Kingdom of Sulupi

Daniel has decided to take the risk; he has decided to go for Ringano’s Coronation Ceremony. The Coronation Ceremony is to be held in Ringano’s tiny kingdom of Sulupi which is tucked in a mountainous valley surrounded by thick jungle somewhere in central South America. He is now on the plane to Brazil. There is no direct flight to the Sulupi. He needs to fly to Rio de Janeiro and from there to take a helicopter to the Sulupi Kingdom. The plane finally touched down at the Rio de Janeiro International Airport after eleven and half hours flight from Heathrow. Daniel was holding onto his passport for dear life, conscious of the fact that his passport is a fake one. Fortunately, the immigration officer at the Rio airport did not ask too many questions, he just stamped on his passport and let him through. Daniel quickly followed the line of his fellow passengers and proceeded to the luggage reclaim hall. He identified his luggage and pulled it off from the circling conveyor belt. Just as he was about to lift his luggage to put onto his trolley, a burly man with dark brown complexion and a scraggy face on his neck appears in front of him. He looks respectable in a three-piece suit. “Mr. Daniel Kong?” “Yes. Do I know you?” “ I am Tinto, sent by His Royal Highness, the Prince of Sulupi Kingdom to accompany and escort you to our Kingdom. Please put your luggage on my trolley and follow me.”, he introduced himself with a commanding voice. The face jolts his memory and Daniel realized that this is the man who was sitting behind him in the same plane. He has been keeping a watch over him all this time. “Ringano is so caring and thorough!”, Daniel thought to himself. Daniel and the man then proceeded to walk out of the airport foyer. A limousine is waiting for them. The man sitting beside the driver quickly stepped out of the limousine and walked behind to open the backseat door for them. They hopped in and the car drove away until it came to a halt facing an airfield. A helicopter with its engine still running, is waiting for them in the middle of the airfield. They boarded the helicopter quickly which promptly took off, flying higher and higher into the horizon towards the endless sky. White clouds breezing pass the plane, which wobbles and sways whenever it is hit by large pockets of clouds. Daniel looks down from the helicopter, trying to get a first time impression of the view below. There is only vast jungle stretching for miles and miles, with long winding swampy rivers flowing along the edges of the jungle. The jungle landscape seems to stretch off to infinity in every direction. The pilot told him it would take three hours to reach the Sulupi. This is the first time he is flying in a helicopter. The experience is unnerving, worsen by the sudden swaying of the helicopter every now and then. He begins to wonder and doubts played in his mind. “Is the helicopter worthy? Does it have enough fuel? What would happen if the plane went down? Will I survive? Would I ever be found? Or will I have to wander through miles upon miles of hostile jungle, lost forever? ”

After three hours flight, the helicopter finally touched down at the short runway of the Sulupi Airport. Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. Yet another limousine is waiting for him. As the car is cruising unhurriedly towards the Sulupi town, Daniel observes that the luminous lampposts lining the highway leading to town, are excessively adorned with the Sulupian flags, with sporadic display of enlarged pictures of King Ringana and Prince Ringano in heavy regalia, pasted on colourful billboards as well as from hanging overhead bridges. Soon, the car enters the Sulupi town. The breathtaking and complex skyline of the Sulupi Kingdom is in full view. In an instant, Daniel’s earlier unnerving feeling of doubts and anxieties are quickly given way to a feeling of appreciation and awe. The town atmosphere is quite unique, like a carnival is about to take place. The natives of Sulupi Kingdom are in exuberant merry mood. They dressed in colourful costumes, wearing cloth headgear and are mingling, singing, dancing, and waving their national flags in the streets; cheering loudly as they see each vehicle passing by. They are peddlers selling souvenirs, stalls selling chili peppered drumsticks, children sipping juices directly from uncut coconuts and samba hits blaring from the speakers. In the middle of the town square is a group of natives playing and singing music with their local musical instruments made from bamboo , tree trunks and animal skins. “What music are they playing?” Daniel looks to enquire from the man who was travelling with him on the plane. “They are playing the Ryhoma. It is a style of music only played by our people. And they are singing our Sulupi ancient songs to achieve ‘riggino’. “What is ‘ringino’?” “The ‘ringino’ is an inner state of one’s being. Once you have achieved the ‘ringino’, it can help you to lose a sense of yourself and you will be completely immersed in your inner state of mind, oblivious to your outer self, allows you to be in a state of your enjoyment. It will take you out of yourself and to a different place of wonderful sights and sounds. The ‘ringino’ can release you!”, the man explains. There is so much outpouring of joy and happiness. The people in the vehicles are coming here with only one objective. They are all coming here to attend the Coronation Ceremony of Prince Ringano. Hundreds of policemen and troops are deployed in the streets for this enormous security operation. They are understandably heavily armed but otherwise in equally good humour. No one would think that this immaculate backwater hamlet is capable of staging a big event like this. But they are doing it in their own unique way, worthy of splendor and rivaling with any royal event. The Sulupi people must love their royal family very much.

Soon the palace comes into sight. It is a magnificent sight. There is a huge entrance made of marble. The keystone above the front entrance is marked with the coat-of-arms of King Ringana. The palace was built in an ultra extravagant style, with huge pillars and large windows, influenced by Baroque style architecture which was a legacy of Spanish conquest. The palace guards gave Daniel a gun salute as he is walking into the palace compound. Inside the palace compound is a grand courtyard adorned with beautiful landscaping. In the middle of the courtyard is a huge fountain with sculptures of tribal warriors riding horses, shooting arrows through splashing water out of the fountain. Ringano appears with a little girl trotting behind him. “Hello my dearest friend. It’s good of you to come Daniel. I am so happy.” “Hello Ring. Good to see you too!”, Daniel runs over to hug his friend. “How was the journey? I hope all went well.” “Yes. Everything is fine. I see you have ensured that everything runs smoothly Ring…Eh your royal highness!” , he bows, suddenly realized that he is now talking to a prince, in his kingdom. . “Who is this pretty little girl?”, Daniel asks. “She is my little sister, Risuana.” “You must be tired. Let me show you to your room. You must get a good rest. I will see you at the dinner table tonight, alright?’

That night, Ringano took Daniel to his private chamber in the palace for dinner. The chamber is specially renovated, decorated and facilitated for Ringano’s private use. He often entertains his friends in the privacy of this little palace chamber. “Tomorrow is a big day in our kingdom and you can savior all the pomp and spendour in the palace’s banquet hall tomorrow night. But tonight, let’s have dinner among friends in my private. You will see some old friends. ” Ringano tells his friend. Ringano has invited some close friends to join him in celebrating his ascension to the Sunni crown. Tonight, he has invited five other close friends from his university days for dinner in his private chamber. Among them is Xiao Ching. Xiao Ching is a Chinese national. She has been specially chosen by the central committee of the Chinese Communist Party to pursue anthropology in the LSE. Before she came over to London, she had studied English and Political Science in the prestigious Beijing University. She is a smart girl and is always courteous and cheery to everyone she meets. China has significant archeological sites embedded in its vast land, yet to be found. Hidden beneath these sites is the ancient Chinese history stretching over five thousand years. Xiao Ching was chosen so that after her studies she could return to China to assist in the government’s various archeological efforts. She is still studying in London, pursuing her Phd in Archeology. She is permitted to leave London to come here because the Sulupi Kingdom has an established diplomatic relations with the People Republic of China. There are altogether eight of them at the dinner table tonight, including the little princess, Risuana. But a host of servants in immaculate uniform are readily in attendance; enough to serve a busload of guests! Dinner is served with grilled meat, spiced with chili pepper. Sides of beef, hogs, lamb and goats are grilled for hours before they are laid on the table. They are served with olive oil, cheese, parsley, cilantro, garlic, and onions. Cornmeal bread is cooked on a griddle and is stuffed with cheese before it is fried. Vegetables, fruits and nuts are spread across the big long table, with Ringano sitting on the head table and Daniel sitting next to him and Risuana is seated directly opposite Daniel. There is a golden trolley stationed behind the table with a silvery tray on top. Bottles of whiskeys, wines, rums and pots of coffee are placed on the tray. “There is so much food on the table. It can serve a busload! It’s only eight of us here your royal highness.”, Daniel remarks “Yeah, I know.” “This is my father’s idea. He knows all of you are here. He wants to make you feel welcome. My father is a generous man. He believes food must be served in abundance for our guests!” Halfway through their dinner, Ringano offers Daniel a glass of rum. “I don’t drink rum at night, Ring. I can’t sleep after drinking it!”. “Oh. In that case, you could taste some of our herbal tea. Here…”, Ringano offers Daniel a cup of the herbal tea. “What’s it called? I Have not seen such tea before.”, Daniel looks at the caffeinated, tea-like beverage, wondering if he should drink it. “Its called Bertbao tea. These herbal teas are good for you. They are consumed as remedies for some illnesses.” “Don’t worry. The people in this land have been consuming them for over hundreds of years for its medicinal properties.” “What sorts of medicinal properties, your royal highness?”, asks Xiao Ching. “Well, this beverage could energize you, simulate your mental alertness and strengthen your immune system. We eat and drink whatever the land here produced for us”, Ringano explains. “Do you know we eat ants? Yes. We eat toasted fire ants especially during insect season in June.” They had a merry camaraderie, topped with a sumptuous dinner and wished each other good night. As they are walking out of the chamber, Ringaon pulls at Daniel’s sleeve and whispers, “Follow me my friend. I want to show you something. Risuana, please go back to your room now. You must not follow us”

Ringno proceeds to walk towards the far end of the palace, with Daniel in tow. He opens the huge wooden palace door and the pair of them quietly slipped through the open door. They stepped into the backyard of the palace compound. “Take a look up the there. Tell me what you see?”, Ringano asks of him. “Oh my world!”, Daniel gasps. He sees a huge magnificent tree house perched on top of the tallest tree in the compound. “Let’s go up there!”, Ringano tugs at his friend. Daniel follows his instruction and climbs clumsily up the swinging bamboo stairs behind Ringano. Ringano switched on the lights soon as he stepped inside the tree house. The interiors of the tree house are displayed in their full splendour. The tree house has two floors, built with woods fell from the jungle and marble imported from Europe. The two floors are connected by a spiral staircase. There are two bedrooms on the lower floor and the master bedroom occupies the top floor. The tree house is extravagantly equipped, fitting for a prince. The first floor has a massive kitchen, elaborately equipped with modern cooking utensils, a large queen size bed in each bedroom, with separate bathrooms as well as glass showers. The lounge is decorated with exquisite antics hanging from the wooden walls of the lounge and exotic sculptures of animals and figurines are meticulously nailed sporadically onto the lounge floor. There is even a surround sound system for listening to music. The master bedroom upstairs has a king size bed with a private bathroom. The bedroom is furnished with beautiful accessories in natural and earth tones, while the bathroom is plated in gold colour. There is also a unique shower built around the big tree. The whole tree house is also wired with air-conditioning, useful to cool down in the hot season. “Your tree house is a work of art, Ring! It is an incredible design and has everything you could possibly want!”, Daniel is deeply touched by the unique structure and beauty of the tree house. “Yes. I asked my father to build this tree house for me when I was fifteen years old. I used to come here to hide and to escape whenever I was unhappy, especially during the times when there were talks of neighbouring villages tried to mount attacks against our kingdom. But, that was many years ago. Our kingdom is peaceful now. Now I come here to relax and to enjoy the beautiful view out there in the jungle. You know the view up here is especially beautiful at sunset. You see magnificent big trees springing up from the jungle, views of lush green valleys, cooling rivers, thundering waterfalls, monkeys, toucans, parrots, elephants and other animals doing their own activities in the jungle below.” “What a perfect getaway!” Daniel exclaims. He is overcome by a wonderful feeling of solitude, being surrounded by raw nature. There is a full moon tonight. Ringano turned off the lights and led Daniel to the balcony. They lied on the balcony floor, next to each other, looking at the distant stars overhead, enjoying the beautiful and powerful display of the night sky in absolute awe. The jungle is bathed in the light of the large blue moon in the sky. The stars are shining bright, complemented with songs from the night birds. “Looks like the stars are shinning for you tonight, Ring.” “Yes. It is. I hope it will never end.” “You know, we have a story here?”, Ringano continues. “What story?” “Well, we believe that if you can catch a falling star, then you can catch and marry the girl of your dream.” “Well. I have a fiancée back home my friend and I intent to marry no one else but her!” “In that case, you must catch two falling stars!”, Ringano replies. “What happens if I catch two falling stars?” “Well, we believe that if you catch two falling stars, one in each palm, then you can marry the girl of your dream and live happily ever after in eternal love, and blessed with many male off springs!” “Do you have a girlfriend, Ring?” “Yes. She is the daughter of a Chieftain from a friendly tribe in a neighbouring village.” “Is it an arranged marriage? Do you love her?”, Daniel assumed that the king must have chosen the wife for his prince since she would one day become the queen of his kingdom. “Yes, I do, very, very much. We love each other very much. I have brought her up here before. Both the king and queen approved of my relationship with her. It’s not what think, my friend. My father did choose her for me. She is knowledgeable, educated and speaking perfect English. Her father sent her to study in a boarding school in Surrey, London when she was 15 years old. After she finished her studies in the boarding school, she went to the US to study biology.”

The moon is gradually sinking behind the hills and soon they fell to sleep.