26

Friends

Hannah and Wilkister walked through the maize fields to Wilkister’s hut after school the next day. Hannah’s mom had said she could go as long as Hannah and Wilkister stayed together until she and Jones picked her up.

The stalks were so high and dense, Hannah could not see over or through them. Dull green husks bordered with dust, Hannah could smell the freshness of corn on the cob. With no road signs or roads, Wilkister weaved through the maize quickly as if it were a game.

Hannah thought of what a cool app or video game this would be. It would be called Maize Maze and kids would have to get from one place to another without getting lost. They would learn about the awesomeness of small African towns like Sauri. The location destinations would be school, the clinic, the flour mill, Wilkister’s hut, and the guy who sometimes sells bread along the main dirt path. He would be worth a lot of points because he would only show up on the screen from time to time. They would score bonus points for helping with harvests and getting medicine to the clinic. Delighted with her plan, Hannah decided she would get in touch with Apple as soon as she got home.

“Hey Wilkister. Have you ever heard of video games?”

“Video game? No,” she answered.

Hannah explained about apps and video games. She would give creative credit to both of them. Maize Maze, created by Wilkister Omolo and Hannah Higgins.

As she walked through the wood slatted door into Wilkister’s circular shaped hut, Hannah worked every muscle in her face not to react. The hut was made of mud and sticks. Maybe even some cow dung. Its tin, wood, and straw roof was held together with sod. Hannah wondered if it leaked when it rained. She smelled manure. She thought of the poop-scented stickers her science teacher had put on their homework and remembered how class had been dismissed because the smell was so bad. This was much worse. Mosquitoes flew around. There was a kitchen to her left when she walked in—a counter with a bucket of water and a tin bowl. In the corner on the ground was a small area for cooking over charcoal.

“We make chapati, Hannah. Is dinner.”

“Oh, good!” she said. “What’s chapati?”

With the sun already setting, it was difficult to see inside. Wilkister took Hannah by the hand. “Come, Hannah. I show you my room.”

Wilkister shared a bed with her baby sister and her two brothers shared a bed on the opposite side of the room. There was a window with no glass in between their beds. Outside were the chickens and rooster.

Wilkister’s dani—her grandmother—slept on a couch in the main room. The two couches were hard and thin, like old futons, and padded with scratchy wool blankets. Hannah wondered when they would ever need wool blankets. Then she thought back to the sweaters and jackets the teachers wore in 85-degree weather.

“Dani, this Hannah.”

Hannah and Wilkister’s grandmother exchanged greetings.

“You are watch Evelyn, is good?”

“Yes, yes,” Dani said and took Wilkister’s baby sister with her outside.

“Where are your brothers?” Hannah asked.

“They work harvest. They come back for dinner.”

“Oh,” Hannah said.

“You want make necklace and bracelet then make chapati, is good? And ugali?”

“Sure! What’s ugali?”

Wilkister giggled. “I show you later.”

From a small wooden cabinet in her room, Wilkister got out a tin bucket of beads and the bag of beads Hannah had given her. She took out string and two clasps. “I put together clasp for you,” she said as she tied the clasp to the strings and pulled it tight. “Now I clasp for me.” She did the same thing over again. “Then we start bead like this.” She chose several beads and weaved them through the strings intricately, creating a beautiful pattern.

“Whoa,” Hannah said. “Hang on. How did you do that?”

“I show you again.” Wilkister took more beads out of the bucket and wove them through the strings, repeating the pattern perfectly.

“Ugh,” Hannah sighed. “I know how to put beads on a string, but not like this. And these beads are so pretty, but so small.” She watched Wilkister over and over again, and then tried it herself. She messed up, loosened the beads from the string and tried again. She squinted in the dim light. Wilkister got up and returned with the gas lamp. Looking at the necklace under the light, Hannah noticed her beads were a little mismatched.

“How long does it take you to finish one?”

Wilkister thought for a moment. “About half a day, but sometime less time.”

“Wow,” Hannah said. She reached up to her neck and touched the beads on the necklace Wilkister had made for her. “I have something to tell you, Kister. Can you keep a secret?”

“A secret not to tell somebody? Okay,” she answered.

“I am serious,” Hannah said, smiling.

“Is okay. What is secret?” Wilkister asked.

“I have a crush on Kiano,” Hannah said shyly. “But seriously, Wilkister, don’t tell anyone.”

She looked at Hannah, puzzled. “Why you want crush Kiano? That hurt him, yah?”

Hannah laughed. “No, I am not going to crush him. I have a crush on him. That means I like him.”

“Oh,” Wilkister said laughing. “Oh, I understand. You like Kiano. Ha, ha, is funny.”

“What’s so funny about it?” Hannah asked.

“I no know. He is nice boy, is good to crush.”

“Have a crush,” Hannah corrected.

“Have a crush,” Wilkister repeated. “On Kiano.”

There was a knock at the door. Wilkister got up and answered it. Hannah heard Kiano’s voice and her heart skipped a beat. Did he hear us talking? There’s no glass in the window.

She walked out of the room pretending she had not said a word. “Hi, Kiano!”

“Allo, Hannah!” he said. “I finish work harvest for today. What you guys are doing?”

“Making necklaces,” Hannah answered. Wilkister giggled and Hannah tried to ignore her. “And bracelets.”

Kiano looked at Hannah. She said, “Do you want to hang out with us?” Unable to imagine a boy wanting to hang out and make jewelry, she hoped he would.

“Sure,” he said and they walked back into Wilkister’s room.

“What you do is fun back home, Hannah?” Kiano asked. “Since we know is not to make necklace.” Hannah looked at her mismatched beads and jabbed Kiano in the arm.

“Very funny!” she said as she untangled more beads from her string. “I really like to run. I am on the cross-country team at school. That means we . . . ”

“I know cross-country!” Kiano interrupted. “I watch Olympic Games and Kenya runners are fast.”

“They sure are!” Hannah agreed. “I love watching the Olympics. And yes, Kenyan runners always get the gold medals.” She thought for a moment. No electricity. No TV. No Internet. No computer. “Where do you watch?” she asked.

“My uncles take me sometime to Kisumu where there is Mon Ami Club.”

Hannah dropped her necklace and beads scattered everywhere. Crawling around on the dirt floor collecting the beads, she said, “I’ve been to Mon Ami Club! And my Uncle Brian used to go there all the time.”

“My uncle use to go there,” Kiano said sadly. “But I still go with my other uncle the next time Olympic Games.”

“That’s really fun,” she said. “I wish I could come back here for the next Olympic Games.” She thought for a moment and said, “Have you heard of a marathon? There’s the New York City Marathon every November and I go sometimes, but even if I don’t go, I always watch it on TV. I think the winners are usually from Kenya.”

“Yes, is marathon in New York City,” both Wilkister and Kiano confirmed. “And we hear when is winner to Kenya.”

Hannah had collected all of the spilled beads. She put them back in the tin bucket and looked at her necklace of loose string, lumpy beads, and no pattern. Wilkister’s was beautiful.

Wilkister looked over to Hannah and then continued working. “I finish this for you take to Emily and I keep yours for me.”

“No,” Hannah said, even though she secretly wanted Wilkister’s pretty one. “I can finish this one on the plane home next week. And I promised Grace I would make her a bracelet.”

“No, no,” Wilkister insisted. “I want yours. It is good memory to you. I can make necklace for Emily and you make bracelet for Grace. She will want from you.”

Hannah laughed. “Well,” she said, “I know Emily will want yours instead of mine.” They all laughed. “And yes, I want to make the bracelet for Grace. You’ll show me how?” Wilkister nodded.

“We make bracelet for Grace and I finish later necklace for Emily.” Wilkister attached string to the clasp and handed the beads to Hannah one by one. “Thanks, Kister.”

After handing Hannah the final beads, Wilkister adjusted the clasp and handed the finished bracelet to Hannah. She stood up and wiped her hands against her skirt. Hannah’s eyes sparkled as she held the bracelet carefully in her hands.

“We go make chapati now, is okay?”

Hannah and Kiano followed Wilkister to the kitchen area. Wilkister’s dani had left the ingredients in the tin bowl on the counter so all Wilkister had to do was mix them together. “What is chapati, Kister?”

“I show you. You put this and mix and you have duff.”

“What’s duff?” Hannah asked.

“You know, is duff,” she said.

“Duff,” Kiano repeated to Hannah.

Hannah’s heart raced a little. Should I know what duff is?

Wilkister and Kiano exchanged looks. Wilkister said, “Hannah, you know duff.” She spelled it out, “D-o-u-g-h. Is duff.”

Hannah burst out laughing. “Oh, dough! It’s pronounced dough.”

“Ah, dough,” Wilkister and Kiano both repeated and they all laughed.

Handing Hannah another bowl, Wilkister asked her to mix it. Hannah looked in the bowl and tried not to gag. “What is this?”

“Is ugali. Flour and water. You mix.”

As Hannah stirred, she asked, “Do you cook it?”

Wilkister rolled out the dough from her mixture into circles and lit the charcoal with a match. Sitting on a tiny stool and cooking the chapati like pancakes, she laughed. “No, is ugali. Just eat like that. Sometimes with cow’s meat.” Hannah tried not to make a face. “Hannah Banana, tell Kiano about your dog who I teach Swahili.” She giggled.

Hannah said, “Oh yeah, I have a dog. A Tibetan Terrier named Livvy. She’s awesome.”

“And she learn to speak Swahili?” he asked.

Hannah looked over at Wilkister and then answered Kiano’s question. “Yes. She only speaks English, so Wilkister is going to teach her Swahili.” Wilkister’s laughter echoed from the tiny area where she was frying the chapati.

“I have dog, too,” Kiano said. “His name is Jimmy.”

“Really?” Hannah asked. “Can I meet him?”

“Sure, is good. We go meet Jimmy. Is okay Kister?”

“Yah, is good, is good,” Wilkister answered.

The most delicious food Hannah had tasted since she got to Kenya, chapati was like warm pita bread, scrumptious. She left the bowl of ugali on the counter.

They each had a piece of chapati. Then Wilkister put the rest in a plastic container for dinner. They walked out the wooden door and through the maize fields several minutes, winding their way around. Hannah wondered how people ever found their way anywhere out there.

As they approached his hut, Kiano called out, “Jimmy!” and a medium sized light brown smiling mutt ran toward him. He reminded Hannah of the dog, Sandy, from the play, Annie. She squatted down and he put his front paws on her knees, licked her face and shook all over with excitement. Looking up she said, “No way! This is his house?” Kiano laughed and nodded.

Jimmy lived in a doghouse behind their hut made from pieces of plywood and slats of tin for a roof, just like the old flour mill. The tin roof extended on one side like an awning that reached over the open side of the doghouse for Jimmy to be able to lounge and watch over Kiano and his family. Jimmy and his cool doghouse made Hannah like Kiano even more.

Hannah heard what sounded like pebbles hitting the tin roof of Jimmy’s doghouse. She felt drops of water on her head and arms and looked up. The sky had turned a deep, stormy grey. The rain caught all three of them completely off guard. It fell steady—there was no wind blowing it from side to side—but still, a complete downpour within seconds.

Jimmy escaped into his doghouse.

Kiano said, “Come inside.”

They ran into his hut. “That rain came from nowhere!” Hannah exclaimed. “It’s been sunny since I got here.”

“Do you think rain is much?” Wilkister asked.

“Uh, yeah,” Hannah insisted.

“You come back visit to April and May. That is rainy season. This just little, light sprinkle,” she giggled.

Rainwater poured inside the glassless window near the kitchen. Wilkister started to cough. “Are you feeling all right?” Kiano asked.

“Yah, is good.”

Hannah did not believe her. She wished she could go to their medicine cabinet and get something to help Wilkister’s cough. Medicine cabinet. There was no bathroom for a medicine cabinet anyway.

Kiano’s hut looked exactly the same as Wilkister’s except for an old fashioned radio sitting on the table. “What a cool radio!” Hannah said.

Kiano smiled. “Is my new radio. I hear news and songs on it.”

New radio? It looks ancient.

“How does it work without electricity?”

He cranked a lever on its side and they heard faint static. He continued turning and Hannah heard music. “Wait!” She listened closely. Putting her ear up to the radio, the music got louder. “I know this song! Swing Swing!”

Kiano and Wilkister gasped. “How you know Swing Swing? Is good song, yah?”

Hannah thought of Uncle Brian singing random words. “The best,” she said.