Page 195 of The Sun Sister

‘She there.’ Nygasi pointed to the shelter.

‘Can you tell her I’d like to meet her?’

Nygasi nodded then walked over to the shelter, peeled back one of the cowhides and spoke in rapid Maa to the person inside.

‘She come. Sit?’ he indicated a hide placed on the ground beside the fire pit.

Cecily did so, then watched as the animal-skin door was pulled back slightly and a pair of fearful eyes peered out. Nygasi said what were obviously comforting words, for the hide was peeled back further. Cecily watched in fascination as a young woman unfolded herself from the low shelter. She’d always thought of Nygasi as tall, but the woman who stood next to him was even taller. Cecily drew in her breath at the incredible creature standing in front of her. Her black skin shone ebony in the sunlight that sparkled through the trees, her long limbs were almost impossibly slender and her neck seemed to go on forever, carrying an exquisitely chiselled face with full lips and high cheekbones below limpid brown eyes. Her hair was shaved neatly down to her scalp, and her chin jutted slightly upwards as she stared at Cecily with a certain air of hauteur. She was dressed in a lambskin skirt with a red shawl wrapped around her torso. An assortment of silver earrings hung from her ears and her neck and wrists were adorned with multi-coloured beaded bangles and necklaces.

Cecily had been expecting a child, but this thirteen-year-old was every inch a woman, with the noble bearing of the princess that she was. She was so incredibly striking that Cecily could hardly speak for staring at her.

She stood up slowly and walked over to greet the young woman, who towered above her. ‘I’m Cecily Forsythe, Bill’s wife. I’m pleased to meet you, Njala.’

She held out her hand and the young woman took it almost regally, giving a nod as she did so.

‘No English,’ Nygasi explained.

‘It’s okay. I just wanted her to know that if there was any problem, I’m...well, I’m there.’

Nygasi nodded, then spoke to the girl in Maa. She whispered something back.

‘She say thank you for shelter on your land.’

‘Oh, it’s no problem,’ Cecily stuttered, feeling Njala’s amazing eyes upon her. ‘I love your bangles.’ Cecily pointed to the woman’s wrist. ‘Very beautiful. Right then, I’d better be off. Good to meet you, Njala. Bye now. Come on, Wolfie.’ Cecily turned away and walked from the clearing. It was only when she was halfway home that she realised she had been so overwhelmed by the woman’s beauty, she’d not even taken a glance at Njala’s stomach to try and decipher how pregnant she was.

Having spent the day in the garden and after cooking herself another lonely supper, Cecily wandered into the sitting room, turned on the light and went over to the bookcase to find one of Bill’s books on the Maasai. Lighting a fire in the grate because the evening was chilly, Cecily settled in an armchair and began to read.

It was a white man’s account, written by a big game hunter who’d been captured by a clan whilst out on their territory. He’d managed to barter his way out of death by offering them his shotgun and had eventually befriended them. The one thing that struck Cecily above all was the barbarous way they treated their women.

She particularly blanched at the descriptions of the female circumcision ‘ceremony’ detailed in the book, and occasionally had to put it down to gather herself. She felt light-headed at the thought of her own private parts being abused that way.

As she switched off the light to head for bed, she thought about the proud woman-child sleeping out tonight under her canopy of animal skins. And for the first time in a while, counted herself lucky to be so privileged.

The next morning, armed with Bill’s basic dictionary of Maa words and offerings of potatoes and carrots that could be cooked in the pot over the fire, Cecily made her way through the woods once more. Nygasi gave her an almost imperceptible smile and a small bow as she entered the clearing.

‘Hello, Nygasi. Look,’ Cecily said as she dug in her canvas bag, ‘I brought some things for Njala to eat and to make her more comfortable. Is she here?’

Nygasi nodded and went to get Njala as Cecily laid out her wares.

‘Takwena, Njala,’ she greeted her, once again mesmerised by her beauty as she approached the fire pit. Dragging her eyes away from the young woman’s face, she stared at her middle, but it was still covered by the swathes of the long red shawl, so the bump could have been fabric or baby. Whichever it was, it didn’t look that large, but then again, Cecily thought, there was more room for a baby inside Njala’s six-foot frame than there was in her own at just over five feet.

‘Here, I brought you a pillow.’

Njala raised her elegant brow in confusion.

‘I’ll show you.’ Cecily placed the pillow on the earth beside her and laid her head upon it. ‘For sleeping. You try?’ Cecily offered the pillow to Njala, who accepted it as if Cecily was a maid serving her queen.

‘And here are some potatoes and carrots.’ Cecily took out one of each and showed the girl. Nygasi nodded in approval and came forward to take them.

‘Can you ask Njala if there’s anything else she needs?’ Cecily asked Nygasi.

Nygasi did so, but the girl shook her head.

‘Today, I get cow.’ Nygasi indicated the placid animal munching on the grass beneath a tree, tethered on a long piece of rope. ‘Good for baby,’ he said.

‘Oh yes, it is,’ said Cecily. ‘Just let me know if there’s anything else either of you needs.Etaa sere.’ Cecily stumbled over the words that meant ‘goodbye’.

‘Etaa sere.’ It was Njala who replied, her childlike tone at odds with her womanly physique.