shadowChild

Chapter Four - Cows and Companions

When Kuda got home she was still feeling very uneasy. She was not surprised when she saw that her hands were shaking. Timile did that to her and to be quite honest he terrified her. There was just something not quite right about him and it gave the impression that if he was pushed, no matter how slight the push, he would lose whatever little balance he had left and go berserk. It was really scary on occasion and Kuda prayed fervently that when he finally became unbalanced she would be nowhere near him.

Changing out of her pants and shirt she donned a once black oversized t-shirt which had been in the wash too many times too often and a pair of Khaki shorts. Pulling on a large floppy straw hat she looked at herself in the bedroom mirror. It wasn't exactly the latest in fashion but it was comfortable and she was happy with it. On her way out she grabbed an apple from the kitchen. She closed the front door behind her and called to her dog. He had not been home when she had arrived but she was sure he was back now. She was right. King came lumbering up to her and she had to bend only slightly to cuddle him. King was a huge dog and Kuda loved him dearly. He licked her face and Kuda giggled.

"Come on, boy," she said as she straightened. "Time for our walk."

The dog barked once, as though in agreement, and the two started off to Manini Chipo's, where they went almost every day at this time of the day. Kuda walked slowly, keeping a lazy eye on King.

Manini Chipo lived about twenty minutes walk away from Kuda, walking really slowly as she was doing now. She could make it there in seven minutes if she needed to but today she was just enjoying her walk. She knew almost everybody in the village and she stopped quite often to greet people or just waved to them and continued on her way. She loved this time of the day, watching the children play and the older boys bringing in the goats.

It was a lot cooler now than it had been an hour ago. The sun was making a slow retreat behind the rose-coloured sky and the colours made her feel secure. There was such beauty in the defined lines of the horizon that it was at times like this she so badly wanted to believe in the existence of a higher being; a being that could explain the pain that had been such a constant part of her life. However hard she tried, she could never quite make that leap to belief in a higher power, no matter how many signs may have been pointing her in the right direction. She shrugged, pushing the thought aside. There was no use in thinking about something about which you had no proof.

Around the time that she would get to Manini's, Washington would be bringing in the cattle. She would talk with Manini for a while before they went down to the kraal to help with the cow milking. This was their usual routine.

"Ta pinda," she called out when she got to Manini's yard. King barked once and galloped off to one of the three huts in the yard. A sudden scream seared the air and Kuda's heart seemed to leap from her chest to her throat. She ran towards the hut that King had disappeared into and was in time to hear Manini chuckle in a self-defacing manner. Kuda's heart settled and she breathed again.

"What on earth is the matter?" she asked when she came to a stop beside the door. "I thought you were being murdered or something."

"This big, gangling mutt of yours startled me, is all," Manini muttered. Kuda noticed that Manini was pushing something under her skirt and was about to tease her about it when she noticed the shuttered expression on her face. Instead she asked where Una was.

"He has already left for the kraal. He said he'd wait for Washington there," Manini murmured.

"Shall we go?" Kuda asked.

"In a moment," Manini hedged. She wasn't looking at Kuda. "Can you wait outside for a minute? There's something I'd like to do first before we go."