Hare in the Elephant's Trunk by Jan Coates

Author:Jan Coates
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook, book
Publisher: Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Published: 2011-02-24T16:00:00+00:00

PINYUDO REFUGEE CAMP, NOVEMBER 1991

“Life is good, don’t you think?” Monyroor said, one cloudy morning as they sat sipping hot sweet tea for breakfast.

“You are right,” Willy said. His eyes sparkled again now that he had food and water almost every day. His head looked the right size for his body, and it was no longer possible to count his ribs. His face was rounder and his brown eyes did not look so huge as they once had.

“When will we go back to Sudan?” Oscar asked. “I am getting tired of waiting for my family to find me. Three years is too long. I want Mama to see how good I’m getting at soccer.”

“You said you would never walk that far again,” Jacob reminded him.

Oscar frowned at him. “That was before,” he said. “A long time ago, Jacob.”

“If only we had a rainmaker here,” Willy said. “My toes are tired of dirt. They want grass again.”

“We must be patient,” Monyroor said. “One day at a time. Every week, more and more people arrive here, refugees from Sudan. The war goes on without us. It is still not safe in our country. I have heard rumors of troubles in Ethiopia now as well. I hope they are just rumors.”

The clouds gathered quickly into a great rumbling mass. It began to drizzle before the boys left for school. Everyone in camp stood outside for a few minutes, faces tilted to the sky, letting the cool water wash over them, sucking the dry dust from their pores.

“I think a rainmaker somewhere heard your wish, Willy,” Jacob said. They huddled inside their tent and prepared for a quiet day of mancala and rest. Jacob tried to fix the Purple Raven while the other boys drew pictures in the dirt. Monyroor tootled on the pipe he’d made from a bushbuck horn he’d recently been given. He still had a lot to learn. It’s almost like a rainy day at home, Jacob thought lazily.

The drumming of the rain on the roof had just softened to dripping, and Jacob was half asleep, when the peaceful morning was shattered by the pounding of many feet splashing through the camp and violent shouting. “Attack! Attack!” Jacob’s heart thumped wildly as his mind jumped back three years. He sprang to his knees, covered his ears, and closed his eyes.

“What is it, Jacob? What’s going on?” Willy shouted above the noise. Jacob opened his eyes, jumped up, and grabbed the little boy’s hand.

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