“Please excuse her impertinence, Madame. She is still learning her manners.” She placed herself between Nyira and the flustered white woman.
“How did she pull a live fish from her mouth? What kind of sorcery is this?”
“It is a child’s trick, Madame, something common among our people. There is no sorcery. It’s more of a crude way to say hello. I will make sure she doesn’t do it again.”
“I—but what if I would like her to do it again? Could she?” She sounded like an infatuated child.
“I don’t believe so, Madame. She is still learning her manners. It was a mistake.” She began to move Nyira out of the kitchen and onto the back veranda.
“I will assign her some chores in the stables. I apologize for any trouble she has caused.” They were already halfway down the back steps, and Simone was at the door of the kitchen, watching Nyira very strangely. Esmerelda chose not to look back as she practically carried the child away from the woman’s sight.
Esmerelda burst through the doors of the stables, dragging the girl behind her. She searched three stalls before she found one empty and pushed the child into it.
“You have no idea of what you’ve done,” Esmerelda said as she knelt to look the child in the eyes. “You don’t want to be labeled as a slave who does tricks. You could be sold to someone who would make you do things that you might not like doing. I’m trying to keep you from being singled out. So from now on, you will work here in the stables with Diego. Just for the next month or two. We need to keep you out of Madame’s sight, out of Josephine’s sight as well. And please promise you will not do anything else to call attention to yourself.”
“I promise, Nolwazie.” Esmerelda let that pass.
*
That evening—in the small brown cottage, after Claude said the blessing over the meal, Nyira asked him about God. Claude Dugard was very guarded with his words. He looked at Esmerelda as if to ask her assistance. Esmerelda gave a look of fatigue, which said everything.
“I don’t know… what are you asking, girl?”
“I was just wondering, does praying to him make the food taste better?”
“What?” replied Claude. Esmerelda lowered her head and placed her hand over her smile.
“Because we seem not able to eat until you have done so.”
“No,” Claude replied. “But it makes… it just makes it seem better. Perhaps the archdeacon can explain it better.”
“No!” replied Esmerelda. “That will not be necessary.”
“But if she doesn’t understand the word of our Lord, the priest wi—”
“I will explain it to her. I have studied the book and I will help her. There is no need to trouble the archdeacon with this.” Claude frowned as he looked at her—clearly dissatisfied with this determination—but he never argued with her. He finally stood up from the table, and for a moment appeared to want to say something to the girl, but instead trudged over to his chair near the fireplace. He picked up the Bible the priest had given him and began to thumb through the pages. The field hands were not permitted to read. What few words Claude knew, he learned from her. But he held the book as the priest held it. That apparently made him feel better.
22
The boy’s dream was stronger than the behike had ever imagined.
As Agueybana moved over the ridge, he found that he was already in the world of Enriquillo’s dream. It was a strange realm with a purple sky and yellow moon. The moon was too large, thought the behike. Either that or it was much closer to the ground than in the waking world. It also seemed to be watching him. There was a hunger about it as if it might attack and eat him if he didn’t keep an eye on it.
The region below him was dry, with a lot of brush and a grove of large strange looking trees that were heavy with leaves. He couldn’t get a good concept of their size from where he stood. As he moved down the trail onto the dry plain, he realized that they were giants. He had the sense that the trees were large enough to block out the sky. When he got closer, that is exactly what happened.
Now, where are the monsters I’m to be clubbing? thought the behike.
It was not long before he had his answer. When he walked into the grove of trees, a creature he couldn’t have conceived dropped to the ground out of the branches. It was a huge dark thing over seven feet tall. It was heavily muscled and broad in the shoulders. Its head looked like some strange mutation of a French ox and what the French called wolves. He had only seen their depiction upon flags flown within the mounted police divisions. The thing was something other than the French image. Its fangs were as long as spearheads and just as broad. It also had eyes as red as blood and glowing.
“Where is the boy?” asked the creature. “It is my turn to fight him.”
“The boy is elsewhere,” said Agueybana, hefting the club onto his shoulder. “He is in a part of this dream that you shall not travel to.”
The beast smiled, and its teeth were so white they gave off their own glow.
“Is that so, old man?” The thing made a feint to the left of the behike as if to get by him. “We will see about that.”
Agueybana made himself grow to the size of the creature.
“Yes we will,” he said.
The thing lunged and swiped at the behike’s legs. He dodged its claw, though not quite fast enough, and was tripped up and almost lost his club when he hit the ground.
“I am Aurelius,” said the beast, grinning, pleased with itself. “I just want you to know who will be killing you.”
Agueybana got to his feet quickly and swung the macana with a two-handed grip. He caught Aurelius right in the snout and sent him sprawling.
“You talk too much, monster,” said the behike.
Aurelius sprang to his feet, enraged and charged the behike. The thing was fast. Agueybana just barely got the club up as the beast sunk its teeth into it.
“I hope you will not get tired, human. My brothers will have their turns next.”
By the ancestors, thought Agueybana. This will be a very long nightmare. Hopefully, the boy wakes up soon.
Agueybana promised himself that he would spend the rest of the week teaching Enriquillo how to navigate through his mother’s dreams. There was no way he wanted a repeat of this experience. The behike fought twenty different monsters in the boy’s nightmare.
It is no wonder Enriquillo is never at peace. Agueybana didn’t want to know what would happen to him or Enriquillo if he lost one of his many battles. This was the longest dream he’d ever experienced.
*
After he came over the rise, Enriquillo was looking down into a world he didn’t recognize, with trees as tall as mountains, and some almost as wide as his village cave. The foliage was so dense that there didn’t appear to be any way to enter. He spotted what looked like a small hairy child right at the jungle edge, eating a piece of fruit.
“Hello,” said Enriquillo, as he moved toward the child. “Can you tell me where I am?” The child gave a shriek, showed its teeth and then disappeared into the forest. Enriquillo decided that since this was a dream, he should just jump in. As he waded in, he smelled the strangest heaviness, and the heat was unlike any he had experienced. It felt like the trees and plants on the jungle floor—wherever it was—were crowding in on him. The plants were too numerous for him to count, many of them higher than his head, but it didn’t stop there. There was another layer covering anything and everything—trees, plants, and the ground—in a green velvet blanket. When he touched it, it was soft and moist. He wasn’t sure where he was going, but he felt that if he kept moving, he might meet someone who could help him find his way. He heard a cackle overhead, and when he looked up saw the strangest looking bird. It was white with a plume on its head, and then there came another bird on the branch just above, and this one had a wide bill and colorful body and started to perform a bizarre dance as Enriquillo stood gazing at it. As he observed this creature, twenty more fluttered down, of different colors, all vying for
his attention. He then heard a familiar voice.
“You won’t get far if you stand there.” He turned to his left and saw her up in one of the tall trees. There were furry little children all around her. She was sharing fruit with them.
“Who are those children you’re eating with?” Enriquillo asked.
“They’re not children, silly,” Nyira chuckled. “They’re monkeys.”
“What are monkeys? I’ve never heard of such a thing. Are we still in my mother’s dream?”
“No,” said Nyira, as she climbed down from the mahogany tree. “I am sorry. I’ve been so homesick lately.”
“Yes. I met someone else recently who said the same thing. I can’t imagine what that must be like. You don’t seem sad, though. My friend was sad.”
“No. I’m never sad in my dreams. Because everyone I miss, I see them there.”
This idea struck Enriquillo like a bolt of lightning. “What… you mean you can just…?”
“Dream them. Yes. Whatever you want can be in your dreams.”
“I’ve never dreamed that way… I—I don’t know if I could.” Nyira came up and took his hand.
“Yes, you can. You just have to try. First, we must get to the river!” She turned and ran into the bush.
“Wait!” cried Enriquillo. “I need to make sure I don’t get lost in here.”
“What?” said Nyira, as she stopped to stare at him. “You can’t get lost. You’re in my dream, and I will make sure you always know where you are. Now let’s go!” She took his hand and practically dragged him through brush, down slippery trails over extruding giant roots, bulging out of the ground like massive green shoulders. As they ran, she snatched fruit hanging from the trees and tossed it to him.
“Here, eat that.”
“What is it?”
“Don’t worry. Just bite it.”
“It’s amazing! What’s it called?”
“Monkey fruit!”
“What! Those little children can grow their own fruit? That’s incredible!”
Nyira squealed with laughter. “You are so funny, Enriquillo!”
They made their way out of the thick jungle and entered into a grassy clearing.
“What is—look out!” cried Enriquillo. “Run! It’s coming at us!” He tried to drag Nyira back into the cover of the bush.
“No. Stop!” said Nyira. She pulled her hand away.
“But—but that monster!”
“That’s not a monster. That’s my friend. His name is Gord. He’s a gorilla.”
“What is a… all right. I’ll stop asking. This is your dream.”
Gord stopped a few yards from the two children and sat staring at Enriquillo.
“That is the strangest looking human I’ve ever seen,” said Gord. “What happened to his head?”
“There’s nothing wrong with… he talks?”
“Yes, he talks. He’s always been able to talk.”
“I guess I need to get used to this kind of dream because, in my dreams, he’s a monster.”
“Maybe you should try seeing someone you know,” suggested Nyira. Enriquillo just frowned at her.
“What? How would that work?”
“You don’t have to think about it,” replied Nyira. “Sit down.” She sat on the ground as if to show him how to do it. He just stood for a moment looking confused. So she took his hand and pulled him down. “Come on, just try. This is supposed to be fun.”
“Maybe something’s wrong with his head,” said Gord, and gave a chuckle, which came out as a growling, wheezing huff. Enriquillo couldn’t take his eyes off the massive creature. But he finally sat down.
“Good,” replied Nyira, taking his hands in hers. “Now all you have to do is relax, and want.”
“Want?”
“Yes. Just want to see them and you will.”
“Anyone?” asked Enriquillo. “Anyone I want to see?”
“In a dream, you can see anyone or anything you choose,” said Nyira and smiled at him. He only had to look into her wonderful green eyes to believe her. So he relaxed and wanted.
“Enriquillo! What are you doing, you lazy crow!” came Arak’s voice. “Come on.” His friend slapped him on the shoulder as he ran past, heading for the river. “Man this is a big cove!” and dove on the run. “WHOOOEEE!”
“Arak!” cried Enriquillo, and jumped up to chase after his friend. Arak was already coming up for air by the time Enriquillo got to the bank. “Arak… you’re here.”
As Arak treaded water near the shore, he looked curiously at his friend.
“Why do you stand with your mouth open, my friend? Jump in!”
When it dawned on Enriquillo that he could and should, he took the plunge.
“Come on,” said Arak. “I’ll race you to that big rock.” They took off and were even stroke for stroke. As they drew closer to the large gray boulder in the middle of river, it raised its head and opened its mouth.
“By the ancestors! Look out!” cried Enriquillo. They turned around and raced back to the shore.
“Where is this place?” asked Arak. “The rocks move.” They climbed out of the water to catch their breath.
“I can’t help you, my friend,” replied Enriquillo. “We are in her dream.” He pointed to Nyira.
“Who is she?” asked Arak. “You’ve started playing with girls? You’ve missed me a lot.”
“Yes… I have,” replied Enriquillo. “I can’t even tell you how much…” He sat down and began to sob.
Nyira and Gord had followed the boys to the river. “Why are you crying?” asked Nyira.
“This is a new kind of dream for me,” replied Enriquillo. “So I’m learning.”
“Are they at least happy tears?”
“Some of them are.”
“Well I have a surprise,” said Nyira. She immediately turned into a red, yellow and green bird. “In dreams, you can be whatever you want, as well!”
Enriquillo perked up again when he discovered he could also transform into any creature he chose.
“I think I want to be a gorilla,” said Enriquillo. He immediately was.
“Well, human,” replied Gord. “Your looks have much improved. And I have the perfect game.” Arak joined them and transformed as well. They then climbed into the trees and raced through the high canopies, with Nyira holding on to Gord’s back, just like the old days.
When they stopped for a moment to climb a banana tree and eat a few, they were jostled by an impact against the tree.
“Wow!” said Arak. “What is that? It’s the size of a mountain.”
“That’s called an elephant,” replied Nyira. “They’re very big but friendly.”
“I want to be one of those,” said Enriquillo, and in the next moment, he was racing through the bush, with all his friends on his back. “I really like this kind of dreaming. I’m having more fun than I’ve ever had!” They had stopped in a grove of coconut trees. Enriquillo discovered that they fell easily if he slammed into the trunk. He picked one up with his trunk and tried to smack it on the ground.
“That won’t work,” replied Nyira. “I use a rock. Like this.” She smashed the coconut shell, picked it up and placed it in Enriqullo’s trunk. “Elephants usually like this,” she said.
Enriquillo, the elephant, trumpeted his delight. He began to slam repeatedly against the coconut tree, which caused a rain of fruit. The other members of the group had to run for cover.
“Hey!” shouted Nyira. “That’s enough! We won’t be able to eat all these! Even an elephant couldn’t.” Nyira tried to help Enriquillo hold a rock in his trunk, but it was still awkward.
“It’ll be easier if you turn back into yourself,” she said. “Hands are more efficient.” So Enriquillo changed back and sat down to the task of cracking coconuts and drinking the milk.
“Thank you, Nyira,” he said. “This is a wonderful dream.”
“You just needed to want,” replied Nyira. Enriquillo laid himself down in the thick grass
of the clearing and gazed up at the sky.
“This is such a beautiful sky,” he said. “I love the blue and orange around the edges of the clouds. I’ve never noticed the sky in a dream before.”
“You don’t look at the sky?” said Nyira, incredulous. “What do you do in your dreams?”
“Fight monsters,” replied Enriquillo. “And run a lot. I am always running.”
“That doesn’t sound like much fun. Do they ever catch you?”
“No. I’m very fast in my dreams. That gives me an idea!” He sat up quickly. “My friend Abiodun was very fast. I think I would like to race him.”
“Who’s that?” asked Nyira.
“He was my sad, homesick friend.”
“Where was he from?”
“I am from the West,” said a voice from the bush, behind them.
A tall, powerfully muscled boy dressed in a long kente robe and carrying a gold-tipped spear and shield covered in zebra skin, stepped out of the bush. The robe was secured at the shoulder, by a gold lion brooch. Nyira stood up as he approached. Abiodun was also wearing a gold lion’s tooth necklace.
“You are Mandinka,” replied Nyira.
“Yes.”
“And a prince. Pleased to meet you, your highness.”
Enriquillo was shocked.
“Abiodun, you never said you were a prince.”
“It didn’t matter when I was a slave.”
“You were a slave, too?” asked Nyira.
“That’s how Enriquillo and I met. He freed me,” replied Abiodun. “And once again you’ve brought me to a wonderful place, my friend.”
“Yes,” replied Enriquillo. “It’s her dream. But I’m having fun too. Can we race?”
“I would like to race, too!” said Arak.
“This is my friend, Arak,” said Enriquillo.
“Dreams are wonderful,” said Abiodun. “Let’s all race.”
Nyira sat and watched as the boys lined up at the beginning of the clearing. Gord stood to the side, intending to call the race.
“HAAA!” roared Gord, which was obviously gorilla for go! And they were off. It was very close, but apparently, Arak was as good a runner as he was a swimmer, because he won. All three of the boys collapsed in the grass and commenced to roughhousing.
Nyira and the Invisible Boy Page 14
