The Bride Price: An African Romance (Chitundu Chronicles) (33 page)

Beautiful was awake before it was light, eager to record the story of his Lily. He could remember so many details and his pen flew across the paper jotting down the scenes and the interactions. He wanted to meet these people and comfort them with what he knew of their lives. Did everyone have such a vibrant force that surrounded them? This child gave him energy and hope. Each appearance brought back memories of long forgotten joys and some disappointments that he had suffered. By seeing what her life had meant to her, he was strengthened to make his last days count. He asked permission of Whenny to draw pictures of her grandchildren, of the bar, of herself. He recorded his struggles with HIV isolation. Each day as he logged in what was happening in his narrow world, he longed to understand more, and to let people know that he was somebody, that he mattered—that each of them mattered. Somehow, he conveyed this to Whenny and she took on new life. She was mistaken as the mother of the children, rather than their grandmother because her love and her caring gave her a new light. She took time to listen to him and to them, and they began to want to learn and to excel.

Beautiful began to give mini lessons in art to the children, and to welcome their visits to his room. He was meticulous about his hygiene, and his skin and hair improved as he watched what he was eating and drinking. Soon the children were learning to read and to write. The girls practiced their letters and each of them shared the single book their mother had purchased with her income from the still. As the children learned and began to observe, Whenny too, wanted this ability to read and write. She dictated her story to Beautiful, then he would have her read it back to him, and record it all; the daily events, the calamities, the miracles of maintaining life when the odds seem all against you.

Their lives were becoming intertwined. Reuben saw the change that love was making in the life of Beautiful and asked permission to speak in one of his sermons about this transformation of the young man with AIDS. The day he gave his sermon on Beautiful, Festal and Myrna attended the service.  As he held up the pictures of the children, there was the picture of the dream girl. Both of Reuben’s parents gasped at the likeness. It was their Lily Wonder. She was working a miracle in the life of this dying man. They wanted to talk to Reuben after the service but he was called away for an emergency.

Whenny was so pleased with the education her grandchildren were receiving. The girls could now read print and tell her what a notice or letter said. She closed up the bar a little early on Saturday and went to attend the church service because Reuben was going to be talking about Beautiful. All the children were bathed and dressed in gingham shirts and jumpers, all were wearing sandals and had their hair washed and combed out. She was feeling pride as a grandmother, and wanted them to be seen and admired. As the service ended, she was proud that she had been able to help Beautiful, and the gift that he had given the family. They didn’t stay around after the service, but headed back to the Last Laugh Bar, singing one of the catchier new praise songs they had learned.

When they arrived at the house, Whenny had a sudden premonition, and went straight to Beautiful’s room. The door was ajar, and the place was a shambles. He was lying in a pool of blood. Whenny pulled the comforter over his body. Both of the barrels were missing, along with the wheelbarrow, the Dutch oven, and the brazier, as well as her new sewing machine and all the clothing and blankets. Missing too, were the months of journals, recorded sketches, and writings of his relationship with the visionary girl, Lily Wonder and the Last Laugh Bar. It looked as though Beautiful had died trying to protect her home. She locked the children into the parlor, and headed back to the church to notify Reuben and get his advice. It had been too good to be true, her life had never been so sweet and she had never known such love from a man as she had received from Beautiful, as he lay dying, then recovering in her little home at the end of Water No More Street.

Reuben listened to Whenny tell of the death of her houseguest, and the stolen items.  She could hardly contain herself as she rushed through the story. No plan came to mind as to how to care for the children. She could not report the thefts or the death to the police, the room was contaminated by Beautiful’s blood, no one would clean it for her, and she did not want to risk her own safety as she was the only one the children had to care for them. She and Reuben knelt in prayer and looked for a solution. As they were praying, Festal and Myrna came into the room. They had wanted to help Reuben with his farming plans, and he had asked them to drop by after church.

When Festal looked at the woman kneeling on the floor, he was taken aback. She looked so much like his mother. Her posture, her hair, even the way she pulled her head back and arched her neck. As she stood up, he caught sight of the watch on Reuben’s wrist, and within minutes, a mystery over sixty years in the making was solved. That had been Festal’s father’s watch. Lamont, who had passed away, was his youngest brother and Whenny was Festal’s twin. The two of them wept in joy. They had each felt guilt their entire lives because they thought the other had been given away and lost forever.

Whenny was given away when she was six years old to a family in the Gulf to be a servant in their household. Festal had been sent to the fields to be a cow herder. Briefly, Whenny shared her current dilemma, and the answer was simple. Lamont’s brother would have inherited the house, and that brother was Festal. They would go back to the place, release the children into the care of Myrna and Gift, and if necessary, they would burn the building to purify the land. Festal was thrilled to find his twin alive and with family besides.  He hugged her and hugged Reuben, and hugged Myrna, then started all over again. This was an unveiling of biblical proportions. He was a blessed man. Whenny felt the same, and the two of them joined arms as they walked down the street to release the children, Reuben and Myrna following behind.

Reuben pulled back the comforter and saw his friend Beautiful lying there. He called his name, and heard a slight moan. “Bring some water, he is not dead, he is just banged up and bleeding. Maybe he can tell us what has happened.”

Festal helped pull the man into the light and they rinsed his wounds with the water and wrapped his bleeding head in a towel.  Myrna diverted the attention of the children to the tuck shop down the block, and gave them some coins to buy gum and a bottle of Fanta to share. The men cleaned up the man as best they could and gave him water to drink. Within minutes, he told how he had been robbed, and that the men were the same who had been drinking in the bar the night before. He asked about the couple who had come in, recognizing them from the sketches he had made.

“Beautiful, we have heard about your dreams and we want to know more. This is not the time, as you need to heal.  The woman who has been caring for you is my sister. You are not to worry. We can repair the house, and we will get some medicines for you.”

“Whenny, come and stay with us until we get this house back in order. We will send the cart for Beautiful and he can live in my rondavel. It is good that we came in time. God is good.” Reuben and Stephen followed up on the information about the thieves and the goods that were located at the far end of the cattle country.  They heard from Rose that someone had brought her the sketch books, thinking it was her in the pictures. She had read some of the stories and was amazed at how clear a description the Dream Girl had given of the lives and places.  She knew Royal would want to read them as well, as he had a talent for writing and had a plan of writing the biography of his mother Gift.

CHAPTER 45
MYRNA AND THE ENDOWMENT

Several members of the local affiliate had met at the large mango grove to go over meeting the international team that was coming to Copperfine. The local coordinator had asked Myrna and Festal to be present for the meeting, as the national coordinator would be present. Festal was not able to attend, but Myrna was there to meet him.   The national coordinator did not show up that evening, and when he did, almost a week later, he went over the procedures again for welcoming the guests, getting them to their housing, and preparing the host families for their arrival.  Their names were difficult for the people to recall.  He warned the homeowners that you could not keep track of them by their clothing because they dressed alike and they also changed clothes frequently. Sometimes you could recognize them most easily by their voices or their laughter. They tended to smile and laugh a lot.

It was late afternoon when Myrna returned to her cottage and hung up her cardigan, built the fire, and prepared for the night.  Gift had gone to visit her aunt that she had discovered in the displaced persons’ camp. So, Myrna was alone in their home.  She realized how much she counted on the company of Gift, and sharing the day’s experiences with her.  She made herself a cup of tea and ate a few leftover yam chips, then cleaned her teeth, and pulled the curtain back from the window. Looking out, she reflected on her what her education had meant to her. She had been impressed by her tutor, Wellington Taylor, and his idea of being the
Prince of Love,
had given her a model on which to build her hopes. She and her family had become a beacon of hope and knowledge in the community.

Her sons had made it possible for her husband to unite with his twin and restore a relationship that poverty and powerlessness had broken. She had a daughter, college educated, who would be able to administer an academy for women so no other girl in the area would have to be denied an education. Each of her children was involved with each other and respectful of their differences and their common bonds as brothers and sisters. They had united tribal groups, ages, and gender. With the addition of Lily Wonder into the family, even racial lines had been united. She had to say that she would never have imagined how beautiful the lines laid down for her would be, and tomorrow, her sister and her husband would see the family honored.  She did not regret that her own Lily had passed away. The child had been a blessing beyond measure.

As she said this to herself, a breath of fresh plumeria scent blew into the rondavel and she felt a tremendous relief and a joy enter her spirit. She went to the rondavel where Festal was sleeping, and saw he was sitting at the wall of the compound. He, too, had scented the perfume of the tree growing above their Lily’s grave.  He was also in a state of oneness with how their lives were being spun into a tapestry of love and peace. They were looking forward to meeting the new Lily Wonder and getting to know her story, and what she would bring to their lives, even as they had moved from the wonder of reunion with Whenny, and knew that there was a plan to all of this. Myrna kissed her husband good night, and they went to their sleeping places to wait for what the morning would bring. 

The mattress was sweet with the new grasses they had stuffed into it during the dry season. Myrna pulled her cloth over her face and turned to the wall. Festal was sleeping in the small rondavel alone tonight and she was wondering if he was missing having her close to him. 

Morning came suddenly on the plateau.  The rooster had scarcely finished his clarion call and the donkeys were still braying a love song when the heat of mid-December sucked up all life from the air.  Myrna pulled herself out of bed and felt the welcome coolness of her polished floor. She gathered her clothes from where she had left them and hung them on the peg near the bed.  Today, the local people would meet the international team. The coordinators had asked her to wear her traditional dress.  She pulled it from the trunk in the storage room and smoothed it out on the bed.  When the fire was going well, she drew a few charred coals out of it and carried them to the iron, put them inside, then ran the bottom of the iron over a towel to make sure none of the soot remained on the bottom.

On the small table, with  a cloth laid down, she pressed her dress for the welcoming.  Her hair was pulled into a nylon scarf then wrapped in a fanciful bow shaped headdress of the same material as her skirt and wrap.  She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror and applied a small amount of kohl to her eyes and some coloring on her lips.  There was bound to be a number of photos taken, she had learned this when she met her first international team.  Slipping on her sandals, she finished her cup of tea and two slices of bread, then headed for the village square. Festal was going to feed the animals, then dress in his
abaya
, and join them later. Her friend Priscilla met her on the path.  She too, had her traditional skirt and top with her hair braided, then pulled into a wrap that resembled a mortar board in its shape.  The two laughed to see each other so fancified.

“As if anyone will know who we are,” they laughed. “Two classic women that have outlived most of our peers in cattle country.” Royal had driven out to Blancville to pick up his Aunt Violet and Lily Wonder and bring them to  Copperfine, just in time to see Myrna receive the endowment for her school.  Festal was there, dressed in his best
abaya
.

Festal was charmed by the little girl, who promptly sketched him—complete in his tribal dress, and surrounded by fattest and most beautiful of cows.  He let her lead him around the school site, commenting to him on what was most important to see.  When it was time for the ceremony, the chiefs invited Priscilla, Myrna and Festal to be seated with the dignitaries. As they were seated there, waiting for the ceremony to begin, Gift arrived and Myrna signaled her to join them on the podium.

The gathering consisted of about one hundred people.  The village chiefs came, along with several school children, the magistrate, the affiliate members, and the team of 14 volunteers.  All of them had cameras and began immediately taking pictures of Myrna and Priscilla.  The women were glad they looked so colorful.  There were speeches, a prayer, some songs, and then one of the women from the team stepped forward.  “I am from England,” she said. “I have been asked to bring a special book and a special letter from my country.  The person I am seeking is Myrna Chitundu.”  Myrna felt the heat come into her cheeks as she recognized her maiden name and the diary from her school days.