Chapter 16

For the next three days we followed the same routine with nothing happening. The forth day was different, when we came across the two young men that had raped Lusa before. This time, they had two other friends with them as I took Lusa's hand in mine and purposely walked close by.

Chike and Mablevi were the two guilty males, however my abilities told me that the other two had done much the same on various other occasions. It was almost a game to them and it didn't matter who got hurt as long as they had their fun. They stopped their talk among themselves and after recognizing Lusa. Chike said, "Oooh if it isn't the pretty one and she's brought along another white girlie for us. Did you come back for some more of this?" He patted the front of his pants as he grinned.

"Actually," I said, "I was the one that wanted to see the big strong boys that hurt Lusa."

"Now that you met us do you want some of the same? Even if you aren't a girl we can give you something to remember us." Chike nodded to his friends who grabbed us and dragged us into an alley. Coincidentally it was the same one that Lusa was raped in. As Lusa screamed a hand went over her mouth.

Once in, I stomped down and broke the first attacker's foot. An elbow went out to strike the other's sternum, putting him down on the ground gasping for every breath he could. With a step sideways, I kicked and connected with the third man's scrotum, following which I jumped across to the fourth to pulp Lusa's captor's nose.

As Lusa was by now frightened out of her wits, I said, "Look, my future wife. Your attackers are here and can't hurt you."

As she looked up, she saw the one with a broken foot come at me again, so I kicked him in the testicles. He heaved the contents of his stomach as the other one that had received similar treatment a few seconds earlier.

I looked into Chike's mind and found his reasoning centre and gave a small amount of altering. The other three got the same treatment soon after. This was the best I could do or else the next step would lead to either their mutilation or their deaths, which I felt was too much, even for rapists.

Chike got up holding his nose, trying to find his bearings. Leaving Lusa to stand by the wall, I saw the anger and fear in the youth. "Lusa go to this animal and hit him."

Chike naturally turned to Lusa and backed up as if seeing a horrible creature that was preparing to kill him. He backed up until he hit a doorway and fell down, never taking his panic stricken eyes off Lusa, but regained his footing to run backwards down the alley and away around the corner.

Mablevi was next to recover, wanting to hurt me bad, but when he saw Lusa he ran away as if his life depended on it. The other two had to hold their crotches as they tried to crawl away as quickly as they could.

"Shawn, what did you do? They just ran from us."

"They ran from you Lusa. They now see any girl that they would like to rape as a killer out to take their lives. Now let's follow them and let them feel your pain, your rage and your revenge."

Following their trail, I pointed out where they were hiding. As she walked up, she saw the young men flee in fright, with one of them even pissing his pants when he felt he had been trapped. Lusa chased them for a half hour till, tiring of the game, she jauntily walked with me to get an ice-cream.

The next day Lusa forced me out of the house to go with dad where the examination rooms I'd used before to hide my existence now served to allow me to see my patients openly.

Dad came out to the waiting room to tell his initial patients about me, after which his nurses carried his words to new patients. One young doctor working for dad was incredulous now that he saw me. Before my arrival, he had heard from dad all long that I was in London teaching and trying to get my medical diploma. Recently he knew of my internship as dad and mom faithfully clipped any and all articles from the papers about me or my art business.

After we had treated everyone, we actually had time to sit and talk. This was unusual, as it was the first time it had happened for a very long time indeed. Dr. Higgins was locally trained and listened avidly to any pointers which I had picked up that could now be used to assist him. I explained some of the differences I saw in how the educational programmes were different. Dad talked about some of his old teachers and I said that some had even talked to me about 'the elder Dr. Boz'. We had a good laugh about some of their foibles and went on to have a civilised lunch together.

I worked one more day at the clinic before I accompanied dad to his offices in the city. Here, even the clientele had heard of me. These patients seemed to accept me better than the ones who had not read of me in the papers. I did nothing different to that which I would do in the hospital in London, but felt closer to the people even if they were bigoted and tried to keep the natives down. They were still my people.

With four days left, dad flew us out to the village of Lusa's and Japera people. We set up a small field office and dad now introduced me as a doctor, even if I was very young. Lusa was in her glory now that she could tell everybody that I belonged to her. She was not fully believed until I said before many in the village that she and I would one day marry and have children. As a doctor who came to the village on rotation with others, dad then confirmed what I had said.

At this news, there was going to be a celebration but dad went on to say that he had to get back. "You may as well learn about your future in-laws and them you. I will be back in two days."

Long into the night I talked of Salisbury and then London. It was difficult for some to even understand about the buildings, let alone what I talked of regarding the various things I taught or could teach at the school. Most could not think of any reason for learning them in the first place, medicine being the only exception.

We were given a hut of our own after the present owners moved in with others. There were many ears that listened to Lusa groan and call out in ecstasy as she reached her peak so many times. Although I was up early, Lusa woke late in order to let her catch up on sleep.

That morning, many aspects of both village life and marriage customs were explained to me but, after the previous night's vocal performance, for once a young man was not taught how to please a woman.

When she arose, Lusa was mobbed by the village women who asked what I had done and how I'd done it. She wasn't shy in the least and told them in detail many of the things I had done. Later, she told me that some of the younger ones had slipped off to relieve their emotions with their fingers.

In the old days when a boy had to prove his manhood, he had to kill a lion. Nowadays, lions were not as plentiful as they used to be, but I wanted to show that I could manage a substitute. It was the dry season and the migration of wild animals had passed by one more time. In the village, there were goats and other herd animals but as they had nothing extra, I decided that I would endeavour to provide some, so that night I announced I would go hunting for the village.

Usually, the older men followed the boy to assure he did as he was required and didn't cheat. Manhood was a valuable commodity and not all in the past who had gained it had done so legitimately. With only my kukri I left the village and after walking a mile in the darkness, I took to the air.

A herd of wildebeest were foraging in a valley which was rather more lush than most around this area. Although I had never killed anything before, I knew it as a part of the pattern of nature, so when I picked an animal it was not one in the prime of health but was so sick with intestinal parasites that it would soon die anyway. Unsurprisingly, the animal was by itself so from hundreds of feet in the air I worked on getting rid of all the parasites and their eggs. This was only something I had discovered recently and could think of many different uses for this ability.

Lusa was very confident of my safety and had assured all her friends that a five year old boy like me had no dangerous enemies. As it was not good to be too quick with my hunting, I worked on the herd and treated them as my patients. In a few hours there were no parasites left, although I realised that this would only last till they ingested them again from the grass and foliage containing live eggs from their old droppings.

A few miles away was both a pack of hyenas as well as a small pride of lions. The young of both groups were hungry and I could see a way to help them.

A quick swoop and the sharp knife sliced the throat of the first animal which I'd cured and it fell bleeding to the earth. I had been silent, so the animal fell without calling out, but the smell of blood so close brought the herd to readiness.

Although the animal was very heavy, I did manage to get it a mile down wind of the main group. Even I could not manage to carry it whole. I had to try it in smaller pieces. Once the butchering was completed, I took the entrails and carried them to the lions, dropping them nearby. The next trip brought the lower legs and the head. The male lions would eat as would perhaps the females. The young would get none for they were too old to nurse. This I hoped would give the females enough strength to hunt successfully for more.

The hide was cut to be kept and the remainder was cleaned as well as possible. I found two small trees on an equally small island in a shallow river and took the saplings to my kill. The meat and hide were secured with small strips of hide. This I dragged behind me the rest of the night. I knew this was essential for the tracks would be followed back and the only thing that would be out of place was the loss of the portions that I'd fed to the big cats.

Just at dawn the villagers spotted me in the distance and ran out to see what I carried. I refused help and tried to appear tired, which wasn't hard given the efforts of the night's hunt. The thorn bushes around the village had been pulled wide as the procession entered and now my biggest worry was keeping the hungry dogs away from my kill.

Lusa ran to me and gave me a warm greeting that would have made any hunter proud. I cut the meat and shared it with the village, paying attention to the lessons I learned from the lions. While Lusa ceremoniously helped me wash I told her, "Hunting made your man want his woman."

"No, it is daylight and everyone will know." so I just manipulated some of her flesh until she had her clothes off and I was pounding into her again. She didn't seem to care about the time or the amount of noise she made. Leaving Lusa to recover, I came out after an hour and the men patted my back and called me a good hunter. Lusa came out red faced somewhat later but got over it quickly for these people were her family.

During the day I worked on the villagers as well as their cattle to get rid of other parasites. That night I told stories I read or stories others had read and I copied. When I was done, Lusa was more than anxious to drag me away to the accompaniment of laughter from some of the men. That night I talked to Lusa and told her that one day all of this would be gone. The white-man had come and changed things both for the better and for the worse. Already the balance of animals had shifted with the large, white owned, farms covering all of the good areas. One day her people would have to abandon the ways of their fathers and live like the half men that resided in the city.

That night I went over Lusa like I did the village and found a strange growth. Looking closer I saw that it was attached to the wall of her womb. Excitedly I checked the rest of her system and saw that she had conceived on the first time she had become fertile.

My mind went quickly to all possibilities; not whether she was pregnant or not, but what we would do about it. I could remove the cells and Lusa would never know it if I didn't tell her. This would also be Lusa's child. She would do as I asked but I had to be very right about what I chose. Her child would mean my child. Was I ready to become the father of a child that was not mine genetically? Although life was precious to me, it was more than abundant in Africa.

For a few minutes I just held her to me and tried to come to the best solution that was good for us. Looking into Lusa's dark eyes I said, "I love you wife."

"Wife? Why do you say that now?"

"I looked within you and saw that you have become fertile recently. One of the two boys that attacked you planted his seed and it has taken root."

"Oh no Shawn it can't be."

"Tomorrow, dad will come with our mothers and be here when we are married."

"Oh Shawn. I want this so bad but not like this. I want only your babies."

"Do you want the life that is growing within you now removed? It will not hurt and nobody not even you will know it happened."

She cried and thought then cried again before agreeing with me.

That night after tender love I flew homewards till I could mentally talk to dad on my private frequency. I told him what I found and then he talked to mom and Japera. They were crying and Japera released me from my word given before and said we could wed if my parents agreed. Ten minutes later this too had happened so I took both the messages back to Lusa to give to her and the village in the morning. Japera especially said she had to make this wedding right.

The village was shocked at the news that a boy that had hunted successfully for the first time yesterday was to marry an eleven year old girl. I explained that our parents knew this and would arrive to participate in the wedding.

Around four in the afternoon dad's plane landed near the village. Mom and Japera got out and ran to us. We had been in contact for a while but they needed to touch us. Dad stood before me and shook my hand like a man and said, "You didn't have to do it this way but I am glad that you did. I always knew you would live your lives together."

"When she first came to us and just before her sixth birthday I saw a glow about her that was different than any other woman I have ever met. I still don't know what it is but I feel it is the sigh of my life's partner."

Dad didn't understand this but then again he didn't understand many of the thinks I talked about.

Dad and I took the many supplies from the rather overloaded plane and brought them into the village. Mom, dad and Japera got our hut but it didn't take me long to find out that the tent that Lusa and I would share was actually for dad and I.

Before the preparations could get underway for the wedding the following day, I sneaked off to the river a mile away where I teased a crocodile from the river before promptly dispatching it to provide more food for everyone. This I dragged to the village on the two saplings I used before. The beast was butchered and portions prepared for the feast tonight and tomorrow. A vigil was prepared for me so that I could be a man upon the morrow. As I remained without food, the women were fussing over Lusa like a queen. Clothes were brought and others altered. It was hectic for her but I sat outside the village perimeter with my eye to see what was happening.

The meal progressed for everybody but me, despite Lusa wanting to sneak me some. Though not strictly keeping silent I told her to not bother because I would not be hurt by the loss of a meal or two. Mom thought the same but Japera knew this was the proper way in her village and traditions were one of the things that held a village together.

Lusa had her own trials with the women doing a lot of talking to her about the duties she would soon face. She did not say that she had been doing them almost since I was born. They quizzed her on the lore that she was supposed to know but she passed the test only satisfactorily as she'd had no time to study it before the examination.

Two men sat with me that night feeding small twigs to the fire to keep any predators at bay. I was taught chants but not allowed to speak them. I was told mysteries that the village men passed down from generation to generation. Interspersed with this were the old rites that had not all been stamped out by militant Christians.

When the morning came I stayed in my position and wasn't allowed up until the sun had cleared the horizon. I was then taken by the rest of the men into a large hut where my body was painted. Another religious ceremony took place, this time with a ritual of fire, after which I was now considered a man. I was given some potent concoction to drink. I took a swallow and gasped as was expected of me and when we walked out I was greeted by everybody but Lusa.

Later in the day the wedding began in earnest. I stood with Lusa before the village chief as first in the Bantu religion then secondly in Christian style he pronounced us of one blood.

We ate and drank quite a bit and even danced around a fire in the dark. Men danced alone, then over at a separate fire the woman danced together. Much later Lusa and I were finally allowed to be by ourselves and I took my wife as the entire village listened. I was happy to say that Lusa's cries were loud and melodious and not faked in the least.

The next morning Dad left with mom and Japera along with all our property except my bag and kukri. I would fly my bride home during the darkness. We waved goodbye to our parents and I told the village that we were going that night. I stood my ground and said I was a man and I would be responsible for my family. They didn't like it at all but after the meal and with some light still upon the land we walked out and towards Salisbury.

At full dark I picked my wife up as she clutched my bag and I flew with her on our first honeymoon trip. Five hours later we landed on our property and we had breakfast with the rest of our family before going to bed - this time to sleep.

I only remained three more days because I was concerned that my stay would jeopardize my internship at the hospital. I would have just enough time to get my physician's licence then get back to Rhodesia to see my son being born.

Lusa kissed me behind a column at the airport as white / black relations were not allowed, at least not in a public place. "Shawn, I know the other girls need you too and you can make them feel good. Some of the women in the village say that a man who does not use his equipment will find trouble with it later. I want it working perfectly when you get back to me."

"You will have a big belly and I don't want to hurt our baby."

"You are always careful. But I will need you a lot."

"I will make you sore between the legs again and then you will be mad at me."

"Never, my husband."

The trip back to Britain was as uneventful as the one coming out, but I was in a much better mood. Becoming a married man made me feel good. Becoming a father in nine months made me feel even better.

The airport in London was overcast but our plane was able to land. Sharon was at the gate to welcome me back after I went through customs. I had taken the remainder of the diamonds I left with dad and given him a cheque from my accounts that would go towards our charity work. It would be much easier for me to sell the diamonds in Europe than he could from where he was. I gave Sharon a brotherly kiss and she drove me home. She gave me a rundown on the businesses and knew that they had and would prosper under her care.

I had phoned the hospital and the university from Rhodesia and I was graciously allowed till tomorrow to show up for duties. As I knew my time in this country was to be limited, instead of resting I started to make what I could to fill the store. Works with my name and style were far more in demand even with the high prices that we were setting for them.

I told nobody about my marriage. I doubt if the authorities in Rhodesia would see it as valid and if they did they would prosecute me for it. Here the information would just separate me more from the patients I wanted to help. There was enough that I was young but young and married would be too much for some.

The hospital administrator was a little peeved at my abrupt absenteeism but believed my general terms after I had outlined its importance. The mathematics department was more forgiving so I decided to make it up to them somehow.

When not working on patients or classes I put together two books. One was laid out more logically, the way I saw mathematics, designed to be understandable by most advanced students. The other dealt with all the things that had been disproved over the years and what the current belief was. Some I very clearly stated that I thought another answer was actually the correct one but not proved yet.

Other than at work or school I almost became a hermit while producing many works for my shop to sell. My only time off was when I took one of the girls working for me to my grandparents for Sunday supper. This went in rotation and I despaired of it getting too regimented like the rest of my life was becoming.

Many large paintings were commissioned and I did them hurriedly, but then kept them a long time to make it seem that they required a lot of work. The money from these alone would make me wealthy. Almost all the money was reinvested either in property of the various business ventures that I'd started with individuals who I thought would make good partners. Sharon got more and more duties so the store was transferred to another girl, as she took overall command of all my British operations.

As the French economy stagnated, Paris was in the doldrums, so I purchased property there too and visited Monique, Beth, Stephanie and Jennifer at the same time. For Jennifer, the adjustment to Paris had not been hard to take and I had no doubt that when the original four months had elapsed she would not worry too much. Her personality was changing as well as she was becoming more assertive - giving her 'mothers' a few problems they had not had before.

Monique as a mother, or perhaps leader to the rest, asked me about Jennifer. I only said, "I did what was necessary to her health. She may become too assertive but will remain within the boundaries of normalcy. Just do as you have been doing. The rest of our family here see you as their superior and follow your word. Beth may want to start her own family in a year so you can expect that she will start to seek a man for this. You are going to have to let go of her."

I looked at her sadly and continued, "Our daughter will... , " she looked at me sharply but knew who I meant, "will look for a substitute for me and be dissatisfied with what she finds. I will have to look for one good enough for her and ensure that they meet."

"Shawn how can this be? You always saw things that none of the rest of us could understand."

"I have trained myself to be this way from birth. You can do all this too but it is a lot of work. Getting back to family matters, you too will begin to look for a man and again he will be blond and caring. Maybe I will have to look for one for you too." She blushed at the acknowledgement. "You know that Stephanie loves all of you here and would like to be your wife even after you get married. She will in the course of six months transfer half of her love for you to the man you marry. The poor man will have to satisfy two women but will be recharged when those two women make love before him."

"Shawn I don't want that."

I just smiled knowingly and said, "Yes you do. Both your children and Stephanie's will be cared for by her, while you and your husband work. I expect this triple marriage to be very stable." I knew that the search for a substitute would be long and arduous. It would be nowhere near as easy as plucking diamonds from within the Earth.

Back at the hospital I enjoyed my time in emergency as all of us became a well oiled team. Our actions were termed miraculous on many occasions and the area received many awards and citations for our work. Although I didn't want to see such suffering, I did enjoy the challenge of a rapid influx of injured patients. They needed the right thing done at the earliest possible time. I had to accept also in these types of situation that death sometimes came from working on this knife's edge.

Death became my adversary but a worthy one in its actions. I was often tested severely, sometimes having to accept a loss. It hurt badly but there were other times when I had to assist my enemy. Patients would come in with traumatic injuries which would, despite my working hard, mean that they would only be a living body and thus would become a terrible burden on the family. At these times I would pull back and let nature take its course.

Stepping out of the hospital one night I almost ran into a young boy of nine. He was very worried about his mother and couldn't find her. I searched his mind and found Teresa to be the woman's name. The boy was not suicidal yet but had a wretched life. My mind went into the hospital admissions department and found the woman the boy was looking for. She was now a patient in the psychiatric ward, having been a prostitute driven mad by her craving for drugs. The sad thing was that she had this son, yet wanted nothing to do with him. The final nail in the coffin, if you could call it that, was that the boy was predominately homosexual. His time would be spent looking for an older male to be his father even if he did not know that was the reason.

The boy's name was Sean. He was as dirty and unkempt as Jennifer had been but not quite as desperate yet. Before going back to the boy I remembered all the heartache, worry joy that she had bought me and my family here in London. This boy would be just as much of a headache, if not worse, but I could not see him follow the well defined pathway to an early grave that his future foretold right now. I had to pull him out of this deep rut and plot a new course for him.

I walked over to the good looking boy, avoiding a few adults entering or leaving the hospital at this time, saying "Hello Sean, your mother is not going to be going home for a few weeks at best."

"What... how... how did you know my name and how do you know about my mother?"

"There is a café close by and if you will sit with me a few moments I will tell you. I am hungry and need a little snack. Would you like to eat with me?" His stomach was empty and in any case was never worried about what might befall him. In many cases like this he found a new lover, at least until he was thrown out later.

I ordered a large meal for Sean and a smaller one for me. The waitress wrinkled up her nose at the smell but served us mainly because I had come here a lot. With hurt feelings the woman left us in peace.

"Eat up Sean and I will talk." The boy started to eat but didn't take his eyes off me for very long. "I am about your age and because I was born so different I was able to work in the hospital." I paused to allow him to start digesting my words as well as the food.

"Your mother was brought in with her drug problem again and seems to have had one of those episodes where she is very violent with everybody around her. I know you get hurt a lot and need to run away just to find peace."

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"I am like a detective at the hospital and I find what is wrong with people. Your mother had a history of this and I was able to find out about it. You are in the books yourself when she beat you before and the police had to come."

"It was nothing. She was just worried about stuff."

"It wasn't all worry. Some of it was the drugs she takes and some is the way her mind is made."

"You can go home tonight but soon the landlord will kick you out for not paying the rent. Your mother won't be home for at least three weeks. Would you like a place to stay for a while?"

"I can find a place. People let me stay for a while sometimes."

"Yes they do, but they throw you out eventually. I am not a person that would do that." The boy had finished his drink and I asked, "Would you like some more milk?" He hesitated for only a few seconds before saying "Yes."

I studied the boy better now that he was calmer. He wasn't very intelligent but still within the boundaries of what is called normal. He was beautiful in the same way that people saw me, but with such a trusting soul that it was amazing that he had not been seriously hurt before this. His body was undernourished but otherwise healthy. He had a chipped tooth and some cavities that had not been looked after. His anus was bruised and the opening was becoming difficult for him to keep closed without conscious effort.

He had many broken bones and not all of them had healed correctly. At the moment his face and back were bruised when his latest lover wanted him to leave but Sean needed someone to stay with.

"Sean," I said as he finished his meal, "would you like to stay with me for a few days?"

He had no other alternative except to find a new lover so he decided to accept. "Ok but only for a while I have lots of other friends that will give me a place to sleep."

"Sure, we all have good friends. Maybe we can be friends too."