Thursday Night Drums

Thursday night the black air felt like ice against my face. I didn’t bundle up enough, and we crossed through the wall and wound against the face of the hill to a cave where we could see the orange glow of a little fire; we could hear drums. We peeked inside and were ushered in, told to sit on dug out stairs, and someone moved a TV to make room. A man that Clara knew came up to kiss us on the cheek, it was his birthday and he was vibrant with energy, with humor. He made jokes about how he had to keep smiling or we couldn’t see him in the dark, he told us age was just a number; that the music filled up his soul. He talked with his whole body, spreading out his arms and then clenching them to his chest. He told us his brother was a faggot but he loved him, he giggled.

They offered us little cups of spicy coffee that we passed amongst ourselves, it was strange but warm. He told us when you give you always receive, and one of the men began to sing, to call out, facing away from us, toward the fence, above the fence, up to the sky. The drummers began to drum in earnest, singers gathered together in a little clump, walking in circles around a bucket and crying out in sync, they were dark silhouettes with frenzied dreadlocks, one of them raised his arm up as he sang. The man who knew Clara touched her hair and made fun of us for being cold, urged us to drink more coffee, shook his hair and limbs and told us again that the music filled his soul. A smaller woman, also with dreadlocks, got up and joined the chanting circle; she looked as if it filled her soul. We were told we could not drink alcohol inside the enclosure and eventually went outside and sipped on wine from the bottles. The men came up to us and asked unabashedly for wine, one of them took the bottle, drank off it for a long while, but eventually returned it. A younger man said something to the man who knew Clara and they laughed, and he shined the light from his cell phone on Leah’s face and said he liked her. We laughed and she was uncomfortable; we drank more wine.

Borja decided to leave as the music came to a close, but suddenly everyone was telling us that there was food, we must eat to close the ritual. We came back inside and there were three big pots on the ground, everyone was gathered around them, kneeling and leaning into the pots. They urged us to eat, and Leah and I were awkward and uncertain, being vegetarians, but I not wishing to be rude, I reached my hand in and found something that felt like cabbage, and ate it. They urged us to eat more, so I put my hand back in and drew it up to my mouth, this time empty. The pot was emptied quickly, and we washed our hands under a cold running faucet. You ate well, someone told me, she did not. The younger boys flocked towards the entrance, suddenly ready for a night of partying. The one who’d shined his light on Leah asked if we were going out, he shined his light on her again. Borja was heading home and we couldn’t stop shivering, we lost sight of Clara and the other girls, picked our way back down the path and through the wall.