Cursed Comprehension

"Ato!" bellowed the Overseer, his deep voice jolting the insipid little boy awake. All the other teenagers surrounding him glanced at the boy with varying looks, ranging from curiosity to malicious glee.

The young boy, who seemed to be just a little over the age of sixteen, awoke with a jolt, his eyes scanning the area for any clue of where he was.

That proved to be a very unsuccessful endeavor, as the only thing his eyes could see was the large, leathery face of the Overseer, breathing heavily with his nostrils flared as if he were some sort of wild bull.

The visage prompted a few giggles from the crowd of teenagers, all of whom quickly fell silent once the Overseer snapped his head their way.

"Ato!" He began. "Why is it that you find it appropriate to fall asleep in my presence?"

The boy could not answer.

Or rather, he didn't even register the question, as his mind was somewhere far away.

Where the hell am I? Questioned Ato, the last thing he could remember before appearing here was the weird tingling in his arm.

The Overseer waited for Ato's answer, which did not come.

So he expressed his displeasure as an Asante man was known to do.

With his fists

'Bam!'

Ato went flying, his bare arms coming into contact with the hot sand of the ground, eliciting a wince from the teenager.

The Overseer raised his fist once more, preparing to unleash his fury upon the disrespectful boy, only to be stopped by an all too familiar sound.

"Budum! Budum! Budum! Bum!"

It was the sound of the talking drum, which was repeated thrice every four seconds for a full minute.

Accompanying the drum was the message which was to be conveyed.

"Council! Council!" Shouted the drummer. "The chief requests a council! All able-bodied men are to meet under the baobab tree!"

The Overseer dropped his fist, shooting Ato a scornful glance.

"You got lucky, boy" He spat, before turning to the group of teenagers.

"You all are dismissed. Get out of my sight."

Saying this, the Overseer sauntered off.

Ato rose to his feet, dusting the sand off his Kente.

Strange... He thought. I certainly wasn't wearing a Kente before, so where did this come from?

It was then that he noticed exactly where he was.

Ato was in the middle of a large courtyard, surrounded on all sides by simple clay huts with thatched roofing, which were further encompassed by large mud walls. He watched in interest as the crowd of teenagers dispersed into their respective huts, each one clutching a machete in their hand.

The young man searched the floor for his machete, finding it half-buried in the sand.

He picked it up and began to head towards the congregation of huts, only pausing once he realized something

I don't know where my hut is...

Ato glanced around, trying to search his memory for any clue of where his hut was, all to no avail as his mind kept coming up blank, as if something was purposefully stopping him from accessing vital memories.

Due to this, Ato decided to simply wander around the compound.

He observed the children playing in the evening sun, the old men smoking their pipes outside their huts and the guards with their spears at the entrance to the compound.

Everyone here seems so at ease.

It was then that Ato discovered a strangely shaped object: A statue depicting an Ashanti woman, sitting on a stool.

At the foot of the statue was a message written in a language that Ato didn't recognize yet understood perfectly.

It read: 'A Shrine to Asase Yaa: The Earth Mother'

There was an Elderly man at the shrine, pouring out libation at the foot of the statue all while chanting esoterically.

Ato stepped forward, bringing him into the sight of the Old man, who simply smiled at his presence.

"So you have finally come, Ato."

***

The old man was able to direct Ato to his hut, which was directly in the center of the congregation, he had also gained much needed insight into the current identity of the body he inhabited.

For starters, the old man had informed him that he and all others within the confines of the walls, were slaves of the war general, Kwesi Ntum Bediako within the clan of Asakyiri which oversaw the Amanfuor and Edinkyem states respectively and was one of the eight main clans.

He had gained insight into the backstory of his body as well, learning that Ato was a young Fante boy who was captured during a skirmish between the Asakyiri clan and a neighboring Fante clan.

And there were also other, mostly useless snippets of information gained as well.

Ato sighed, letting his thoughts wander back to his past life.

I'm supposed to be feeling bad about my reincarnation, yet for some reason...

He reclined into his bamboo bed.

I feel so exited!

He then closed his eyes, letting himself drift towards sleep.