The Village Drummer and His Teenage Friends

Alete is a young boy of 13 years old who suddenly came into contact with an old man who was sitting on his hut on a rainy day. The old man saw Alete running home from school and being chased by a fiercely approaching thunderstorm. He did not like the sight, so he invited Alete to take shelter in his hut and wait out the rain. Alete accepted his invitation and sat next to the old man. Fascinated by the old man's looks and his virulent command of their language, Alete started asking the old man questions, something the old man did not expect. Surprisingly to Alete, the old man spoke freely and without holding anything back; instead, the old man spoke to him as if they were equals, and this uprightness mesmerized him. What got him overwhelmed above all, however, was the old man's wisdom and wise words. He was so enthralled by the old man's words of wisdom that he decided to invite his friends to meet the old. At first, his friends were skeptical because they could not fathom an old man befriending their friend, so they dismissed his invitation, calling it a farce. Eventually, and because of his persistence, they acquiesced and went to see the old man. Within hours of talking to him, they too were converted. Their friendship with the old man lasted until the day he died. But before he joined the ancestors, Nkume, as he was called, imparted his wisdom on the young lads, touching almost every aspect of their lives by instilling into their minds lasting life's lessons. Throughout their lives, the old man's words reverberated in their minds and helped in making them the well-behaved, well-respected adults that they all became, though not without some challenges.