LE PORTRAIT MAGAZINE MARCH-SEPTEMBER ISSUE | Page 23

clouds that hovered tantalizingly over her and so far away. It felt
beautiful and serene for a moment. However her mind was jumbled with
thoughts she had so far unsuccessfully pushed out of her mind.
Today she had agreed to swim with Steve her one year old boy friend.
She would have soaked in milk given the choice because she needed it.
She could have swum in honey or wine if it could only make her feel
fresh again. She did not feel clean enough these days, and thanks to the
camp she had attended recently. Life had taught her a lesson to never
take anything for granted. A life of luxury given to you on a silver plate
was not a torment but a gift. It was a gift to thank the gods and your
ancestors for because they brought you up into such fine lines of
providence. She wanted Steve to quickly want to have a baby again. She
prayed for it. She wanted him to rush her into the hospital when her
water was bursting. He would then do what was expected of him. Take
the bride price home for their marriage to take place.
She still couldn’t believe her life could have been taken away from her
last month in one snap. Steve was her life and she couldn’t deny it any
more. If only this water could turn into wine…she wished for a splinting
moment.
She came up in the water and looked around to see if Steve was coming
to join her. He was nowhere in sight. She felt frantic though not scared.
She badly needed his company. He had to be somewhere inside the
house looking for something. She dived back into the water with arms
outstretched in a yoga style.
The chatting sounds of recruits singing their war songs in the sun flashed
into her mind. She was there once again in the hot sun burning her bare
face till her eyes squint. It made her scrawl her face into a weird
expression.
A huge wave of bodies moved along with her. She felt sweaty and
exhausted with the bad stench of human odor threatening her nostrils.
Her feet too felt sour and almost bare like she was walking on the stones
with bare feet, yet she was wearing new snickers. She moved along like
an ocean current clashing with sea stones and stopping abruptly only to
be shocked into movement again. This was because her energy was
draining out faster than the rush hour. She felt like a rock that could not
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