Mosana - Part VI

EPISODE 6

I woke up with a start. I had seen Aimatu on fire in my dreams and woken up in a panic. Adding to my fears was that my surroundings were strange. For a split second, I couldn’t remember where I was, but then everything came rushing back. I breathed in relief. When I looked out the window, I knew the sun was high in the sky, even though the curtains were drawn. Someone must have come into my room to do that, because I noticed them last night before I slept that they were open.

I must have slept for hours. I couldn’t remember ever sleeping in in my entire life. Each day for me always began early before the cock crowed. I quickly jumped out of bed and unlocked my door. I walked silently barefeet to where I remembered the living room was. On my way there, I met Sarah in the kitchen. She smiled as soon as she saw me and greeted me. At least, I assumed it was a greeting. She stopped talking when I didn’t respond. She must have remembered that I didn’t understand what she was saying. I smiled in return to let her know I was greeting her too. She seemed to understand that.

I was amazed when she served me breakfast. I hadn’t partaken in the cooking, I hadn’t even done any morning chores, yet there I was, eating delicious, round, flat bread. I caught her eyes and bowed my head. Thank you. I did the same to Ed. They understood.

Contrary to what people usually expect, I didn’t miss sleeping on the ground and go back to it. The first day I slept on a bed, I loved it and slept on it all through. And I quickly grew used to it. I had grown up sleeping on mats or on the hard floor, but I had never been comfortable on the floor. I used to put my mother’s old clothes to cushion my elbows and knees on the ground. It’s like I always knew there was something better than sleeping on the hard ground, and when I found the bed in Ed’s house, I knew I had been right.

Ed and Sarah lived in the countryside. Theirs was a pretty house with a well-tended garden and a low fence. They had ivy growing on the walls of the house with an everlasting scent of flowers everywhere. Life was pleasant enough for me in Ed’s house. I grew to love them and I expect they were fond of me. I knew how to crack them up without saying a word. I was allowed to go anywhere in the house and I quickly found two favourite places that I loved to go to. The garden and Ed’s study. What they had in common was that they were both quiet. Not that the rest of the house was noisy, it’s just that I could hear my own thoughts in the garden as well as in Ed’s study.

When Ed found out that I was interested in books, he began to read stories to me. In that study, I met Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver, Elizabeth Bennet, and a whole host of others that intrigued me. I listened in glee to their adventures and transported myself in my mind to their times. But one that won my heart was Joan of Arc. Her story fascinated me. I wanted to be like her. But I promised myself that I was not going to get burnt at the stake. I would win and remain alive.

Sometimes, Sarah would come to join us in Ed’s study. She would laugh at my expressions and sometimes take over the reading from Ed. I could never get enough, so I usually went into the study to get the books for myself. I would spend hours looking at the pictures drawn in the books and try to imagine the adventures for myself. I sometimes fell asleep while there.

So one day, Ed decided to teach me to read. He came into his study one day to find me frustrated with a book. It was a story which he had started to read to me the night before. I was so eager to finish the story, that I went to pick up the book, hoping to somehow understand. But I couldn’t figure anything out. This particular book didn’t have pictures and I was annoyed. I could get nothing out of it. I was so glad that Ed was going to help me that I flung myself on him when I spoke my first word.

There.

‘There’ was my first word.

I was so hungry for the ability to learn the English language that in a week, I had learned the alphabet and could recite it offhand. In a month, I could read up to six letter words. Whenever I wasn’t sure of a word, Ed and Sarah were always ready to help, and to explain the meaning of the word. In three months, I had read a whole book, minus the big words. I was so excited.

I began to understand Ed and Sarah. I started to speak English, slowly but surely. They were always patient with me. Sometimes it would take me minutes to find the words to properly express myself, but they would wait, smiling, as I worked my brain and my tongue to finally spit out a sentence. When I got a word wrong, they would lovingly correct me and give me a thumbs up. I never made the same mistake twice. But when I got the words right, Ed would beam at me and Sarah would clap and pull me into a hug. It brought me so much joy.

In ten months, I was speaking fluent English, and had read half of Ed’s books.

The moment I got a hold of the English language, I wouldn’t shut up. Oh believe me, I talked nonstop. I began to repeat the stories I had read to Sarah. She wasn’t like her husband, so she didn’t read much. While in the kitchen preparing meals, the garden tending the flowers, the living room knitting, I talked about all I’d read. As for Ed, because he already knew the stories, I made up my own and told him those instead. They didn’t shush me up. They actually enjoyed my tales. I think it was because they didn’t have much excitement in their lives, coupled with the fact that they didn’t have children. I didn’t like to think about that. I was happy to fill in the gap for them.

Soon, I began to learn Math. In no time, I knew how to sum up, subtract, divide and multiply. I learned about percentages and ratios, fractions and decimals, measurements and formulas. I began to write too. Ed said I was intelligent. It was the first time I learnt that word, intelligent. I decided I liked it.

I learned that the word for my father was cruel. My father was cruel. I learned that what I had harboured in my heart for him all my life was hate. I learned that the warm, fuzzy feeling I felt for Ed and Sarah was love.

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‘You’re going away?’

I didn’t even know when I stepped into the room. I had been eavesdropping on them. I knew it wasn’t proper, but I had heard something that had put fear and panic in me. Ed was being called to war again. And he was going with his wife. And they were talking about what to do with me.

‘Mosana,’ Ed called my name, but I didn’t hear him. Thunder was pounding in my ears. Only one thought ran through my mind.

Where would I go?

‘You know it’s not nice to eavesdrop, dear,’ Sarah chided.

I looked at her but didn’t hear her too.

‘You’re going away?’ I repeated. I wanted to be sure I had heard right.

Ed beckoned to me. ‘Come, Mosana.’

I went to him and he drew out a chair for me. We were in his study where Sarah was sitted on one chair while Ed perched on the table. Then he began to explain to me.

‘I’ve been called to war again, Mosana. Not aggressive fighting, really, just to keep the peace. I’m going to one of the colonies; India. And I’ll have to take Sarah with me because I don’t know how long I’ll be there. This assignment is… different.’ He paused, looked into my eyes so I knew he was telling the truth and said, ‘I tried to take you along, but my superiors wouldn’t allow it. You’re not… legal.’

I knew what that meant. Even though Ed treated me like family, my status in the system was that of a slave. I was only a slave. Not relevant, not worthy of care.

Tears stung my eyes, and I finally asked the one question in my heart.

‘Where would I go?’

‘I’ve arranged a place for you with a comrade of mine. He’s retired and stays in a country house too. You’ll love the place.’

But I wouldn’t have it. ‘I don’t want to go!’ I cried, and stormed out of the study.

In my room, I fought tears. I didn’t want to cry, because my father had taught me that it was a sign of weakness. He hit us harder anytime I or my mother cried. But it hurt so much, knowing that they would leave me, and I couldn’t bear it.

Before Ed and Sarah left, I found out their surname.

Sutton. Ed and Sarah Sutton.

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Hey you!

Oh my God! We're getting there! I know the past few weeks have just been full of filler chapters, with nothing major happening. But it's needed, I assure you. She has to tell us ALL that happened to her so we can understand. Just stay with me, and I promise you, we will get to the crunch of the matter. Mosana is not done yet!

xoxo,

Ava.