Fiction: ‘tools’ bears fruit

Ambiance at Birenga town has noticeably changed for the better. The town is normally characterized by idlers during the day with traders selling almost everything in its quarter size so the poor residents can afford to purchase their merchandise from their meagre wages. Illicit brews are in plenty and as early as ten in the morning, you will find drunkards staggering from one drinking den to another. Men here are fond of extending their drinking sprees up to late hours. A night barely passes without hearing intoxicated men fighting or singing their favourite songs loudly staggering on their way home. Over-drinking has caused men to abscond their marital obligations something that has made women to openly condemn the selling of illicit brew in the area, but without success. Their quest however has been positively affected by some recent rumour that men’s ‘tools’ are being chopped off for no apparent good reason – and by unknown assailants. But a few clues have been flying around, with the common knowledge of the fact that the commodity, especially the men’s, is said to be costly while taken from a dead man let alone if obtained from a living man. The ‘choppers’ are said to be in the area and that they are targeting the drunkards who get drunk till walking becomes a burden. This rumour has made it easy for the wives when they caution their husbands to not drink too much and to be home in godly hours. Not surprisingly, the panic has made the mightiest of men to be at home when the chickens are returning to their coops. None admits being petrified by the rumour but it is evident by the scarcity of patrons at the local pubs and at chambers where illicit brews are sold. The rumour which is now widely believed to have originated from the women has produced results. The town at large has happier wives and children not to mention that most men can now afford to go home with small packages which otherwise would have been hijacked at their respective drinking joints. Though not said, it is now also expected that in some nine months time, there will be several toddlers in the neighbourhood thanks to the utilization of organs which have otherwise been dormant for a while. Trying to squash a rumour is like trying to un-ring a bell. ~Shana Alexander skangongoi@yahoo.com