The White Masai by Corinne Hofmann

Author:Corinne Hofmann [Corinne Hofmann]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781908129192
Publisher: Arcadia Books Limited
Published: 2011-12-26T16:00:00+00:00

Farewell And Welcome

I arrive at the airport heavily laden. Leaving my mother is particularly hard for me this time because I don’t know when I’ll be back. On June the first, 1988 I land back in Nairobi and take a taxi to the Igbol Hotel.

Two days later I arrive back in Maralal, drag my luggage to the boarding house and think about how I’m going to get back to Barsaloi. Each day I trawl through the village, looking for a car. I think of calling on Sophia but discover that she’s on holiday in Italy. On the third day I hear that in the afternoon a lorry with maize meal and sugar is leaving for the Mission in Barsaloi. I wait all morning next to the wholesalers where the bags are to be loaded. And indeed the lorry turns up around noon. I do a deal with the driver and settle a price to sit up front, and that afternoon we finally leave. Our route is via Baragoi so it will take six hours and it will be late before we get to Barsaloi. There are at least fifteen people on board the lorry: good money for the driver.

The journey takes forever. This is the first time I’ve done it on a lorry. We cross the first river in pitch darkness, only the beam of the headlights feeling our way across the broad emptiness. By ten p.m. we’re there and stop in front of the Mission compound where lots of people are waiting for the ‘lori’. They’ve spotted the lights in the distance, and all Barsaloi is excited. Many people reckon on earning money offloading the sacks.

Tired but happy, I climb down. I’m home, even if the manyattas are a few hundred yards away. A few people say a friendly hello. Father Giuliani turns up with a torch to give instructions, says hello briefly and then vanishes again. I’m standing helplessly with my heavy bags, unable to drag them in the dark as far as Mama’s manyatta. Two boys, who obviously don’t go to school because they’re wearing traditional garb, offer to help me, but half way there someone comes towards us with a torch. It’s my darling. ‘Hello!’ he beams. I throw my arms around him with joy and press a kiss on his lips. The emotion takes away my breath and silently we make our way to the manyatta.

Mama too is delighted to see me. Straight away she lights the fire to make the obligatory chai. I hand out my presents. Later Lketinga taps lovingly on my stomach and asks, ‘How is our baby?’ I feel uncomfortable as I tell him that unfortunately there is no baby. He frowns: ‘Why? I know you have baby before!’ As calmly as possible I try to explain to him that it was only because of the malaria that I missed my period. Lketinga is very disappointed, but nonetheless that night we make wonderful love.

The next few weeks are very happy, life takes its usual course until at last we set off again for Maralal to see about the wedding.

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