beds into sixty. Somehow we stretch our food to impossible measures. Somehow we survive on our impossibly meager income. Somehow we love them all equally. Somehow.”
I swallowed away my disbelief because there was proof in thi s pudding. Somehow they did it.
“Now,” she began brightly, “breakfast will not be what you are expecting, I’m guessing, but it’s food nonetheless and you’ll get used to it.” She looked at me then.
“I keep saying that, don’t I?” S he laughed loudly. “Poor dear.”
“I’ll be just fine,” I told her sincerely as I watched a little boy with one hand try to s teady his bowl.
Suddenly , Dingane came from out of nowhere. I hadn’t been prepared to see him yet and my chest felt like it was hit with the atom bomb. My veins ran warmly all over my body and my face flushed. I watched as he placed what appeared to be a little scrap of rubber underneath the boy’s bowl. It didn’t budge from its place and the boy looked on Dingane with a brilliant smile. I felt an incredible urge to hug both boys, maybe Dingane a little closer than was socially acceptable. My blood ran hot in that moment. What the hell is wrong with me?
“Sit, my dear,” Karina said, pointing to a chair at a table near the door. “That’s where the adults sit unless one of the children needs us, which is nearly all the time,” she joked. “I’ll bring you your plate this morning. At lunch, just walk up to the window and Kate will hand you your meal.”
“Thank you, Karina.”
I sat at the table and the little girl with the missing arm came up to me. “Hi,” she said sheepishly.
“You speak English?” I asked her, bewildered .
“Karina teach me,” she answered brokenly.
“ What’s your name?” I asked her.
She touched the middle of her chest with her remainin g hand and answered, “Mandisa.”
“It’s-It’s nice to meet you, Mandisa,” I told the baby girl, awkwardly tripping on my words. I was so unaccustomed to talking to children, let alone an amputee.
She smiled at me and picked up the hand I had resting on my leg. I began to pull the hand back but something in her eyes told me it was okay, that she was just a human girl, and a beautiful one at that.
I tentatively squeezed her little hand and she giggled, sending a warm, tingling sensatio n up my arm and into my heart.
“Have you eaten, Mandisa?” I asked her.
The smile dropped from her face and she ran off, disappearing behind the kitchen doors.
“What did I say?” I asked the air in f ront of me, stunned she’d fled.
“She doesn’t eat,” I heard a voice say from behind me. Dingane. My blood began to boil once more.
I turned toward him. “What do you mean she doesn’t eat? How does she stay alive?”
“She drinks. For days after she first arrived we cou ldn’t even get her to do that.”
“Why?” I aske d him as he sat across from me.
“We thought it was because she was recovering from the loss of her arm but later discovered it is because she misses her mothe r.”
“What happened to her mother?” I asked, exponentially afraid to hear his answer.
His eyes met mine for the first time that morning and his lips tightened, his shoulders shrugged in answer and my stomach fell to my feet.
“We supplement milk with all sorts of proteins and vitamins , but she’s still not gaining weight the way we need her to.”
Dingane turned from me and spotted a child who needed help. I have no idea how he saw but he did. He stood and helped a little boy who couldn’t reach his chair to sit with only one leg. I watched him. He didn’t put the boy in the chair like I assumed he would but helped him discover how to do it on his own.
“What happened to them?” I asked Dingane when he sat down again.
“There is an incredibly evil man named Joseph Kony who roams south Sudan and northern Uganda in search of children to create his child army called the LRA or Lord’s Resistance Army. He invades innocent villages,
I swallowed away my disbelief because there was proof in thi s pudding. Somehow they did it.
“Now,” she began brightly, “breakfast will not be what you are expecting, I’m guessing, but it’s food nonetheless and you’ll get used to it.” She looked at me then.
“I keep saying that, don’t I?” S he laughed loudly. “Poor dear.”
“I’ll be just fine,” I told her sincerely as I watched a little boy with one hand try to s teady his bowl.
Suddenly , Dingane came from out of nowhere. I hadn’t been prepared to see him yet and my chest felt like it was hit with the atom bomb. My veins ran warmly all over my body and my face flushed. I watched as he placed what appeared to be a little scrap of rubber underneath the boy’s bowl. It didn’t budge from its place and the boy looked on Dingane with a brilliant smile. I felt an incredible urge to hug both boys, maybe Dingane a little closer than was socially acceptable. My blood ran hot in that moment. What the hell is wrong with me?
“Sit, my dear,” Karina said, pointing to a chair at a table near the door. “That’s where the adults sit unless one of the children needs us, which is nearly all the time,” she joked. “I’ll bring you your plate this morning. At lunch, just walk up to the window and Kate will hand you your meal.”
“Thank you, Karina.”
I sat at the table and the little girl with the missing arm came up to me. “Hi,” she said sheepishly.
“You speak English?” I asked her, bewildered .
“Karina teach me,” she answered brokenly.
“ What’s your name?” I asked her.
She touched the middle of her chest with her remainin g hand and answered, “Mandisa.”
“It’s-It’s nice to meet you, Mandisa,” I told the baby girl, awkwardly tripping on my words. I was so unaccustomed to talking to children, let alone an amputee.
She smiled at me and picked up the hand I had resting on my leg. I began to pull the hand back but something in her eyes told me it was okay, that she was just a human girl, and a beautiful one at that.
I tentatively squeezed her little hand and she giggled, sending a warm, tingling sensatio n up my arm and into my heart.
“Have you eaten, Mandisa?” I asked her.
The smile dropped from her face and she ran off, disappearing behind the kitchen doors.
“What did I say?” I asked the air in f ront of me, stunned she’d fled.
“She doesn’t eat,” I heard a voice say from behind me. Dingane. My blood began to boil once more.
I turned toward him. “What do you mean she doesn’t eat? How does she stay alive?”
“She drinks. For days after she first arrived we cou ldn’t even get her to do that.”
“Why?” I aske d him as he sat across from me.
“We thought it was because she was recovering from the loss of her arm but later discovered it is because she misses her mothe r.”
“What happened to her mother?” I asked, exponentially afraid to hear his answer.
His eyes met mine for the first time that morning and his lips tightened, his shoulders shrugged in answer and my stomach fell to my feet.
“We supplement milk with all sorts of proteins and vitamins , but she’s still not gaining weight the way we need her to.”
Dingane turned from me and spotted a child who needed help. I have no idea how he saw but he did. He stood and helped a little boy who couldn’t reach his chair to sit with only one leg. I watched him. He didn’t put the boy in the chair like I assumed he would but helped him discover how to do it on his own.
“What happened to them?” I asked Dingane when he sat down again.
“There is an incredibly evil man named Joseph Kony who roams south Sudan and northern Uganda in search of children to create his child army called the LRA or Lord’s Resistance Army. He invades innocent villages,
Similar Books
