I feel a plop on my shoulder. Fearing that it is going to rain, I look up. Through clouded eyes, I clearly see a clear blue sky above, the sun shining like never before, summer mocking me as I cower disolately under the large umunyinya tree. I look at my shoulder and meet a dark blob minutely staining the fabric of my Umushanana.

"Drat!" I get up with disgust. My face scrunches up at the thought of a bird pooping on me, moreover today of all days. There are no birds perched in the tree to blame it on either. I wipe it off with the back of my hands but it does little to clear the muddy stain that's sure to be left there. In the distance, I hear a rumble like thunder, but it is not. Drums echoe on the hill ahead, a large procession marching into our town.

This is no unusual procession but just the largest ever witnessed in our rural community of Ndora. Along with the drums, came the voices of women singing at the top of their lungs with joy, men bellowing alongside them and stomping their feet in matrimonial dance. They wore imishanana as was customary for weddings and hailed porters along the way to transport their offerings to the soon-to-be-wed. Under the tree, I shed a tear. My doom is impending and I am the only one to cry about it. If only I had not gone to Umuganura that day...

On the first Friday of August, the Kingdom of U Rwanda celebrated the summer harvest. Every family prepared an offering to the king and transported it to the Royal Palace for the celebration. On my eighteenth birthday, my father obliged me to accompany him on that journey for he was old and might need assistance during the journey. As I was the eldest among four daughters, naturally, I consented and began the journey, unbeknownst to my parents' ploy.

The journey was long, and arduous but father kept marveling about the Royal Palace, I was convinced it was heaven on Earth.

"You wait until we reach there, you'll never want to return home." He said with a mischievous glint in his eyes that I never managed to catch. "The people there are very beautiful, the king is very kind, but the Prince- he is a sight to behold. There is no man more courageous as he." He laughed to himself, "He is also very handsome." he added in a confident tone. I do not take any of his conversation to heart.

At last we arrived, and I was struck by how beautiful it was. The Royal dwelling was as pristine as ever, it was the largest hut I had ever seen in my life. A large courtyard led to a cemented entrance with woven partitions to protect the royal family's privacy. The people in the compound were as beautiful as my father had described; shapely women with long necks, slender legs and pert breasts. Their skin was a beautiful dark chocolate and their hair was kept in shapely, coily amasunzu.

My father gives my outfit an appraising look and exclaims, ''Oh, my daughter is so beautiful! Wait till the prince lays eyes on you, he'll be entranced." I cast him a doubtful look. The more he speaks, the more suspicious I am of why I am really here. "Well, I mean, you are beautiful, everyone can see that. Even the prince surely should notice." I recognize the men's lustful looks and the women looking at me with envy.

Before long, the Royal drum Rwogera resounds. Young girls enter the courtyard from both sides of the hut, scattering petals as they go. They convene in the middle and erupt in song, singing of the King's valor and bravery. Younger children also appear and dance amaraba, bending the arms to emulate the horns of Inyambo the royal long-horned cows.

After the performance, they exit and once again the drums are heard. The royal family walks out to the sound of the drums and people clapping profusely. For the first time, I see the Prince. All they had said about him holds, he is as handsome as my father had described him, with a muscular physique and an easy smile. The ladies go into a flurry adjusting their ceremonial garb and standing up straighter.

The ceremony commences and family after family offer their produce. At long last my family is called upon. I turn around to find my father sleeping soundly under a large umunyinya in the palace courtyard. I feel my heart lurch with dread. What am I to do now? I wake him up quickly.

"Father, father."he stirs slightly, mumbling in his sleep. "Wake up."I shake him again.

"Go do it." He says and goes back to sleep. I am awed by this turn of events. I steel my resolve and get up. With a porter behind me, I carry a large gourd with milk from our best cow. People step to the side as I approach the front. Straight ahead, I behold the prince looking at me with amusement in his eyes, his head slightly cocked to the side. I bow before the King and set the gourd down. I hurry back to get more. Someone squats beside me and lifts up the heaviest of the sacks. I turn sharply to see the prince shouldering the sack as if it's a feather.

Instead of feeling gratified, I am oddly offended. Within, I acknowledge that I would have struggled to lift it but to have him carry it so nonchalantly is a blow to my ego. I walk beside him reluctantly. Silence descends over the whole courtyard. All breaths seem to bate for a second before murmurs erupt. I present what I have and head back to get the last basket.

The prince beats me to it. I follow behind him like a fool, with empty hands. I know every girl wants to be me right now, but I don't want to be me right now. I bow nonchalantly to the King and leave without a word to the prince.

My father is wide eyed when I return. I know instantly he contrived to get me noticed by the prince. My mother was definitely in on it too. After I resched seventeen years they were desperate to get me married. One year later, they still have not given up.

"Very smart." I remark with a huff. My father gives a hearty laugh. He must feel so clever right now, but I am not happy.

A year later, I am even less jovial than then. The first tear plops with another plop on my shoulder. I look up with shock, eyebrows furrowed with confusion. A drop lands on my lips, in my haste to wipe it off, some of the substance ends up on my tongue. Disgust is replaced by wonder as the substance tastes sweet and delightfully chocolaty. The notion that it is bird poop doesn't leave my head, but for it to taste so good would be the greatest disillusionment.

Across the hill, I hear a scream and chaos. When the procession appears, they are all muddy with the same dark substance as what fell on me earlier. Momentary panic grips me. I can't forget my plan, I have to escape. Leave my dad, leave my family, leave everything, else I'll be married to a stranger just because he is the prince. A sob grips me at the thought of leaving.

Women start yelling from the procession, it's raining again, out of the blue. There is no cloudy sky but bove them it pours buckets, of dark gooey substance. I stop crying instantly, the rain cuts short too. I see the people turn and run back the way they came, screaming at the top of their lungs.

"One would think you're a witch for doing that." I turn sharply at the voice of a man emanating from behind me. How he reached there is beyond me. I dare not ask the prince what he is doing at my home on our wedding day. "They'll believe they're being cursed, but not me. I knew you were special the second I laid eyes one you." He says, still looking across in the direction of the hill. From my angle, he looks too mighty and all knowing. I get up and fix my garb.

"So we are not getting married are we?"

He looks at me, "Not yet." His eyes hide an anticipation that I am only able to notice because I'm very close.

"Yet?" I ask quizzically, wondering once again why he wanted me of all women in his kingdom.

"We're going for an adventure, across the border in the Bugesera kingdom." The way he pronounces this like it is the weather we are discussing has me bamboozled.

"We are escaping?"

"Yes." his eyes glint with mischief and excitement. He holds my hands into his and says, "I promise to marry you when we come back."

I remove my hands swiftly but he regains a hold of them. "Let's go."

With his hand guiding me, I leave everything I know behind, heading for the adventure of my lifetime,