Love At Sea: De La en Glässer

Your wife is without bottoms?

"Did you hear that?" Macmillan let go of the heavy wood which would have cost Elton his head had he not been fast enough. "It was a bullet." The stunned priest replied. "Not just any bullet." Macmillan grabbed hold of the nearest knife he could find. "Come on man, what are you waiting for?" He was running wildly for the village. Luckily enough he was not just the only one who had heard the gun shot. Frank came grunting behind. "I doubt I have engaged in any strenuous activities of late." A lady walked past him. He did not miss the small smile she sent his way. "Of course, father Frank you have not been carrying out any strenuous activities but I am sure you have been doing a lot of position planning in your head." Frank blushed at Macmillan's statement. "It Is not what you think my good sir, it is-" "Um, I am sure it is not what I think." "Wow, is it suddenly hot out here? I think I need to go to the river to call off." Frank Elton did not wait for anyones response or permission before he run towards the direction the woman walked to.

"The men and I have been searching everywhere. We have even communicated with the other clans. No one seems to have seen the white men. They claim them to be mysterious-" "But the gun shot." Ahi An Ma's earlier threat of him cutting off of her speech did not seem to faze him one bit. "We all heard the shot and that is why we are here to count our numbers and know if anyone is missing." A young girl made fast hand signals and grunted out strange sounds. "Your wife." She moved fast towards the open curtain. "She is gone."

Macmillan was by her side in a second and into the hut in a jiffy. "They might have taken her." "Or-" Began the old lady in a clam tone. "She walked willingly to the river." She pointed to the muddy ground full of numerous footprints. "It is a trait we learn from a young age, besides, she has shoes. Frank Elton lent her a pair." She pointed to the distinguished set of designs. "That is a muddy mess." How could anyone read from the ground that had more than a set of prints? He wondered. He could not even tell the difference between his shoes and that of the priest. "Macmacllain." Ostamana called out. He made hand signals to the old chieftain and then stepped forward with a colourful bird. "A parrot." Ahi An Ma pointed to the little creature as it settled on her hand. Macmillan rolled his eyes. "I know what they are." He replied deadpan. "Of course you do." He watched agonizingly slowly as the woman run her bony fingers along the bird's feathers.

"But did you know they are wise creatures, at times too wise and with patience and enough attention they can aid with help and all you need." The parrot raised its wings and tail feathers at the same time. It ducked its head under her thumb exposing the spot it wanted to be touched the most. "Could the patience and love go any faster? My wife has been kidnapped." The old lady crossed her legs as she took a sit on the bare dirty ground. The village people gathered closer to see the wonders the woman was to perform. "You do not rush the process, it takes time." Surprisingly the parrot started purring. A sweet little melodic sound it had mimicked from one of the kittens that passed by. Then it began whistling. (Out of tone by the way.) Then began its granting- not the type of animalistic sounds that were common to the creatures of the forest, but the ones that were understandable to Ahi An Ma and her people.

Without haste, it spoke, moving its little body in various motions and when Ahi An Ma asked questions it replied back calmy like as if the words it spoke were natural to its tongue. A fast set of hand movements were made and the parrot widened its wings. "Interesting." The old lady shook her head no towards the people and they grunted amongst themselves. Then she asked another question. The creature brought up its head and pointed its beak towards the air. A few dried-up worms were poured in her palm and the bird happily pecked at them. "Well?" She waited patiently for the bird. Once done, it flapped its wings and flew to the highest branch it could find away from all eyes and prey. There it dropped a few pieces of food into the mouths of its young ones.

"Your wife was without bottoms?" A guilty smile etched the captain's lips. The drawers she had been wearing had been safely tucked into the folds of his pockets. Thank God for his tanned skin He thought. "And if she was not with bottoms?" Ahi An Ma shooed the rest of the villagers. "What are your thoughts on physical abuse? Sexual harassment? Rape?" Macmillan could feel his mood change and the blood in his body boil. "I would kill the bitch that touches even the shortest lock of hair on her head." She nodded and patted his shoulder. "A more reason for you to hurry as she is in danger. She walked to the river for a cool of water and was drugged of some sort and taken by two men, one with a tattoo and the other without. And," She tried stretching to his height. "According to the little bird, they were all too blessed admiring her exposed bottom." "Fuck!" "Language sir, we have children in our mists." Frank Elton was behind him.

"I need to get to her, where is she?" Ahi An Ma walked towards her brave warriors. "The bird did not say. It did not see but they walked in the opposite direction. We can find them through their prints, but I warn you if you are caught by the red clan that surround themselves by the mountains then it is only the elements that can save you." She spat on the ground and used her good foot to cover the salvia with soil. "They are man eaters." She spat again and Macmillan had to hold his stomach. It was bad enough that he had not eaten but they really needed to stop with the spitting, it was more than revolting. "Then I can go alone. I would not want to harm you or your men."

"And who said my men were to escort you? We only look after people in our clan, in our territory. Once you out of our boundary you are for the wild, for we cannot protect you- but we can pray for the elements to keep you safe." She stood up and dusted the dirtied spot on her bottom. A short stool was placed in front of one of the old huts which she obviously occupied. "Come smoke with me, I hear it is good for the soul. And if it makes you feel better my offer is still open. Though come to think of it, my daughter will not do the trick, so let me feel in her space. I might be old but I am young at heart." "She is offering herself to you?" Elton could not help but ask out of disgust. "I told you this culture was weird." The captain could not agree more.

"And what if I needed your help? You know this dump better than I do." "Oh well," Ahi An Ma shrugged her shoulders. "All the more reason for you not to come and explore the dump of a place. You might get yourself killed and that would leave a bad image." She let out a huge puff of smoke giving not a single care in the world. "How would you feel if it was one of your daughters that got kidnapped? Taken and was stared at because she had no bottoms?" "That is a question we would never find an answer to but thinking about it and if I can recall correctly all women wear something underneath their clothes." And for added emphasis she lifted the hem of her dress just above her waistline and exposed the dark coloured dressing that covered her inner self. "Secondly, no girl of mine would be taken unless they were defeated in a fight they put up with which of course she would not lose. All my people are warriors even though some of them might appear fragile and frail."

A skinny boy of seven walked by with half of his sack hanging out of the stringed cloth around his lean waist. He held a bunch of sweet traits and fruits in his dirty little hands. A loud grunt halted his steps and he was forced to lay his gatherings at the foot of one of the bigger boys before him. "Well, most of my children are warriors and hopefully not whimps, he is still growing and is still yet to learn a lot." "Clearly he does." The three watched the boy run back to his parent's hut where he got his three older brothers to come do the dirty work. It was a brutal scene of beatings and childish whimpers. "As I was saying, I need to get to her. I have this feeling in my gut, something is not right."

Ahi An Ma had to draw her attention from the free entertainment. "I cannot help you there Macmillan. She is gone she is gone." Range, utter rage was what he could taste on his tongue. "But you fought and killed the man that killed your husband even if the man you loved was long gone. You fought did you not? Why are you scared of helping me with this? This is the woman I want to make mine. The woman I love, I really need your help. Please." Macmillan could feel his world spinning. He knew it was his fault, all his fault right from the very first beginning of their meeting. He knew she was trouble and had even tried to rid himself of her, but trouble was what his heart wanted. Bernadette was what he wanted. All of her and her troubled past. He wanted to give her a better opportunity, life at its best and he knew he could not do that without the lassy being present in being.

"Please help me this is all I ask." "You have asked for more than I can offer. You asked for help which I gave and brought men to my village and endeared my people. Your wife is out in the wild and as much I hate to admit it the space outside the forest walls is bigger than you think and those men- those savages they are men eaters, they kill even if we are of the same womb. I am sorry but I nor my men can help you there. We have lost enough. We will not lose more." She stood up from her stool. "Now all this long talking and remembrance of grammar has given me a headache. I bid you a fare well Macmillan and if you choose to stay, we will be more than blessed to welcome you as one of our own." She stretched forth her walking stick and pointed it towards a distinguished dilapidated hut. "I go sleep. I tired. My girl you help food and water."

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