“Close that tap!” shouted a white-haired man, before slipping into the sticky mud in front of the tear-dripping tap. Immediately, the kids stuck their tongues and played hide-and-seek with him, as they skipped behind the prickly-thorn bushes. Still, the wrinkled-faced man was worried about the vomiting tap running dry. 

His heart skipped every time the goats or cows head-butted each other near the peeing tap. Sometimes, he nursed broken ribs, goats stamped by the stabbing-horn cows because of the thirst-quenching water. One day, he kindled the yellow fire with sparking grass and slept in the skin-biting cold. 

The 100-year-old man thought of catching the kids before they could splash their dusty legs in the chilling water. The hunched back man’s lips shook as he feared that his cow would drink the soapy water left behind by the playful kids. The unclipped nails man joked that his life was knotted to this cow. 

Apparently, the day he’ll visit the ancestors, this cow must escort him. The cow’s skin will be hand-sewn into a cozy blanket for this spine-chilling journey. Firstly, a kid showed up, and the wrinkly-hands man snorted and hunched over to pick up his hockey-like stick. 

Unluckily, his shaking hands dropped the stick, and the child hopped away. Secondly, another child splashed the water, and he tossed the walking stick toward him, but the stick hit the icy water, and the century-old man took a cold shower. 

Afterwards, he limped home with his pride swallowed by the giggling baboons swinging on branches. 

Suddenly, the tap ran dry, and the boys chased the mooing cows to faraway cattle posts. However, the old man and his skin-and-bone cow were too weak to walk. The cow licked his tearstained cheeks and fanned the houseflies from his face. By now, the cow’s neck stiffened, but the mumbling man was not ready to die. Each time death knocked his knees, he kicked with the karate skills of a dying horse. Then, he scratched his white hair and whispered. 

The next day, he milked tears from his eyes and filled a bucket up to the lips for his cow. However, the shiny water was salty; the cow died while he patted its air-pumped tummy with a walking stick. This time, the humpback man squatted and dumped his forehead on the lifeless cow. 

In response, the goddess dropped blocks of salty hailstones and filled the river. Later, the roaring river washed the dung-plastered huts and swallowed the boys’ cows. Finally, the thirsty sun drank up the water, leaving behind white, crunchy sand. 

Today, the gnashing cliffs river is a yawning book spookily reminding the naughty boys about the old man and his cow. 

-mungambue@gmail.com