In Love With A Siren

INTRODUCTION

Running alongside the Mozambican border for some 300 kilometers, the Eastern Highlands is mountainous area of spectacular natural beauty: rolling hills, green forests, rugged peaks, misty valleys, deep gorges, cascading waterfalls, and sparkling rivers and lakes. This is a totally different side to Zimbabwe that most visitors know: the cool damp climate and lush green landscapes of the Eastern Highlands are a contrast to the dry savanna in other parts of the country. While there is some game in the parks of the highlands, this is not a prime safari destination. Instead, people visit the Eastern Highlands for the outdoors activities of hiking, horse riding, fishing and golf, and the superb bird life and the stunning scenery.

The Eastern Highlands is made up of three areas–the Nyanga Highlands in the north, the Vumba Mountains in the center and the Chimanimani Mountains in the south–each of which has its own attractions. In the rolling hills of the north, Nyanga National Park is where you’ll find Zimbabwe’s highest mountain, Mount Nyangani, and its highest waterfall, Mtazari Falls as well as wildlife, lots of birds, wonderful hiking trails and excellent trout fishing. The central highlands are home to the city of Mutare–the biggest settlement in the region–but the real draw is the Vumba Mountains, where lush forests are home to rare bird species and the Samango monkey. In the southern highlands, Chimanimani National Park is excellent for mountain hiking, while you can indulge in some forest therapy at Chirinda Forest Reserve, Africa’s most southern tropical rainforest, and go horseback riding in the hills.   

Its mysteries 

The breathtaking scenery and plentitude of wildlife have made the park one of Zimbabwe’s premiere tourist attractions and sitting at the center of this entire natural splendor to dominate the surrounding landscape is the majestic Mount Nyangani. At 2,592 meters (8,504 ft.) high, it is the highest point in Zimbabwe, and its plateau of moorland, steep drops, and seemingly eternally mist capped peaks give it a rather imposing, mysterious appearance, and it is also known for dramatic weather changes at a moment’s notice, which all makes it perhaps not a surprise that legends have orbited it for centuries. In local tradition, Mount Nyangani is inhabited by powerful ancestral spirits and is a sacred place. It is also said to be the haunt of evil or vindictive spirits and all manner of supernatural entities and creatures.  

The mountain has long been feared by the people of the region, a place to be approached with caution, and there are numerous rules that according to lore must be followed when venturing there. One is not to approach or enter sacred locations upon the mountain, for it is said to do so will result in becoming hopelessly lost and unable to leave, doomed to aimlessly wander the mountain unless the angered spirits responsible are appeased somehow. It is also said that if one comes across a colorful snake, a pot with no fire, or a brick of gold it is the spirits tricking you, and that you had better ignore them and quickly move on. The same mischievous spirits are said to enjoy pushing people from steep ledges, with varied advice on ways to avoid their wrath, such as refraining from urinating on the mountain, avoiding profanity, and by all means abstaining from any sort of sexual activity.

It is also recommended not to wear red clothing, as this apparently greatly upsets the spirits. Even if one plans to follow these set rules, visitors are strongly implored to seek permission from the village elders of the area before embarking These are the dark rumors and legends that have been whispered about among local tribes since time unremembered, but if the phenomena associated with this place are anything to go on, there is something more at work here than just pure folklore. Visitors and locals who have come to the mysterious mountain have experienced a wide range of strangeness. It is said that compasses and electrical equipment will sometimes go haywire or break down entirely here, and that sometimes photos taken here will not develop properly. The weather is reported as almost having a malevolent mind of its own, with gusts of wind seeming to roar in at the most inopportune times and thick fogs or mists that materialize out of nowhere to follow hikers around as if stalking them. There are also numerous reports of visitors becoming dazed, confused, or disoriented for no apparent reason, with even experienced hikers familiar with the area at times becoming hopelessly lost, as well as sudden bouts of profound dizziness or nausea that pass as abruptly as they come. Other various weirdness are unidentifiable sounds, strange lights, and animals that seem to watch and follow visitors around, as well as trees that are twisted into the visage of human faces and talk or whisper, or streams that suddenly turn a blood red in color.  Even the area surrounding the mountain is saturated with spooky lore telling of magical locations and strange beasts. Close to this mountain lays our village, Dombo village. Not crowded but richer in minerals and vegetation.

CHAPTER ONE

There was a water hole at our residence, which never runs dry throughout the year. It turned into a great blessing to the people living in Dombo village. Most communities in our area obtain their water from this waterhole, which was capable of holding enormous volumes of freshwater. All people come to fetch water at this precious well, young, and old age especially youthful. Ladies were the oftenest to visit this well, not only females but pretty ones. But to me that was not in my style of being attentive or proposing to girls. It wasn’t my thing you know. I had no friends. Even my best buddies I used to hang up with ditched me. They claimed I was blocking them with discomfort and make them sick because of my toxic behavior of not interested in ladies. And our friendship quickly turned toxic because, I was varied from them. They loved hanging around with girls and I wasn't. Honestly speaking, because of the many stories I have heard before, I discovered that people who fell in the name of love and respected it, that same love contributed to their downfall. What I am asserting is that many cultures have considered romantic love to be a crucial factor in achieving personal fulfillment and a peaceful life. However, erotic love is also a major cause of misery, as it contains many regrets and unfulfilled hopes. Love may be wonderful and fill our hearts with joy, but love also hurts a lot and can be dangerous, leading us to unwise actions.

That's what caused fear in me to be permanent when it comes to women. I am a 19-year-old boy. We were in the month of August, the time of the spring, the breezy month, when wind greets concrete and skin just the same. Its giddy currents flow through woodland canopies, shacks, unaware of how its song soothes those who can hear. With its coldness and rushing wind, the implements of July. As an individual who was jobless, I usually wakes up and sat outside the house sunbathing though people said you will have cancer because of the excess sun, frankly I always worshipped the sun. Mostly I will start having conversations with people who come to the well because

I was one of a kind of person who likes socializing with people. Quite frankly, that was my daily routine of my everyday life. One day, I woke up and rumbled to my guard-post as usual. And the artistic golden sun got up like a baby and started painting the dark black sky into a bright blue sky. The bright lucking milky clouds act up from sleep and start travelling around the sky, visiting the surrounding. There comes a beautiful, charming young lady at the well to fetch water. It was my first time lusting to a woman, feeling my heart thudding so fast at a rapid pace. Genuinely she was gorgeous. I adored her curves of softness. With the muscle of a footballer and the blessed fat of a baby, she was the most astonishing girl I ever met...

She had safe eyes perhaps that are the best way to express it. She had a beauty that made those billboards-princesses look as paper thin as they are; she was something robust and real... though didn't even greeted me, my eyes kept fastened on her body observing her structure from top to bottom with a withering stare. Once her bucket was full, she carried it on her head then started going. She was adorable; of course I will name a star after her once she say i do... I told myself. As I was left behind speechless, My brain stutters for a moment and my eyes take in more light than I expected, every part of me goes on pause while my thoughts catch up. After a wash of cold I step from the shadows, her beauty blinded me. I followed her sneaking behind to the point to see which house she was going. She walked so elegantly, her hair glided through the wind, her body moved to the beat of his heart. She went inside a nearby house, then I returned home being jovial