Read Online When Hoopoes Go to Heaven by Gaile Parkin - Free Book Online
Authors: Gaile Parkin
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grown used to, and it wasn’t until Titi herself had held him as the nothing that was left inside
him bent him double at the roadside, and she had wiped his face and held him to her in the Microbus, it wasn’t until then that he had been okay again.
The journey from Dar to Swaziland had been completely different. Up front next to Baba, he had followed their route on the map and chatted to Baba as much as he could, knowing that when he just
couldn’t keep himself from dozing off, Mama would lean forward from the seat behind and keep Baba awake.
There had been no possibility of dozing until they were well into Mozambique, as the final stretch of the coastal road down from Dar had been sandy and difficult, and then on the flat boat that
had taken them and the Microbus across the mouth of the Ruvuma River, they had all held their breath, sure that the Microbus would slide off, taking all of them with it. Then from the river –
which was the border between Tanzania and Mozambique – there had been another stretch of difficult, sandy road until the town of Moçimboa da Praia where they had stopped for sodas and
cupcakes.
The memory of those cupcakes made Benedict even hungrier now, and he turned his attention away from the ladies outside the high school who were packing what food they had left
into large plastic tubs which they hoisted onto their heads before moving off. Inside the school, the students who were on cleaning duty were finishing off, locking the windows against any
afternoon rain.
A girl emerging from one of the classrooms caught his attention. She was carrying an exercise book away from her body, holding it flat and looking at it carefully. It was the kind of thing
Benedict did when he was taking a spider outside, but this girl couldn’t possibly be taking a spider outside, on account of her being a girl. He watched her carefully as she made her way past
the other classrooms, past the bare ground at the front of the school, moving slowly towards a clump of grass on the other side of the fence from where he was waiting under the tree. There she bent
and tipped something off the exercise book before turning round and going back to the classroom.
Unless Benedict was mistaken, what she had tipped on to the clump of grass was in fact a spider. Eh! Girls did not save spiders!
He watched the girl as she went back into the classroom, then a few seconds later he saw the head of a broom coming quickly out of the classroom a couple of times, shooting a puff of dust along
the floor ahead of it. He waited for her to finish cleaning and come out with her schoolbag, but before she did he heard the children on this side of the fence cheering and some cars hooting, and
at last Auntie Rachel was there in the yellow Hi-Ace.
He wanted to think about the girl on the way home, but Auntie Rachel was busy apologising for being late, asking everybody if they were okay and assuring the Tungarazas that Mama wasn’t
worrying about them because Auntie Rachel had used her cell-phone to call her from the roadblock. And then they went past the roadblock, which was only stopping the cars on the other side of the
road, and Auntie Rachel told them about the soldier who had been surprised that there wasn’t a gun in the Hi-Ace’s cubbyhole, and kept asking her over and over where her weapon was.
Auntie Rachel didn’t have a gun, she was like Mama and Baba, she didn’t like them, even though she’d grown up with guns on her parents’ farm in South Africa. Uncle Enock
had a gun, but Auntie Rachel made him keep it in the safe at his work, on account of guns being dangerous around children. Uncle Enock had to have a gun in case a cow or a horse was too sick to be
made better, but he didn’t like to use it. Benedict wondered if Uncle Enock thought there was a separate Heaven for cows and horses, or if he thought they went to the same Heaven as dogs.
As they passed the roadblock, one of the soldiers winked at Auntie
him bent him double at the roadside, and she had wiped his face and held him to her in the Microbus, it wasn’t until then that he had been okay again.
The journey from Dar to Swaziland had been completely different. Up front next to Baba, he had followed their route on the map and chatted to Baba as much as he could, knowing that when he just
couldn’t keep himself from dozing off, Mama would lean forward from the seat behind and keep Baba awake.
There had been no possibility of dozing until they were well into Mozambique, as the final stretch of the coastal road down from Dar had been sandy and difficult, and then on the flat boat that
had taken them and the Microbus across the mouth of the Ruvuma River, they had all held their breath, sure that the Microbus would slide off, taking all of them with it. Then from the river –
which was the border between Tanzania and Mozambique – there had been another stretch of difficult, sandy road until the town of Moçimboa da Praia where they had stopped for sodas and
cupcakes.
The memory of those cupcakes made Benedict even hungrier now, and he turned his attention away from the ladies outside the high school who were packing what food they had left
into large plastic tubs which they hoisted onto their heads before moving off. Inside the school, the students who were on cleaning duty were finishing off, locking the windows against any
afternoon rain.
A girl emerging from one of the classrooms caught his attention. She was carrying an exercise book away from her body, holding it flat and looking at it carefully. It was the kind of thing
Benedict did when he was taking a spider outside, but this girl couldn’t possibly be taking a spider outside, on account of her being a girl. He watched her carefully as she made her way past
the other classrooms, past the bare ground at the front of the school, moving slowly towards a clump of grass on the other side of the fence from where he was waiting under the tree. There she bent
and tipped something off the exercise book before turning round and going back to the classroom.
Unless Benedict was mistaken, what she had tipped on to the clump of grass was in fact a spider. Eh! Girls did not save spiders!
He watched the girl as she went back into the classroom, then a few seconds later he saw the head of a broom coming quickly out of the classroom a couple of times, shooting a puff of dust along
the floor ahead of it. He waited for her to finish cleaning and come out with her schoolbag, but before she did he heard the children on this side of the fence cheering and some cars hooting, and
at last Auntie Rachel was there in the yellow Hi-Ace.
He wanted to think about the girl on the way home, but Auntie Rachel was busy apologising for being late, asking everybody if they were okay and assuring the Tungarazas that Mama wasn’t
worrying about them because Auntie Rachel had used her cell-phone to call her from the roadblock. And then they went past the roadblock, which was only stopping the cars on the other side of the
road, and Auntie Rachel told them about the soldier who had been surprised that there wasn’t a gun in the Hi-Ace’s cubbyhole, and kept asking her over and over where her weapon was.
Auntie Rachel didn’t have a gun, she was like Mama and Baba, she didn’t like them, even though she’d grown up with guns on her parents’ farm in South Africa. Uncle Enock
had a gun, but Auntie Rachel made him keep it in the safe at his work, on account of guns being dangerous around children. Uncle Enock had to have a gun in case a cow or a horse was too sick to be
made better, but he didn’t like to use it. Benedict wondered if Uncle Enock thought there was a separate Heaven for cows and horses, or if he thought they went to the same Heaven as dogs.
As they passed the roadblock, one of the soldiers winked at Auntie
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