Zebra Tears Read online

  We walked down the path to the promenade. Aya left the lemonade with Mummy, saying good night to everyone, and went back to the house. I was introduced to Roda’s parents as “Mummy’s little girl.” I was quite shy, so I didn’t linger with them too long; also, Roda was tugging at my dress to join her in hopscotch. There was plenty of light to see the big squares she had drawn in chalk, and now, with a full stomach, I started hopping. Roda and I became fast friends. She promised to teach me how to fly a kite the next day and wondered if I knew how to climb trees. I told her she had no idea that she was talking to a tree-climbing expert, which made us giggle and laugh through the evening. We planned all kinds of amazing things to do before Christmas, which was approximately three weeks away, and that night I went to bed quite happy and content.

  It was late morning when I awoke to shouts of my name. I heard Aya tell Roda that I was still sleeping, and her response was, “Still?” I jumped out of bed and ran to the door and went out to greet her. Roda came back into the house with me and put her kite on my bed while she waited for me to hurry and clean up. I told her I had not eaten breakfast and asked if she wanted to have some too. She shook her head to say no while rubbing her tummy. She had already eaten a big breakfast.

  She sat with me in the kitchen while Aya served me toast and scrambled eggs with a big glass of milk. “Wow!” I said, getting laughs from Roda and Aya. I explained that I felt like the rich girls in school who ate this for breakfast every day out of real china plates just like the one I had. Roda and Aya gave each other quizzical looks and asked what I meant. I briefly told them about the meals served at school and how thankful I was to experience it here in my own home. Aya tousled my hair, but Roda, on the other hand, became gloomy. She wanted to know what it was like in boarding school and started asking me so many questions. I told her I wanted to go kite flying, but first I wanted to finish this wonderful breakfast. Then I would fill her in on Mother Doris.

  We went out to the promenade for my first lesson in kite flying. Roda showed me how to hold the sides gently and walk backward. She held a large wooden spool of string, unrolling as I walked backward to as far as she wanted. She yelled, “Stop!” so I did. Still yelling and making gestures with her arms to let go, she pulled on the string and the kite took flight. With a wondrous rush, the kite grabbed the wind, pulling its beautiful, long tail up into the sky. I ran back to where Roda stood controlling the kite’s eager attempts to free itself from her grip, and she handed it to me. What a thrill I got when I realized I was on the other end of that frantically swaying kite. I kept screaming that it was going to fall into the sea, but Roda would just tug on the string, and it would listen to her. I learned to tug the string every time the kite tried to dive, and it would straighten out and steady itself. We must have unwound the whole reel, because the kite became so tiny up there, no bigger than a small bird. While we sat on the promenade wall dangling our feet over the beach, Roda and I took turns holding the kite as she explained how the boys would try and cut our kites to steal them.

  “How?” I asked.

  “With glass glued to their string,” she replied. I asked how they accomplished this without cutting their hands. “Oh, that’s easy. I’ve seen them do it. Want to try it?” she asked. I agreed.

  Roda and I went to find Aya’s son, Timothy. He was the expert in glassing kite string. Timothy was a skinny boy of about eleven. He was sitting outside his little shack smashing open almond pods when we approached with kite in hand.

  “What you want?” he asked while stuffing the raw almond pieces into his mouth. Roda told him how we knew he was so clever at putting glass on kite string and wondered if he could help us do the same. Timothy laughed at us, saying, “Girls don’t have kite fights. They are only good for flying them, while we come and cut them!”

  “Please” we begged.

  He got up and went into his shack and came out with a box of stuff. Sitting on the ground, he laid out his tools. He had a smooth stone for smashing broken bottle glass and a bowl of gook that looked like mashed-up rice. He told Roda to cut the kite off, and I was to hold the wooden handles of the wheel of string. He rolled up a wad of newspaper and started rolling string off the wheel. He said this was very dangerous and that we must never touch the first ten feet of string, closest to the kite. We both nodded in agreement and watched him continue rolling the first ten feet of string. Now we put everything down and sat with him on the ground to see the next process.

  We watched in amazement how he carefully smashed the glass into small pieces that eventually turned into a fine powder. He put some water in the bowl of mashed rice and started mixing till it was smooth as paste and then dumped the powdered glass into it. He stirred it a couple of times with a stick, and then tucking one end of the wooden wheel under his arm he held the string out in front of him with his other hand. He grabbed a leaf from the ground and dipped it into the glass rice. Then he applied it to the string while rolling it up to reach the end.

  Finally he had come to the last two feet of string and stopped. He said that we shouldn’t put glass all the way up. Otherwise, we couldn’t touch the string to attach a new kite if that one should get cut or destroyed. We just agreed with everything he said and thanked him for his help. We promised we would never try to cut his kite for all his help, but he only laughed, saying, “I won’t promise nothing. If I want to cut yours, I will.” He then gestured to us to follow him into his shack, which we did.

  The room was dark, and it took a while for my eyes to adjust to see just how drab and poor the place was. Timothy showed us his area of the room, which he had decorated with a picture of Jesus, a makeshift altar, and a candle under it. Next to his mat on the floor he had a collection of kites. He pointed to his trophies won in kite fights, maybe just to scare us, we thought. He said he would be willing to sell us a kite if we ever lost ours and not to mess with him when he was out hunting. It all sounded so exciting that we begged him to let us watch the next time he was going to do it. I guess he loved the attention we gave him, and so he finally agreed.

  I had to cringe at the way his room looked. The whole family shared that one room. Their kitchen was a coal stove outside the hut, and I kept thinking how lucky I was to have such a beautiful home. Even the boarding school was a zillion times better than what Timothy was living in. I see now what Anna said: “What you don’t have, you can’t miss.” I felt Anna standing behind me shaking her head and giving me the all-knowing look. “Be thankful at all times!” I wished I could make it better for them, but then Anna also said, “We must want something bad enough to go after it ourselves; otherwise, when it is given to us, it is not appreciated.” I guess when Timothy gets older he will go after his goals and achieve better, appreciating where he had come from on his way to his next destination. We left his hut with Timothy’s words trailing: “Don’t touch the glass part of the string.”

  What an exciting day I had. It was getting late, with lunch forgotten, so we ran home to wash up for dinner. I told Roda how I had missed my first sunset home and just had to be on the promenade to watch it that night. She ran home, promising to meet me down there, as she had never really noticed it the way I described it to her. I was washed and fed and out the door in less than an hour, just in time to watch the big red ball descend to the horizon. Roda joined me a few minutes later, and there we sat staring into the sun. I told her that if she held her breath and made a wish until the whole sun went under, her wish would come true. We both looked at each other, took a deep breath, and then I wished I would never have to leave home again and that Roda would always be here as my friend. I was running out of breath and looked at Roda, who had her cheeks puffed up as big as mine. The sun left a red glow over the horizon as we finally let the air out of our mouths to breathe again.

  “What did you wish for, Tess?” she asked, and I told her. She laughed and said she had wished for the same thing. This meant that it was a double wish, and it would definitely come true. We finally gave up th
e day and went to our respective homes hoping to see each other tomorrow. But tomorrow never came.

  ***

  “Hey, Tony. When did you get home?” I asked, and everyone turned to see our handsome soldier sitting behind us and listening to the story. “Daddy!” Vicky cried out and threw herself into his arms. Nick walked up to him like a big man and gave him a high five. Of course, Becky got her kiss and snuggles in, and then Tony bent over and kissed me on my head, saying, “Cool book you were reading. Did I miss a lot?” We all laughed and explained that it wasn’t a book but shared memories.

  “Wow, Tess. You should put it in a book,” said Tony. “From the little I heard, I think it would make a great book!”

  Becky said, “Definitely,” with Vicky and Nick nodding their approval.

  “A book sounds awesome, Becky, but what would the title be?” Vicky came up with Jesus and Me, or Bad Nun, but Nick said we should call it The Adventures of Tess.

  It was getting late. I had work the next day, so I finally stood up and got my hugs in with Nick and Vicky asking when they would hear more. Becky, now standing with her arm around Tony, said, “We will get together on another weekend and finish the rest of the story. Tony will wait for the book, right?” as she tickled his sides. “Seriously, Mom, think about a title. It’s really good and should be shared with others.” Heading home, I wondered if it could really be a book. “Well, Jesus,” I spoke out aloud in my silent car, “what do you think?”

  Becky called me a week later to say that she would be in my area and we should do lunch. She wanted to hear about the part in my story that was not suitable for the kids. “How about we pick up some take-out and eat at my apartment?” I asked.

  “It’s a date, mom,” she replied and said she would pick up food and bring it to my apartment that weekend.

  “The kids have been asking about your next visit, as they are so into the story mom. How about next weekend? I thought about it and told her that she would have to prepare them for the next part by telling them that something awful happens to me, which will explain my change of attitude and behavior in the rest of my story. “First tell me what happened, and I will figure out what to tell them,” she said. So, I began to tell her how things changed that third morning home for the holidays.

  Stolen Innocence

  Chapter 6

  I awoke to shouts of “Oh, no! It can’t be happening to me.” I sat up in bed and looked over at Ava, who was looking in the mirror at the dresser.

  “What’s wrong?” I asked.

  She turned around, and I got the shock of my life. She was covered in spots. “Mummy, Mummy,” I screamed through the house, trying to find her. Aya and Mummy were doing the house accounts when I found them. I told her that Ava had big red spots all over her face, and I thought she was going to die! Mummy looked worried enough to run back with me.

  I was looking at her face when Mummy came into the room. She pulled me away and told me not to touch anything. Ava had the measles, and it was very contagious. It was too close to Christmas for us to get sick, so I had to stay away for at least a week. “What do you mean, stay away Mummy?” I asked, following her out of the room. I heard her tell the doctor that her other daughter would spend a week at her cousin’s house till the danger of contagion had passed.

  “Which cousin? Who is my cousin?” I was starting to panic, and I just ran to Aya and started crying.

  Aya held me in her arms while I told her I didn’t want to go anywhere. I wanted to stay home. Mummy came into the kitchen and pried me away from Aya to explain, “Tess, you will love your cousin Erick. He is my favorite nephew, who would love to have you stay with them, just for a week, until Ava gets better. He has a beautiful wife, Elaine, and the cutest little baby about one year old named Johnny. Mr. Singh has offered to drive you to them, as I have to wait for the doctor to arrive. The sooner you leave, the safer you’ll be. The week will just fly by, and we’ll have a wonderful Christmas together.” Aya packed a little suitcase for me, and I was out the door before I even had a chance to tell Roda what had happened.

  I sat in silence all the way to Cousin Erick’s apartment. I stared out the window of Mr. Singh’s car, so angry that I was missing all the wonderful times Roda and I had planned. I was so looking forward to cutting someone’s kite that day. I thought how unfair it was for Ava to do this to me. Why couldn’t it have been her to leave instead of me? I guess that would not have worked out, since Mummy explained how contagious she was.

  We had arrived at the apartment building. I stood on the curb and looked up but couldn’t see the top. We must be in a different type of neighborhood, because there were no parks or open spaces to see the ocean. As far as the eye could see there were tall buildings and lots of traffic noise. I hated it already, and I hadn’t even met them yet. Mr. Singh had my little suitcase and told me to follow him. We started climbing stairs, as the elevator was being repaired. Up and up we went until we reached the eighth floor. “We’re here,” he said and handed me my suitcase. He knocked on the door, and it was opened up immediately, as though someone was standing right behind it waiting for us.

  “Hello, you must be Tess. Come in, Mr. Singh. Come in.” Elaine was very pretty and sounded so sweet that I decided I would like her. Mr. Singh sat for a few minutes explaining the problem and then left.

  Here I was, alone with strangers and wondering, What now? Elaine picked up my suitcase and opened a door. She put her finger to her mouth to say, “Quiet,” and called me to the door to see little Johnny fast asleep in the middle of this huge bed. It looked like two big beds pushed together to make one. He looked so cute curled up on his side with a little stuffed monkey clutched tightly under his arm. I smiled and couldn’t wait to see him awake to play with him.

  I was given a mixture of breakfast and lunch, which Elaine called “brunch,” with a glass of orange juice. I learned that Erick would be home at six that evening, when he would be taking all of us to spend time with some of their friends at a private club. How thrilling that sounded. I wished Roda could have been with me to experience the adventure too. I had never been to a private club, whatever that was. Johnny woke up crying, and Elaine went into the room talking baby talk. When I entered the room, he had the biggest smile on his face and kept struggling to see me through his legs as his mummy tried to change his diaper. He blew spit bubbles at me and giggled, and I just fell in love with him. Elaine said it would be alright for me to climb in with him and play. That is where I was going to sleep too, right next to Johnny.

  Erick came into the room saying, “Hello, hello, what have we here?” I turned to see this big man with wavy black hair and bright blue sparkling eyes, and a great big smile. He grabbed Johnny into his arms and threw him up into the air. Johnny squealed with joy as he kept doing it. Then he handed Johnny to a smiling Elaine and grabbed me by the waist and lifted me up to the ceiling. I thought I was going to go crashing through the roof at the speed I went up and then down again. He was such a tall man and so strong to be able to lift a ten year old like a rag doll. He hugged and kissed me on the cheeks and said he was so happy that I could spend time with them.

  How could I not want to be there? They were so sweet and loving to me that I felt ashamed for doubting Mummy about them. I guess Roda could wait a week to catch up on climbing trees and kite fights.

  The country club turned out to be a secluded home of a very rich person. He was so rich that he turned his estate into a yacht club. Cousin Erick was his closest friend, and I felt quite privileged getting special attention from all his other friends there. There was a private beach and swimming pool. The pool was actually part of the ocean but had walls built on three sides with the fourth open to the sea. There was a safety rope to represent the fourth wall in case inexperienced swimmers got swept out to sea.

  Since there weren’t any children there that evening I explored the grounds and the beachfront by myself. I stood in the water up to my ankles, allowing my feet to sink into the sand with
each frothy little wave. It was pretty out there but too boring for a kid with nothing to do. I dried off my feet on the cool grass as I walked up to the main house, putting on my shoes at the front door. Inside, some were seated at a large round table playing cards, while others just sat around talking. Johnny was asleep on a deep couch, and Elaine gestured by patting the couch next to her to sit with her.

  On the way home Erick sat in front with Elaine. It was the first time I saw a woman driving, as I thought only men were supposed to. Erick seemed very tired and leaned his head on the window, holding Johnny on his lap. In fact, they both seemed to be fast asleep. I had the whole back seat to myself, so I lay down and looked at the night sky. Erick woke up as we reached the apartment, and he carried Johnny up the stairs while Elaine held my hand to help me make it up eight flights of stairs. I was worried about Erick, though. He kept swaying from side to side, and I thought he might drop Johnny. Elaine didn’t seem to worry, so I just followed behind.

  I was helped into my blue clown pajamas that had funny faces all over. Some had large red noses, while others had smiling faces. Yet other wore frowns. Erick sat in the living room having a nightcap; that’s what he called it. I asked Elaine if he had to wear it on his head, but she just laughed and explained that it was a drink of some kind that he had before bed. She pushed me over the bed rail to make the distance into bed shorter, and I crawled next to a sleeping Johnny and was out like a light.

  I felt I was being suffocated! I opened my eyes to see Erick’s big face near mine. He was breathing right into my mouth and touching my lips with his. The smell of his nightcap made me so sick that I wanted to puke. I couldn’t understand what he was doing. I pulled my head away fast and turned to see if Elaine would explain what was going on. I saw for a split second that she was on the other side of the bed, so far away, and had her back toward me. I was about to call out when Erick put his big hand on my mouth and turned my face back to his. He leaned up on one elbow and with his other hand pulled my whole body up against his. I was very scared now and could not move. I thought he had gone mad and was going to kill me. He put his mouth on mine again, and he held my head so tight that I could not even wiggle free. He used his heavy body to hold mine down, still covering my mouth with his. He used his other hand to get into my pajama pants, stretching my legs apart. I pushed his hand away with all my might but couldn’t budge it. He was so strong. I tried to hold my legs tightly shut, but all he did was hurt me with his big fingers in pushing them apart again. My stomach was hurting so bad that I knew I was going to die that night.