Desert Barbarian

The young woman stared at her, then looked at the young man. He spoke quickly in his own tongue. She made a frightened motion of her hands. 'Kubbee— kubbee nahin!'

Never, no, never, thought Marie, translating mentally. She knew enough of the language to recognise that phrase. Why would the woman not eat with her? she wondered.

The young man looked at her and shrugged. 'She will not eat.'

'Why won't she eat with me?' Marie asked him quietly.

His eyes shifted. 'It is forbidden to eat at the table with one whom one may kill,' he said uneasily.

Marie shivered. 'I see.' There was something chillingly direct about the way they said that.

Her appetite had vanished suddenly, but she forced herself to eat. The food was good and as she ate she recovered some of her spirits.

Afterwards she lay down on the bed and slept. The others withdrew, leaving her alone in the lamplit room. She heard the chirping of crickets outside, a lively, cheer­ful sound at most times, but tonight it had a melancholy which depressed her.

If only she could see the outside world, she thought. The silen

ce surrounding the building made her suspect that they were in an isolated place. Why would they not let her see outside?

The next morning she lay on the bed with her eyes open listening to the sounds of cows mooing somewhere in the distance. They were in the country somewhere, then, she thought, not in Lhalli.

The door opened and the young woman came in with a bowl of warm water. She gestured to it. 'Wash…' She hung a rough cotton towel over the chair, placed a cake of scented soap on a small bowl. Marie had already discovered that the only sanitation was primitive, and she was relieved to find that she was going to be allowed to wash and brush her hair.

The day wore on slowly. She attempted to talk to her female guard, but found that the young woman's Eng­lish was extremely limited. To amuse herself, Marie began to ask her the names of objects in her own tongue, pointing to something and asking, 'What is that?'

The young woman, presumably as bored as Marie was by now, was not unwilling to play this game. She seemed to like to be Marie's teacher. Carefully she would pro­nounce the word, then smile slightly behind her hand at Marie's attempt to repeat it.

'I… learn English… at… madrissah…' she stam­mered once during their game.

'Madrissah?' Marie frowned.

The young woman nodded. 'Madrissah in Lhalli… King's madrissah…'

'School?' Marie guessed.

The young woman smiled. 'School,' she repeated, nod­ding. 'Me go to the school one year…'

Marie gestured to the woman's round red forehead mark. 'You are married woman?'

The other woman hesitated, frowning.

Marie pointed to the ring she wore on her foot, a broad gold band which shone when she moved her toes. 'Mar­ried?'

The other woman's face cleared. 'Yes… married.'

Marie pointed to herself. 'My name… Marie.' She pointed to the other woman. 'Your name?'

There was a slight pause, then the answer came reluctantly, 'Me… Sarwana…'

'You have children, Sarwana?' Marie asked her, smil­ing.

Sarwana's dark eyes lit up. 'One baba.'

'Boy or girl?'

'Boy child,' Sarwana said in clear English. She sud­denly giggled. 'Like hymn… Mary's boy child…'

Marie laughed back, realising that this was a joke. 'You learnt hymns at the madrissah ?'