The Time Turner

by Alexandra Stone

  “I think I am lost”, the stranger went on to say and offered her his hand to shake. Miriam looked at his hand and back at the man’s jeans and avoided eye contact. She did not reply him and went on to take in his attire. He had a red tea shirt on but it was not what she was used to. She often saw her brothers with long sleeved shirts with firm suspenders but what this man wore was quite peculiar to her. He took out a small gadget from his pocket and Miriam took a while to recognize what it was.

  “There is no reception here”, he explained as he lifted the small gadget in mid air as if trying to look for something from it.

  “I swear these guys are going to get the scolding of their lives”, he said as he ran his hands through his hair “I only stopped for a smoke for Pete’s sake”

  This statement shook Miriam to the core as she finally started joining the dots. The gadget in his hand was a cell phone, one of the devices that they never used back at home. The man mentioned having a smoke, yet another thing that that they were always discouraged from doing back in the youth meetings that she often went to.

  “Have I had an encounter with the devil?” she asked herself as he went on to look at the man. He looked frustrated and above all thirsty; he did not look like a devil or demon for that matter. She finally got the courage to stare at him straight in the face and her lips parted and let out a slight heave. He was a very handsome man; he had a round face, raised cheekbones and very bushy eye brows. His eyes were what drew her in most and she immediately felt a strange connection to him.

  “Please help me if you know the way”, he pleaded.

  Miriam went on to stare at him and wondered what to do, a thousand and on questions flooded her mind and her mind raced back to the good Samaritan story that she often told to the young children at Sunday school.

  “Should I practice what I preach and help the man despite his weird attire? But I do not even know him; mother said I should never talk to strangers! He is almost angelic; he can’t really be a demon! But mother says that the devil comes in various forms! Should I rebuke him? Should I ignore him? He looks thirsty! He looks lost!” Were some of the questions that kept running through Miriam’s mind.

  “Are you lost?” Miriam finally asked after debating with herself for a few more minutes. Her voice was so shaky that she did not realize it as hers.

  “Yes I believe I am”, he answered.

  “Where were you heading?”

  “The Orlando camp site, it is next to the lake. Do you know where it is?”

  Miriam knew all too well where it was but remembered her father’s harsh words too. They had been forbidden to go past a certain boundary that was a few miles towards the campsite.

  “Yes I know where it is”, she answered.

  “Mind taking me there?” he asked before fishing for something in his pocket and pulling out a few dollar bills from it. She tried to look away from it but the money was too enticing.

  “It’s ok”, she said and shook her head slightly “You do not have to pay me”

  “Really?” he sounded shocked.

  “I can only take you to a certain point before I head back home, I will give you clear directions that will get you to the campsite”

  “That will be mighty helpful, thank you”, he uttered.

  The grateful smile on his face warmed Miriam’s heart and made her feel less shy to be around him.

  “Right this way”, she said and started leading the way towards the inner part of the forest.

  “I am David by the way”, he said as he walked behind her.

  “Miriam”

  “Lovely name”

  “Thank you”, she said and a flush of red color came all over her face, she thanked her lucky stars that she was leading the way for him not to see her blush.

  “Do you do this often?”

  “Do what?” Miriam asked curiously.

  “Walk in the woods alone without any company?”

  “I do not need any company” Miriam said flatly.

  “What about protection? Surely a beautiful girl like you needs to walk around with protection?”

  Miriam did not reply to his comment and instead chose to keep mum as she led the way through the woods. They walked on in an awkward silence and Miriam wished that he could say something else about her looks. Her mind gave her a quick reflection of what she had on and it was a good enough reminder that there was nothing much to say.

  She had on her pale blue long frock that was ankle high with a scarf that firmly covered her hair and knee high boots underneath her dress. Her frock was not fitting in any way and she had her mother to thank for that. She would always ensure that swimming in her clothes was her forte.

  They came to a point in the woods where the stranger heard rushing water and automatically reached out to hold her hand. Miriam almost melted in her skin from her touch as she took her time to slowly turn to face him before yanking her hand away from his grip.

  “Is that a river or waterfall?”

  “It is a stream”, she answered curtly and did not get the message that he gave her from his facial expression.

  “Mind if we have a look at it, I kill for such scenery”

  The excitement look on his face made her want to please him and she immediately turned and made a diversion in her steps.

  “Right this way”, she echoed and started walking towards the water. They walked past a few more trees before Miriam finally came to a halt and stopped right in front of the stream.

  “This is lovely” David uttered “Nature at its finest”.

  He took in a deep breath and went on to look at the water before he turned his attention to Miriam all of a sudden.

  “What color is your hair?”

  Miriam almost had a nervous breakdown from this question and wanted to move a few steps back but maintained her ground. Men in her community were forbidden to be that direct when addressing women especially about their attire and appearances.

  “I think that is inappropriate”, Miriam answered and saw the disappointed look on his face.

  “How so?”

  “Why would you like to know about the color of my hair?”

  “Because you have covered it up underneath different layers of clothing, among other things”, he said and pointed at her attire.

  Miriam was even more shocked with how direct he was and immediately took offence in her comments. She turned on her heel and started walking from the stream. The crushing of dry leaves underneath his feet made her aware of him following her and she did not reduce her pace.

  “I am sorry Miriam if I offended you”, he said and tried to catch up with her. He went on to apologize profusely after her which made Miriam feel guilty for over reacting. Miriam fin ally halted and looked straight ahead. She could not go past a certain boundary and had to direct him from that point onward.

  There was a junction with two dirt foot paths from where she stood and stretched out her hand pointing to it.

  “Once you keep left, you will get to the campsite”, she said and looked up at the stranger again.

  “Thank you”, he mouthed but did not move a muscle. He took out the tiny gadget from his pocket and went on to look at Miriam before asking.

  “Mind if I get your number?”

  Miriam looked confused and wondered what he meant by that. The only phone number she knew was the pay phone that was allocated at the very far end of the community centre that only business men used.

  “I am sorry I do not have a number” she replied calmly

  “How will I reach you, do you have a certain number that I could reach you through?”

  Miriam bit her lower lip as she thought of the kind of holy hell her father would rain on her if she gave this stranger the pay phone’s number.

  “Sadly no”, she simply said.

  “You must be a very punctual and reliable person then”, Davis said and let out a thundering laughter before looking at Miriam straight in the eye and wondering why she did not get th
e joke “Never mind”

  Miriam started to walk away with her basket still perched underneath her arm.

  “Wait Miriam”, he called right after her “How can I see you again?”

  Miriam looked back at him; she for the thousandth time that day looked at his outfit again and was bewildered from the strange attire but did not say another word.

  “Why do you want to see again?” she asked curiously.

  “I want to get to know you and spend more time with you”

  “But why? You have only just met me”

  Miriam was slightly flattered by his determination but was at the same time disturbed. According to her mother’s very wise words, she was talking to a heathen and knew the kind of punishment she was bound to face if anyone in the community found her out.

  “Will you be able to make it back to this same place tomorrow?”

  The warm look on his face made her feel excited as well and she watched as he ran a hand through his hair.

  “I might get lost I am not so good with directions”, he said before placing a hand on his forehead.

  What time should I be hear?” he went on to ask

  Miriam made a mental scan on her next day’s schedule and try to check when she would be available.

  “4:00 pm”, she answered.

  “I will see you then”, he said and started moving closer to her before giving her an unexpected light hug. Miriam did not respond to it but simply stood her ground and wondered why he was moving that close to him. The light squeeze on her arm was what caught her even more unaware and she leaned in to the warm feeling that seared through her from his touch.

  “Good bye”, he said before turning on his heel and making his leave.

  “Good bye”, Miriam managed to mouth. She was left looking at his backside and loved the chiseled manly back that she could make through his tea shirt and the dirty blonde hair on his head. The basket that was still tucked underneath her arm made her realize that she had to get home. She immediately turned on her heel and began to walk back to her community in long hurried strides. She knew the woods like the back of her hand was soon enough back in good time. She walked on home feeling relaxed and made her entrance through the back door.

  “Miriam”, her mother called “Is that you?”

  “Yes mama”

  “What took you so long? Did you get the plums?”

  “Yes I did”, she answered as she set her basket on the kitchen table. Her mother walked in the room as soon as she had asked the questions with an expectant look on her face.

  “You need to go clean up, we are hosting a few women from my fellowship today and don’t take too long I will need you to help me make tea for them”

  “Yes mama” Miriam answered and walked out of the kitchen. She went to her room and slowly began to undress from her usual sky blue frock and settled on her white cotton evening frock with a black scarf to cover her head and shorter boots. She then walked over to the bathroom and washed up in a few minutes before heading on back to her room and slowly began dress up.

  Miriam only knew that she was distracted when her mother banged at her door again.

  “Miriam do not take too long in there”, she said and startled her out of her skin. Her mind was still dwelling on her afternoon encounter with David. She eventually walked out of the room and walked back to the kitchen. Her mother was already busy on the stove and she busied herself in setting up the table. They didn’t talk much to each other as they never did and she again had the chance to wander back to her afternoon.

  “Miriam”, her mother shouted at the top of her voice “This startled her yet again but she somehow maintained her cool.

  “Yes mama”

  “Get the door please”, she said and gave her a searching look “You are awfully distracted today”

  “Sorry mama”

  Miriam apologized and ran to the door before being given another scolding about her absent mindedness.

  There were four women standing at the door waiting for her to open and they all beamed at the sight of her.

  “Hello Miriam”, they said but not in unison. They were all clad in the same frock that Miriam had but only had different colors of scarves on their heads.

  “Hello”, Miriam answered shyly before letting the door swing open behind her and watched as they slowly walked into the house. “Please have a seat; mama will be right with you”

  She said this and nodded slightly before walking back into the kitchen. She had to repeat the same procedure with two other women who were dressed in the white frock. She went about serving the ladies in the dining area before walking back to the kitchen as she always did when her mother had guests in the house. She opened the back door and sat staring at nothing in particular but was keen enough when she heard her mother calling her from the dining table.

  “What did I forget to set on the table?” she asked herself and walked towards the crowd of women. They were busy making idle banter as they had their tea.

  “Miriam has now become of age”, her mother announced and beamed with pride. This comment made her feel embarrassed and she threw her gaze to the floor and focused on her boots.

  “Do not be shy Miriam”, she said “Come seat next to me, from now on you can seat in on our conversations and learn a thing or two about life and what women go through”

  Miriam nodded and felt elevated; she remembered how her mother would always tell her to stay away from grown folk business anytime she found her eaves dropping. She timidly sat next to the woman who had summoned her and felt a slight shiver as she paid attention to what they would say next. The women started off with a word of prayer before breaking into hymn. Miriam almost felt disappointed as she had expected more talk from the women other than them just sharing the word of God and a hymn. Her interest was however pricked at as soon a s her mother who was the chairlady of the women’s fellowship in her church sat up straighter and asked one of the ladies a question.

  “Esther”, she started “How are things going on with your husband?”

  Esther looked back at Miriam’s mother before turning her attention to the rest of the women sited around the table before returning her gaze back to the floor.

  “I did everything that you asked Ruth”, she started to say and addressed Miriam’s mother. I did all of it but he just won’t give me the time of day, he won’t even look at me”, the lady was now in tears and this forced Miriam to lean even closer and try to really make out what the problem was. She watched everyone else’s reaction as some of them sympathized while others tried to keep a straight face.

  “You know nothing was ever achieved in a day Esther”, she said and went on to preach “The Bible says that a woman should always submit to the husband, the husband is and always will be the head of the household”

  Esther was amidst sobs and her body shook slightly from her evident pain. She placed a hand on her forehead and went on to wipe a few stray tears from her eyes.

  “Be strong, you have to be strong”, some of the women in the crowd advised. The fact that no one was really saying what the problem was made Miriam even the more curious but she decided to remain silent and kept on looking at the woman crying. She wondered whether she had been giving a few lashings by her husband like the way she saw her mother receive whenever they had a disagreement with her father. She wondered if she too would remain silent when the belt landed on her back and repent and apologize to her husband profusely after the lashing, just like her mother did.

  She looked at the woman as she went on to sob and dried her hands with the back of her hand. Her eyes were a blood shot red and her cheeks were slightly swollen from all the crying. The women went on to console her more but none of them really said what the problem was or why she was really crying. Her head was bent low and she would sniff back a few sobs as she listened to what the other women were saying to her. Miriam sat in her seat timidly and simply watched and listened to them. They later on broke into a second hymn before sa
ying the final prayer and winding their meeting.

  “Where are we having next week’s fellowship?” Ruth asked the women who were still in the house before.

  “Mine”, one of the women said and raised her hand up in midair.

  “Alright”, Ruth answered “May the Lord be with you all, thank you so much for coming”

  Miriam watched as the woman left the house and she stood next to her mother. She wanted more than anything to know why Esther was crying and wondered how her mother would respond to her. With much resolve and bravado she tried to form the right sentence in her head before going over it a few times and finally letting it out.

  “Mama”, she mouthed and waited for her to give her all her attention.

  “Yes dear”

  “Why was she crying?”

  “That is grown folk business dear”, her mother answered and started walking towards the table. She picked up the cups that the women had just used to take the tea in and walked with them towards the kitchen.

  “But mama you said that I am now a grown woman”

  Her mother stopped dead in her tracks and marveled at how her words had been used against her.

  “I did”, she nodded. She was lost in thought for a moment before looking for the right words to give her daughter.

  “You are truly grown my dear”, she said “But there are things that you still need to learn slowly with time”.

  Miriam knew when her mother did not want any more probing questions to any subject and decided not to say another word. She followed her mother into the kitchen and started helping her with the evening meal.