The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
September 19th, 2006, Maseru, Lesotho
12:00 pm
Our expedition was halted for over a month! Can you believe it?!! One measly car in our caravan breaks down and we have to stop the whole thing for a month?! Absurd! Absolutely absurd! Of course, it was the car carrying the most important artifacts and resources, and none of the others had room. We had to set up camp while our mechanic examined the car. He declared that we needed a new part, that would take 2,000 pounds to get and 3 weeks to replace, (You hear me? Absolutely absurd!). Well, I'm glad that is done and over with. We've been in Maseru, the capital, for 6 days, and are still searching for the clue, or the key itself. I have learned many interesting things about Lesotho (Les-sue-too) that I never knew, and something quite exciting happened yesterday! A new flag was approved by the National Assembly! It has (in order, from up to down): a blue stripe, a white stripe with a black hat, and a green stripe. The new flag reflects their motto strongly, Khotso Pula Nala, meaning "Peace, Rain and Prosperity". The blue represents sky and rain, white is peace, and the green stripe is prosperity. The traditional hat in the center represents a strong African nation, and the Basotho people. I learned that in Lesotho, when visitors come to a home, they knock on the door and say, Ko Ko, meaning "Knock, Knock". The person inside the house can then recognize the voice of the person and know a friend has come to visit. Lesotho means Land of the People that Speak Sesotho. No luck on the clue so far, but we will keep searching, and I have certainly learned much about Lesotho.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
September 21st, 2006, Maseru, Lesotho
6:00 pm
Ahh, I have just enjoyed a large supper of Nyekoe, Mocha-Hlama, Plain Porridge, and a refreshing drink of Mahleu. These are all native foods and are quite delicious, though I didn't touch the Nykoe, because it has cooked animal fat in it and I am strictly vegetarian. Otherwise, everything was quite good. We all ate at a restaurant; the waiter was quite nice, he was friendly and spoke very good English, though I suppose it is an official language. I couldn't imagine having to learn two languages and switch back and forth. Good for that nice young man. Oh, I almost forgot! We have a lead on another clue! An envelope was slipped under the door. It seems there is another player in the game.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
September 24th, 2006, Maseru, Lesotho
2:00
We are packing our things and are getting ready to leave Lesotho. I haven't opened the envelope yet, for fear it might be a trap, but we have discovered a real clue- a riddle, once again- and are following our interpretations of the riddle. It was found in a museum, (a likely place to find an ancient clue), engraved on a bar of Ivory, moved to Lesotho from The Kingdom of Aksum, now part of Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Here is the riddle: "Deep in the heart of Africa, a key, you will find, to answer the riddle you must use your mind, to gain power and wisdom, search through nature's kingdom, in the center, the heart, the middle, you must answer the riddle." Africa has many nations in its heart, so I'm sending a portion of my men to each country that I think is in range of the center. I, myself, am going to Cameroon, and will travel the whole country and search for the key (the riddle said that we might find the key itself!). I and five other men will leave for Cameroon at daybreak.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary Of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 4th, 2006, Yaounde, Cameroon
6:00 am
We have finally reached the capital of Cameroon- Yaounde. Yaounde is a lovely place and it really is beautiful. The weather around here is actually quite cool, even though it is close to the equator, probably because of its altitude. The city was founded by German traders in 1888 that set it up as a base for trading ivory. It was then occupied by Belgian soldiers in World War II, and was (after Germany's defeat) made the capital of French Cameroon, as the French had become a leading colonial power. Yaounde is the second largest city in Cameroon, (Douala is the largest), and is right in the middle of Cameroon. The city lies about 2,500 feet above sea level. All of these facts I never knew before, so I am extremely glad we visited here! Now I can teach my collage class about Africa more. I am shocked at how I have reached the respectable age of 50 years and never knew all this! I will be sure that my students know it as I have failed to, or the schools failed to teach me, for Africa is quite an interesting and amazing place, full of colourful life and people.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 5th, 2006, Douala, Cameroon
9:00 pm
We left Yaounde yesterday, and progressed to Douala. Douala is on the banks of the Wouri River, and is the commercial capital of the country. I'm so excited! I think this city might hold the key! Meanwhile I am learning much about this fantastic place!
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 7th, 2006, Ngaoundere, Cameroon
1:00 pm
Much to my disappointment, we found nothing in Douala. I was sure the key would be there! Now that we have seen the key is not in a big city, (I suppose it makes sense, the key is an ancient artifact after all), we have decided to visit a smaller city, Abong-Mbang, a town in the east province of Cameroon. We will leave tomorrow. Maybe we will find the key! Oh, I almost forgot, we found out who the mysterious person was, that slipped the envelope under the door. It was one of my own men- my own men!- joking around with his friends. I have dismissed him from my company. Maybe it seems harsh, but this is serious!
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 10th, 2006, Abong-Mbang, Cameroon
10:00 am
No luck so far. Tomorrow we will keep searching for the key.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 11th, 2006, Abong-Mbang, Cameroon
5:00
Discovery! I have found a people in the rain forest next to the town, called the Baka. Among others, the Pygmies. They seem to know something about the key! Tomorrow I will meet with them and discuss the matter of the key.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 13th, 2006, Bosquet, Cameroon
11:00 pm
We are staying in the Baka village in the rain forest, Bosquet. They have shared with me their concerns, about deforestation by loggers cutting down their trees for lumber. It has troubled me deeply. How can we have a compromise? On the logger's hand, people need to have shelter, and on the Baka's hand, it is their property, and has been theirs since long ago. For every tree they cut down, the amount of forest around the world dwindles. I am very concerned, and there is no good news about the key either. Only the oldest person in the village could tell me about the key, and even she knew very little. She said there was something about it on a tree in the forest once, and nobody knows which tree, or if it has been cut down and sold. They did give me one piece of information, though, that might prove useful. A man named Annan Cedi, runs a Fantasy Coffins business, and his small company might have chopped down the tree unknowingly. He lives in Accra, Ghana. We are preparing to leave for Accra tomorrow.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 17th, 2006, Accra, Ghana
9:00 am
We have reached Accra! It is a bustling and enormous city! I am quite excited to see Mr. Cedi, I have a scheduled audience with him this evening, and I can hardly wait!
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 18th, 2006, Accra, Ghana
1:00 pm
My audience with Mr. Cedi has gone exceedingly well. He doesn't know a thing! So, we wonderfully just wasted valuable time and money for nothing! Bah! Oh, well at least it was worth a try, but I'm now sure that it the key is in the rain forests of Cameroon. Or neatly ornamented in the wood of someones home. Bah! I am certainly in a bad mood.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 26th, 2006, Bosquet, Cameroon
6:00 pm
We arrived back at the Baka village of Bosquet yesterday, and are continuing to put our heads together about where the key might be. Chances are, it will be in a ancient tree that might even not be still standing, so ancient, it was planted at the creation of the world. Let me recount to you this old legend of the Baka people, so old that even the oldest person in the tribe's great great great great great great great great great great grandfather had not heard it since the day he was born, a tale so old that the Tapirs and the Shadow Leopards and the Buffalos of the forest hadn't even been thought about being created:
There is a tree in the forest, one so ancient, so old that even the earth itself had not been birthed, the tree was in its prime, resting in sacred soil-the first ever-, in the mighty spirit-god's realm. One day the Spirits-strong, gentle, life-giving Jengi, Forest Spirit, and leader of them all. Proud, powerful, stern, Water Spirit, Baki. Moody, just, some-days-joyful-and-witty, some-days-sullen-and-restless, Kashi, Wind Spiritess, protector and punisher. The wary, and kind healer Spiritess, Hatatta. The motherly Animal Spiritess, Deginja. The Day Spirit, Lejek, bold, brave, and loyal. Lejek's older sister, Ibijjea the Night Spiritess, cold, imaginative, beautiful, self-keeping, mysterious. Fire Spiritess, Jala, free, happy, and wild. Bati, twin of Jala, Spirit of Home, serious and quiet, but sometimes warm and compassionate, last born of the Spirits- decided to make the Earth, and placed the tree, to honor the Spirits, Earth, and Life. They then took a key that their mother, Zazja, mother of all, and hostess of all religions and gods, spirits, heroes, stories, and legends, had given them and engraved it into the tree. This tree still stands in our forest. Protect it. It has been there since the beginning of time, and it always will be. Its boughs grow strong and tall. Its trunk-30 people could join hands around the trunk, yet would not reach all the way around-stands towering and mighty. Its bark has the power of healing, take any wound and rub the bark upon it, it will heal! Its leaves give warmth and shelter. The earth around it is soft and fertile. It is a symbol of life. It is a symbol of death, a mother, a protector, gentle and kind, but if the forest is ever threatened, one-who-threatens, beware. The tree still stands, the tree still protects those take care of the forest, and keeps balance. The tree still stands.
Tomorrow we search the forest to find such tree-if it exists.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
October 27th, 2006, Rain Forest of the Baka
11:00 am
I have taken my diary with me on our expedition today, (I will document and take notes with it).
1:00 pm
The expedition is starting now. I'm so excited! We're starting through the forest. We walk, maybe 9,000 feet, then cross a small stream. We keep going.
2:35
We have found an Ossiculum Aurantiacum orchid. It is quite beautiful, with bright red and yellow colours mixing together. Its petals stick up and look hard and sharp. We had to keep going, so I didn't have time to touch it or make a study of it. I shall look into it when I get back to Wales. It is a species unique to Cameroon, and specifically the rain forest.
2:50
Some of the Baka people of the village have come with us, as they know the forest better, and to be honest, I'm quite grateful. As we walk, to break the silence, I suppose, they are telling a story. They are telling me of a young man, whom the whole tribe depended on, and a single bullet. The tribe, the village had run out of food, and needed fresh meat. And they only had one bullet. ONE bullet. So the young man set off with the greatest tracker of the village. After a long time, it began to rain, covering up the scent of the hunters. That was good news for the hunters. The bad news, though, was it would wash away any tracks. Nevertheless, they found some, and followed them and found a water buffalo. As they only had the one bullet, they had one chance. The hunter took careful aim...and fired. The bullet sailed through the air and hit its mark. The thing that amazed me most was they did not give a cry of celebration when the buffalo died, not even a smile, for knowing they would eat plentifully. Instead, they held a moment of silence, as if giving a prayer for the animal to pass on in peace, and that they were grateful, and would not starve because of its kindness, asking for forgiveness, and saying thank you. I thought that very...modest, and very good. I know these people's hearts are good.
3:20
We have been traveling, examining each tree in its own turn, for 3 hours and twenty minutes, but still nothing. I am growing very anxious-if we don't find the key here, then where?!
4:00
Bah! BahBahBah! We're getting nowhere! I'm beginning to think this is just and old wives' ta... Oh! Oh!!!!!!!!!!!!
4:10
I found it! I found it! WE found it! It's-it's...amazing doesn't begin to describe it! Aweing...maybe. Well, first, how we found it. I was writing notes, and looked up and there was a waterfall. And a stream, that others were crossing. The waterfall wasn't big, but it was at least twelve feet high, and had a good steady stream of water falling. But something wasn't right. It seemed to resonate, almost to echo. I looked a little closer. I found that soft, wet earth wasn't underneath it, but something hollow, when I plucked up my courage, and stuck my arm through the waterfall. There was a cave beneath it! I closed my eyes and walked through the waterfall as fast as I could. There I found a cave, just as I had suspected. I called to the others and told them to come. We continued through the cave. Deeper, we found a tunnel just large enough for a man to crawl through. We went through that, and found another part of the jungle. And there stood a mighty tree. The legends were right. Its boughs are strong and tall. It's true-not thirty men could join arms and reach all the way around the trunk. The leaves DO have healing powers, many of my men had gotten cuts and rashes trekking through the jungle, but the Baka who came with us pulled some bark of the tree, said a silent prayer of thanks, and rubbed it against my men's wounds, and they healed! Apparently it sped up the process of healing, so it healed the right way. The branches seem to cover the sky, but they are comforting. The tree is everything that the legend said...and more!
5:00 pm
Right now we are facing the problem of finding the key in the tree. I have absolutely have no idea where it might be. I always think I catch glimpses of it, but then when I look harder it's gone.
5:30 pm
The most amazing thing happened! WE HAVE THE KEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My jubilation is too hard to describe! Now we must find the answer to the riddle, oh! I'm almost out of good old Splotchinblot ink! And pages in my diary. Well, this calls for a new diary, so I'll write the riddle down later. But so much to tell! Well, first how we found the key.
We were searching and searching. Then we saw it. High in a branch, a metal & wood leaf, shaped like a key rested with the rest of the leaf-leaves. The key-leaf disappeared. It appeared then in a different branch. As a leaf. "There it is!" I shouted, along with some of the Baka and my men. We immediately started to try to climb the tree. But we couldn't. We tried. And tried and tried! But we just couldn't climb that tree. Then a little girl from the village darted out and began to climb that tree. I learned later that she had followed the men when she was told she couldn't go with us. Well, she climbed the tree like a monkey! She saw the key, and- according to our calculations each appearance of the key had 5 seconds each- and stopped. Waiting for it to disappear, as she knew she only had a couple of seconds left and couldn't reach it in time. She was right, and it vanished a second later. She only took a little bit to find the new home of the key, and she leaped into action. Swinging on branches, stepping, turning, hanging. Then, with 2 seconds left, the key a number of feet away, and no branches in between, she leaped. It was an agile leap, full of power and grace. The jump was as quick silent, and flawless as a leopard's leap. Then she landed, on all fours, perfectly, and just before the key could dissipate, the girl grabbed it. We cheered! Oh, we cheered! But then, the key vanished from the girl's hand! The tree shook. The poor girl had to hang on to the branch for her life. Then it stopped. half of the massive trunk swung open like it was on hinges. The key was embedded in the middle. Everybody let out a sigh of relief. But it was still to high for us on the ground to reach. The girl would have to get it. I saw her leap. And another leap. Then a step down. Then a swing. A drop. And one more leap. But that leap went wrong. she landed and rolled her ankle, collapsed, and fell off the branch. Everyone was holding their breath for her, but she didn't fall all the way, she was hanging on with one hand. She put her other hand up, and pulled herself back on the branch, and scooted because of her ankle. And she grabbed the key. Then the girl collapsed onto the branch, breathing heavily. When she got the key, I'm sure we let out such a whoop of joy, that we frightened quite a few birds.
9:45 pm
The village doctor has pronounced the girl's (whose name is Morjja) ankle sprained, but that's all. Morjja couldn't stand on it, so one of the men from the village, her Grandfather, it turned out, had to carry her home. Though she was given a tongue-lashing, she had become the hero of the village, finally being able to use her talent of tree climbing. I have taken a liking to her, and have nicknamed her Leopard, because of her grace in the trees. I have even offered to take her on as an explorer's apprentice, (does have a nice ring, doesn't it?), when shes older. Morjja and her family are both thinking on it.
The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrounber
October 28th, 2006, Bosquet
6:00 pm
We are leaving Africa now. One should think I might be happy, overjoyed, even. But somehow, even though I'm excited at being back home, I can't help thinking about all the friends I've made here, and places I've visited, and things I've learned. This will most likely be my last entry in this diary, as I am almost out of ink, and most certainly this is the last page. Morjja has said that when she is older she would very much like to be an explorer's apprentice, but she also would like to devote some of her time to her people and be what she's always wanted to be in her village, a tracker and healer. See, she's got some ideas about domesticating and befriending wild animals to... Well, that's for later, but I suppose she'll be half an explorer's apprentice. (She turned out to be twelve, so in 6 years she can be my half-apprentice!) I promised to visit Morjja in the spring. Now we are heading to the closest airport, in Yaounde. I'm a little worried about how we'll get the key through customs, but I'm sure we'll be alright. We've reached the airport. Thank heavens! We've gotten through the customs line, and are boarding an airplane. You know, I really have learned a lot in Africa, and not just about the continent. I've learned about life, and the life of others, and that people keep pushing on, no matter what. When I get back to my classroom, my first lesson is going to be that Africa isn't just "The Lion King", it's much, much more. It's where the first humans emerged, and diversity is common. Think about how many different environments we've visited. How many strange, wonderful animals that we must coexist with, if we want balance. The sun is setting now, casting shadows of aspiration and hope. Maybe with the key, we might bring on world peace, end animal cruelty, get rid of corruption, and make the world a safe, happy, and prosperous place. Now I am thinking of all the people I met. How different they were, but how they all shared one thing in common: Africa.
Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
The Biography of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber
Heinrich H. (Hieronymus) Finklegrouber was born in 1956 in Berlin, Germany, and at the age of 6 moved to Cardiff, Wales with his family.
See "The Diary of Heinrich H. Finklegrouber Part One" part one for full biography.
By Maya Johnson
*Please note that, though most of this is non-fiction, there are many untrue qualities. Example: The Baka have only ONE spirit, the Forest Spirit, Jengi. Example:We have no proof that such tree exists and the story of and the keys is a figment of the author's mind. As most of this is true, the author has researched much of this to make sure it was true.
Coming next in the "Seven Keys to the World" series: "The Writings and Compositions of Zhi Fai Sheng" In this episode, one of Heinrich's six colleagues, Zhi Fai Sheng, searches for the Asian Key.
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