When the elders sat and tactfully interrogated the returnee about his unceremonious disappearance at a tender age of 3, he reluctantly confessed that the 'household chores' were becoming too many for him and therefore decided to seek asylum on top of a tall tree in the 'evil' forest. The elders listened with rapt attention as they tried to comprehend the extent of foolishness that has imbued the heart of a young but old drone.
On April 10 2019, a beautiful sunny morning, the elders sent GamDrone out on a mission to scout and bring news from neighbouring and distant lands. He was equipped with a bucket of corn dough and a basket containing okra, pepper, tomatoes, salt and smoked fish (ie. 100% battery-life and 64GB memory card). The elders blessed him and bade him farewell as he gracefully rose up and voyaged across the blue skies. On his return after a 4km journey to the west, whiles still airborne, he gave an erroneous impression to the elders of having enough ‘corn dough’ to last him another journey; he was then sent off to sojourn the eastern lands as well. Not long had he gone than a raven brought news of an exhausted and directionless lad whose gait bore no semblance with that of a true son of the land (he was moving downwards in an awkward fashion).
The elders quickly consulted the gods with the front teeth of a pregnant tortoise, a gallon of vulture's sweat and a matchbox full of mosquito’s moustache. In fact, per the standard industry practice, it was the monetary equivalence of the afore-mentioned items that was used to facilitate the rituals; the conversion rate that was used by the chief priest remained a mystery. (In short, a handheld GPS receiver was used to navigate to the last known coordinate of the drone as the remote controller's battery eventually gave up the ghost). The search party was then advised to spread out in search of GamDrone. A long and tedious search through thickets which appeared to have been woven by the gods themselves yielded no result. Obviously, the search party did not pay much attention to possible hideouts above ground as they least expected a village youth to develop an appetite for such sophistication – dwelling in skyscrapers (tall rainforest trees). The search was called-off but for a season.
At twilight, gong-gong was beaten to announce the calamity that had befallen the village and to request the vigilance and assistance of all sons and daughters of the land. A moon passed and there was no news. Soon, several moons passed yet there was no news. On the tenth day of the ninth month in the year 2019, five moons after the disappearance of GamDrone, a farmer announced a strange spectacle on his farm; “the gods have sent a white plastic and metallic four-winged bird to come and judge all evil doers in the village”. The chief priest was quickly called upon to interact with the strange bird and intercede on their behalf. He came dancing and chanting. After a few more dance steps closer, he realized it was GamDrone quietly perched on top of a tall tree and it seems to have been there throughout the major planting season, enduring rain and shine. GamDrone was cautiously brought down from his high dwelling and escorted to meet the elders.
Just as the tale of the prodigal son in the Bible, GamDrone had neither corn dough nor pepper left. The elders were filled with sympathy for the poor drone. Efo Gameli welcomed back his lost-but-found ‘son’, ordered the young men to prepare a bath and set a feast before him (ie. Greasing of rusty screws and parts, dismantling, cleaning and re-assembling). GamDrone was even promoted in rank and his name was changed to His Royal Airborne-Ness I. There was joy and merry-making into the night. The elders in attendance were KingMo the builder, DonKally the village planner, SM-Donkor the orator, Hon. Amponsah the compound overseer, 'Awulae' Sarfo (Paramount Chief of Otot…….twaase), Augustus the 'trabalistic' junior orator, Adjetey the village inspector and DonPanti the apprentice village planner.
The return of His Royal Airborne-Ness I after such a long absence has but one lesson for all – Never Give Up!
21st September 2019
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