It was cool and the air was so warm.

“Everything is perfect,” Manzy said to himself, ready to take on a mission to make himself a millionaire. He packed everything. Hunting was Manzy’s favourite thing.

“Life without cheers is tears of no life,” he said to himself.

In the same village, was an old man named Carlton. He was a great hunter and a wise person who rose across Mphompha. Everyone respected him because of his wise teachings. He walked in the footsteps of Solomon, perhaps some thought King Solomon had come back to life.

He believed that every person, despite their problems, has to be cheerful because the dead are the only ones who can’t cheer up.

To him it sounded silly seeing most people complaining of something they can’t accomplish. He spent all his life hunting and hunting became part of his life till he became too old. Manzy believed and trusted those words and avoided stress and worries. That was why he spent his days at the forest.

Manzy would go hunting alone on a mountain where most people came back without anything. It was strange that he was the only successful hunter in the whole community and many hunters started to think that he used charms. Enmity arose between him and other hunters.

When Carlton died his death saddened the face of the whole community, they were shaken by it. However, before his death he gathered some youth to tell them how to let the world know how someone could be, mainly if they are on a mission.

“My children, in order to survive you must never let the fear conquer you,” he said. “A long time ago existed two huge trees in the middle of Chimalawanthu Forest where diamonds existed. The huge trees were believed to be a resting place during slave trades. Many people died in that forest, so no one dared to go there till today because something bad happened to our forefathers there,” he said. “Diamonds are worth millions and it takes a courageous man to kill a lion.”

This attracted the attention of the youth, mainly Manzy.

“However, no one has ever come alive in it. There is no way back because the diamond is protected and no one should dare go there,” he said.

The two huge trees existed between two thick forests, a forest that most people believed that the ancestors’ spirits dwelled. It was indeed so fearsome.

Manzy recalled Carlton’s words: “Aim at your goals and never let anything deceive or destroy your goals.”

Of course, a bird in hand is worth more than those two in the forest. The forest was full of mysterious things, animals were so plenty, different kinds of animals were found there. The forest was indeed protected by the ancestors’ spirits. Going there was a feather brained ideal because no one went there over many years.

The rumours were all over about great Manzy, the warrior of the forest. He was the feistiest among other hunters and so determined in his everyday work. He always accomplished everything with a feat.

The diamond was a cold piece of work and it fazed him a lot. It was a different kettle of fish though to Manzy. He wanted to have the precious stone and make himself a millionaire.

A lot of people went missing in the thick forest, some eaten by animals and others lost their way back. Geographers failed this forest, it was indeed a ferocious forest.

***

Tell us: Do you think the diamond exists?