Part 4 (4)

In the meantime the night fell and the sky became obscure. Nevertheless, the darkness was gradually tamed by the appearing bright half-moon.
Babida grabbed his axe and went outside the tent. He sought out the young maiden Suzie and her uncle and spotted them on the esplanade of the administrative headquarters beside the Okunde's garden.
The aid operation had ceased and the lumberjack's companions were about to dine along with the rest of the rescuers after hours of restless work.
Generous donors of the village had brought some food to the troop and the benevolent civilians among which Suzie and uncle Bibi, so they could recuperate a bit of the huge deal of the energy that they had spent on healing the injured, removing the corpses of the deceased, and tidying up the lawn of the Okunde's garden.
"Well done!" Babida said to his two associates as he met them and bent to fill in a space on the long wooden public bench. The logger sat on Suzie's left while uncle Bibi was on her right.
"You did a very good job today. I'm sure Governor Kola II is at peace in the heavens seeing you sacrificing for others." The lumberjack confessed to his co-adventurers.
"It's quite amazing that you hold no grudges against the late ruler whereas he unjustly threw you in jail." Suzie made a remark on the logger's forgiving heart while handing over to him an apple.
"Thank you, dear!" He told her as he took the juicy fruit and bit on it.
"Hey, the two lovebirds! Have you looked at the sky? There is a moon and that's the first of the three for the nomination of a new Governor by His Majesty Batang V." Uncle Bibi jumped into the conversation before slicing a piece of flatbread that he combined with toasted salted peanuts. He then voraciously devoured the tasty mixture.
"Yes, albeit it's a half-moon." Babida replied to him.
Uncle Bibi ate up the food in his mouth and expressed with signs of worries his deep thoughts.
"Indeed. The luminary is not at its fullest yet, meaning that if the appointment of a new Governor were to take place today, it would be without the blessings of the ancestors. Hopefully in two moons, there will be a round and shining satellite in the sky." He said while frowning.
Suzie who had her eyes directed toward the firmament asked: "But what if in the T-time the moon is not a whole?"
The relevance of the beautiful maiden's question froze her uncle and the lumberjack to the degree that the latter temporarily lost their ability to speak.
"We shall see. We shall see." Uncle Bibi responded to his niece as he overcame his paralysis and silently begged the ancestors for their favor.
"Alright! Let's finish up our meal now, and get some sleep!" He then added.
Suzie took a piece of flatbread and avocado that she passed on to Babida and took for herself some toasted salted peanuts from her uncle.
The two big men swallowed everything they had and even shared Suzie's flatbread given that she had cultivated the habit to eat not much so she would always maintain a slender shape.
At last, the young maiden beheaded a coconut which she offered to her uncle. She thereupon broke another one for the woodsman before she holed a third one for herself and altogether they knocked the hard outer layer of their palm fruit against each other to make a cheer.
And like in a well-coordinated musical band, they drank up the delicious sweetened liquid inside.
"It's time to go now." Uncle Bibi uttered while getting on his feet and holding his coconut layer.
"Suzie, come with me!" He enjoined the pretty maiden as he marched toward Babida, placed his right hand on the latter's shoulder, and mumbled: "Good night, intrepid warrior! See you tomorrow morning shall our ancestors grant me life again."
"Good night, My Commander!" The lumberjack replied as uncle Bibi walked away with his niece Suzie.
The two next of kin moved out of the Governor's headquarters' esplanade and arrived in the center of Okunde which was drowned in a very morose ambiance after the earthquake and last night's deadly bats' attack.
The downtown was unusually asleep whereas in the days before the unfortunate events, by this time of the evening, barely midnight, locals wandered across the sandy streets, and musicians beat tambours from which mesmerizing melodies came into existence.