy almost jumped in front of the jeep. He waved his hands and even got on his knees begging. He stayed in this position for some time, seeing the car disappear on the horizon. He soon noticed that his baggage was still in the car, she had left him with nothing. Looking at the ruts on the horizon, he gulped and stood up.
Knowing very well that he didn't have a chance of survival on his own in this harsh land, he started to walk, while still crying, to the village where he sighed up to stay for this whole month...
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