Litkicks Message Board Archive

africa

the world held its breath while waiting for me to decide. I was so lonely, and as a present, for graduating college I was given the gift of africa. 29 days abroad, all over the place by myself alone in the hands of strangers. with in the 19 days in kenya every one in the group had become friends with one another but me. I be came friendly with the guide. His name is Billiah and he is a maasai, now gone from his homeland of ngorongoro crater of tanzinia. More than once we are alone together in the land rovers looking at each other. his face is dark, eyes golden brown, his ears pierced and decorated in maasai fashion.
out side of karen, kenya,
we stop at a roadside stand and buy bananas and fanta he puts his hand on my arm and tells me I am the most beautiful white woman he has ever seen. then he says I like you in swahili.
back in the land rover I am sitting in the back with a cloth over my nose and mouth choking from the horrible dust. we are now on a dirt road headed to amboseli national park. I can see his eyes slide over mine in the rear view mirror. he keeps looking at me and i keep looking at him.
buy dark we are there. I shower and shave and dress in a perfect little cotton sarong and go to dinner, a buffet with crocodile and impala served. I sit alone at the bar afterwards waiting for him to come around. The ceilings were 30 feet high, its so quiet and dark you can see every constilation in the sky.
something softs touches my shoulder and it is him, with an eagle feather in his hands to give to me. he drinks brandy and i sip coconut rum with mango juice. we are smoking and I'm getting a little drunk, he is trying to teach me a little swahili.
the bar closes at 11 and he insists on walking me back to my room because its dark and this camp is not fenced in. "a leopard could sweep you up and away, just like that, mama" he says to me.
at my room we stop and look and each other. there are misquitos buzzing everywhere. his lips brush my ear, " come back to my room with me, mama," he says. his hands are at my hips, the sarong could be pulled off with just a slight of his hand. my whole body and face are burning, he hugs me close to him, he's warm and smells like the earth.
"i have qustion for you," he says, "how is it that you do not grow hair under your arms?"