TLADI

Chapter 22

Shami watched the moonrise after they had camped for the night and the evening meal was being prepared. Suddenly she was at his side. His breath caught. He let it go slowly so as not to alert her of the effect she had on him.

"Tis a beautiful night," her sweet harmonious voice began, "it's a pity the circumstances are not more welcoming..." 

Shami was aware of the riddle in her words, he decided to play along.

"Unwelcoming circumstances... what would they welcome if the circumstances were changed?" his pleasant melodious voice was filled with curiosity.

She smiled and said: "What do you think?" almost breathlessly.

"I'm more interested in what you think" Shami practically whispered. He looked at her for the first time since she'd joined him in the moonlight. Her dark mahogany skin seemed to glow at him and invite him. He looked into her eyes instead. They were two honey-coloured lights that pierced right through him and into his soul. He felt like he was drowning, he slowly looked away. She smiled a secret smile.

"I can't tell you my thoughts," she said sweetly, "it will ruin the surprise..."

"What surprise?" Shami's voice darkened.

"You'll see..." she whispered. 

Shami shifted uneasily. Something wasn't right. He wondered why he felt like he was drowning in her eyes. Was that how it felt when you were in love? He was wary suddenly, he felt like he was treading on the edge of an unseen danger.

"Shami?" Her voice had turned silky now, he did not know how long he had been quiet.

Thoroughly unbalanced, he said the first thing that came to his mind.

"So, you Sangoma's must have some incredible powers, even at the initiate stage..." 

He did not mean to reveal plainly what he was thinking! Shami cursed himself. Why was it that whenever he was unsettled, he compulsively told the truth?!

It was evident that Ntombi was surprised, her rounded features quite clearly displayed this and even without looking at her Shami could tell.

"What makes you say that?" She recovered, her silky tone wavering.

"It's just, it's just..." Shami was struggling for a come-back that was anything but the truth.

This completely unsettled feeling had reminded him of his earlier thought about all the Sangoma's initiates having survived all the strange encounters. The last thing he wanted to do was reveal it to her now, she was one of them, as lovely as she was. She was one of them, but she was so lovely...

"Shami? Am I boring you?" She asked expressionlessly. 

She had misread him. It surprised her how much it hurt her that he found her boring. His mind kept drifting and he was not even looking at her! What was wrong with this man?! Shami smiled sheepishly, apologetically. He felt even more unsettled. There was confusion in her. It made him want to say something so reassure her.

"I was just wondering why all the Sangoma initiates had survived all the encounters when the other women could not." Immediately after he said it, he regretted his words. 

She seemed not to notice too much, being embroiled in an inner conflict of her own.

"The ancestors protect us..." She replied absently. 

Shami had only partially misread her. She was involved in an inner conflict, yet his statement had thoroughly jarred her out of it. This man was intelligent! She thought, he needs to be watched carefully in the future. She found it easier to appear to be absent because she was wondering how Shami could have thought of that while being with her. She was supposed to be a distraction from all thought. Was it possible that this man was immune to her charms? Did he not like her at all?