http://www.flickr.com/photos/cykuck/427669867/ Woke up in total blackness with a muggy body and cold feet beneath the open window. Cool air gliding. There’s a total silence outside, then after a moment a rooster crows. No sound of mosquitoes around my ears. Slept again after a half hour, laid there remembering different things. My brother and I playing in the back yard when we were kids. A long time ago, but something here brings me closer to it. Two kids, one tall one short, looking out at the dusty horizon in the valley wondering if the stuff on TV about a war was true.
This morning we had oatmeal then walked down toward the river. Jake has a garden project to help the soccer team earn money so they can buy shoes and a good ball. Some of them play barefoot. The team will use the money from the crops to fund the equipment. Some of the players walked on the path in front of us on the way back. A guy gestures from beneath a tall white tree toward an upper branch. We come under the same tree and Jake points out the bee hovering near the trunk. It’s the guard, waiting for an intruder, buzzing loudly.
Near the house a woman greets us. She asked me how my morning was, but skips some of the normal formalities. Jake tells me later, he’s sure she’s HIV positive. She’s sick all the time, she has children.