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turned to Sekhaya, who was standing a few steps away from the loaded wagon,
watch-ing and trying not to let her anger show, anger not with Bel but with
those who made this necessary. You might s well go the way you came. If you
aren t coming with us, no point in adding extra miles to your travel. Maiden
Bless, Sekhaya. Let us know how it goes. If you can. She slapped the reins on
the horse s rump, started him moving without waiting for an answer.
Sekhaya shivered as she passed a tree with a huddled knot high in it.
Lies and death. Children killing. I don t understand any of this. I don t
understand why ....
She thought about Chaya inside the van, lying restless in a dream-ridden
sleep. What those men had done to her name-child, that was horrible
but almost natural beside this other thing.
It s like these people are taking an option on the air so that you breathe by
their permission.
She turned onto the main road and sent Joma forward at a jog trot, meaning to
get as far as she could before the sun came up. It was a quiet night, filled
with the small peaceful noises she d loved all these years on the road, the
sounds and smells and fugitive loveliness that made her journeying pleasant as
well as necessary. For an hour or so she let herself forget all her troubles
and exist in the now.
When there was pink in the eastern sky, she turned into a farm lane, slowed
Joma to a walk, and began thinking about a place where she could camp for the
day. The farms were stirring, the milking already begun, teams were heading
for the fields to mow, plow and plant. Sev-eral of the men glanced at the van,
looked away and went about their business, no welcome, no stopping to chat
which was the way it d been before. At least they weren t actively hostile.
Ahwu, my Jommy, when we reach that grove up ahead, I ll give you some water
and corn, but you re go-ing to have to keep going, old friend. We ll take it
slow and easy and hope there s no one sniffing after us.
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There was a scrabbling behind her. She looped the reins around a cleat and let
Joma go on as he would, went over the driver s seat and through the curtains
in time to catch Chaya before she got the back door open. Kazi, m kaz, it s
Sekhaya, you re all right, it s just me .... She locked her arms around
Chaya, holding her close and murmuring in her ear, paying no attention to what
she was saying, knowing it was the voice that was going to reach through her
name-child s panic.
Chaya went limp and began crying, a gulping, dry-throated grief that had
nothing childlike in it.
With the van creaking along, Joma pacing steadily on-ward though there was no
one guiding him, Sekhaya sat on the pallet, holding Chaya, rocking her as if
she were a baby, singing to her, talking to her, helping her work through the
horrors and back to a precarious calm.
* * *
You just stretch out and relax, kaz, I m going to see where we ve got to. No
no, don t move. Better to stay in-side in case someone s following, hush now,
I haven t seen anyone, but the field workers are out and they can answer
questions. That s good. See if you can catch some more sleep. It ll help the
time pass.
When Sekhaya stepped over the back of the seat and settled on her cushion, she
saw they d left behind the grove where she d planned to stop, but there was
a greenish haze on the horizon which looked to be an-other. Ahwu,
Jommy, good horse. We ll speed up a lit-tle, shall we, and this time, I
promise you, we really will stop. She uncleated the reins, clicked her tongue
to shift him into his jog, and tried to ignore the stares from the fields.
The grove was a traveler s layby with a table, benches, and a well with a
trough for horses and other draft beasts. Sekhaya pulled the wooden washtub
from beneath the van, filled it from the well and set up screens around it.
When she turned around, Chaya had unfolded the back steps and was standing on
the lowest, one hand closed so tightly on the door jamb her knuckles were
white with the strain.
Sekhaya smiled. Bath for you, Chay; it ll be cold wa-ter only, but plenty of
soap. Belitha packed pads and tape for you and I ve put them along with a jar
of antiseptic cream on the stool. If you need help, yell. I m going to make us
some breakfast, then we ll see how we do.
Chaya managed a wrinkled smile before she vanished inside the screens.
Sighing, Sekhaya fetched wood from the crib beside the well, got a fire going
inside the circle of rocks, put on water to heat for cha, and started peeling
tubers for a stew. The silence behind the screens except for the occa-sional
splash bothered her, but unless the sounds stopped altogether she thought it
better to let Chaya do for herself, get back, some control over her body. She
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