The Intern Affair (48 page)

“Like you, she has the instinct of a cat.
She would sense danger hours before it would be upon us.”

He then pulled Talya to her feet and looked at her as if he was not going to see her again.

“What is it?” Talya saw the anxiety rise in his eyes.

“I’m afraid for you.
You are so fragile right now; one slap from a strong man and you would die
—
”

“Samir. Just listen to me, I feel that evil is watching us both, yes, but I also know that nothing will stop us now.
Oh
they
might try, but we will overcome whatever is ahead of us, I know this to be true. We have to reach
Conakry
, remember?”

“I remember, yes.”
He took her in his arms. “I don’t want to lose you.”

“You will not lose me, Samir, and let that be my promise to you.
What ever happens in the days ahead you will not lose me.”

“I’ll get
Jasmin
right now.”

As Samir strode away, Talya felt a terrible sense of foreboding invade her thoughts once again.
She was afraid.

She stayed by their
young man
, who seemed completely oblivious of what had happened.
It had sha
ken
its head a couple of times after the storm but that seemed to have been the extent of its preoccupation. She went around to its head and watched its long, double-layered eyelashes, partly covering the big brown eyes blinking once or twice.

When Samir returned with
Jasmin
, and saw Talya about to caress the young man’s head, he yelled and ran to her, taking her hand away
,
“Don’t touch him; he doesn’t know your smell yet.
You have not watered him or fed him, so he can’t recognize you and he could bite your hand unwilling to accept your kindness.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

“It’s all right, My Lady,”
Jasmin
said from behind Samir.
“His name is Katoof, and he’s been Samir’s young man for a long time.
He will recognize you soon enough.
I’ll show you tonight—”

“
Jasmin
, please,” Samir cut-in impatiently, “tell our lady what you feel right now and maybe she can understand you.”

“Yes I will,”
Jasmin
nodded. Then to Talya, “I think someone is waiting for us ahead.
I don’t know if they are close or far, or perhaps will this enemy wait until tomorrow.
I have a premonition since we sat down this afternoon.
When I was laughing with you, my heart became terribly worried.
I became afraid for you.”

Talya held
Jasmin
’s gaze for a moment before turning to Samir. “Tonight, when we reach camp, I want you to show me the map again. I think
Jasmin
is right; we need to be on our guard more than ever.” Then to
Jasmin
, “The danger you’ve sensed is south of us isn’t it?”

“Yes, because the more we advance in that direction, the stronger I feel that we are nearing evil.”

“Yes. But don’t worry,” Talya rejoined, “nothing is going to happen today or in the days ahead, but for the next few days we are going to be careful.”

“Thank you,
Jasmin
,” Samir said dismissively, “We’ll see you at camp, you may go now.”

I’ll need to have a talk with my friend about his treatment of
Jasmin
.

“Let’s go, Talya.
We need to ride to camp.
We have lost two hours and we will arrive after sunset now, and riding by night is extremely dangerous.
So we need to reach Nimjat before nightfall.”

“Is camp already set up then?”

“Yes, a few camels from the mehalla (caravan) and their riders went ahead to make everything ready for our arrival tonight.”

70

Two and half-hours later
the camp was in sight.
Fires were burning in front of some of the tents already. Talya thought she could even smell the food cooking. She was ravenous.
The biscuits at two o’clock had been long gone.
She looked up at Samir as Katoof slowed the pace.
The beast had been riding at top speed for the best part of the voyage and yet it didn’t show any sign of fatigue.

When they arrived, Samir took Talya down from the méhari and carried her immediately to what was to be their tent.

Generally, the Touaregs’ tents consist of long strips of cloths woven from black or brown wool and goats’ hair. The strips are sewn together into a roof and separate sides. When erecting a tent, the men extent the wooden poles upward, which support the roof while the women pin the separate sides to the roofing. They then extend ropes from the poles to hold the structure in place. The open side faces away from the winds, and vertical curtains usually separate the interior of the tent into three sections: the men’s section, where the family gathers to eat and talk, the sleeping section, and the kitchen.
Rugs, either woven by the women of the tribe or purchased in market towns, cover most of the ground. A brass mortar and stone pestle, and coffeepots stand at the ready at the tent’s entrance, in front of which is the hearth, dug in the sand and covered with an iron grid. This marks the spot where guests are welcome to sit down with the man of the family. The tent, or home, belongs to his wife. If she sees unfit to have a troublesome husband about the place, she has the right to oust him without recourse.

Apart from raising children, fetching water and fuel, feeding and watering goats and camels, women also weave cloths, rugs and other pieces of clothing worn by everyone in the tribe.
Bedouins and Touaregs alike are entirely self-sufficient and they are regarded as the repositories of manly virtues. They are proud, fiercely independent, resourceful, courageous, loyal, hospitable and generous.

They entered the tent and Samir dropped Talya to her feet.
As Talya looked around, admiring the beautiful carpets that had been unrolled on the ground, and two or three saddles that were set in the corner of this man’s section, Samir said, “My Lady, this is your home for tonight.
I will be sleeping here and you will be sleeping behind the drape where I have asked for a bed to be prepared for you.
Now, would you like me to call
Jasmin
to take care of you?”

“No, Samir.” Talya spoke with such firmness that Samir frowned in surprise. “No, I don’t want
Jasmin
right now, I want to sit down with you and eat with you and spent time together as we said we would.”

“And we will. We will do all of those things, but I need to bathe and visit with my brothers before our meal is served.”

“Okay then…. You can ask
Jasmin
to come in.” Talya sounded defeated.

“Is there something wrong?” Samir sensed the tension in her voice.

“No, nothing is wrong.
It’s just that I am tired and anxious.
We need to revise our plans.
I had time to think this afternoon as we were riding, so as soon as you can, please come back to me.”

“I promise; I will be back within the hour.
And will you want to eat then?”

“If you saw how empty my stomach is at present, you would see nothing but a black hole.”

Samir left the tent laughing.

Talya then went to her side of the tent and sat on the litter.
She took off her shoes and the bandage from around her ankle. The dim light from the storm lamp set on a small table, was sufficient for her to survey the damage. It was black and blue on all sides, and swollen.
She re-wrapped the ankle again, took the abayah and veil off and lay on the bed.
The night’s freshness was comforting and relaxing.
Jasmin
came in within minutes, and asked if she wanted to go outside. Talya knew what she meant. “Yes, by all means,” was Talya’s answer.

At
Jasmin
’s insistence, she had to put the veil back on so that it wrapped her head but didn’t cover her face.

The woman is going to drive me nuts.

When they returned—Talya hobbling as best she could—they found
Afilah
busy in the kitchen’s side of the tent.
What she was preparing smelled divine.
Talya had to have a taste.
She giggled as Talya did, and the three women helped themselves to full scoops of rice and meat unnoticed by anyone.

Jasmin
brought some water and they went through the same ceremony as they did in
Nouakchott
.
This time they had brought a long black gown similar to a thawb for Talya to wear for the night, and of course a black veil, and some slippers to wear on her feet.
Afilah
had also prepared some ointment, which she applied carefully to her ankle and foot before re-wrapping it expertly. Talya felt much better.
These women knew how to care for others.
After experiencing such restoring treatments, Talya never went to a spa again.
They would all pale in comparison to the natural care that
Jasmin
and
Afilah
gave her during the few days they were together.
 

An hour had not gone by when Samir returned.
He, too, looked refreshed.
He wore a grey djellaba and some babouches on his feet.
They sat on the floor and
Afilah
brought some dinner for them to eat.
Talya didn’t say that she had already tasted the food. That would remain the women’s little secret.

After dinner,
Jasmin
came to ask if Talya wanted some tea or some juice. “Just water,
Jasmin
, please?”

As
Jasmin
trotted back toward the kitchen, Samir smiled and said, “Do you like her?”

“She’s a wonderful, and a beautiful woman, Samir.
She reminds me of the women of
Egypt
.”

“That’s probably because she is from the land of the pharaohs. How did you know?”

“Her eyes and the symmetrical features of her face.
She is also extremely intuitive and very intelligent.”

“Yes, she is.
She shouldn’t be here.”

“So why do you treat her the way you do?
She’s devoted to you and yet she is afraid of you?”

“That’s because, she’s wild like you, Talya, but in time I will treat her differently.
Slowly she will know how much she means to me, and she already knows, when I am home, I don’t want any one else around me.”

“What is she to you, if I may ask?”

Samir hesitated. “She’s
like
a daughter.” He seemed reminiscent of some other times.
“Her mother
gave
her into my care when she died shortly after her birth.”

“And you raised her as a servant?”

“No, Talya.
She goes to school in
France
and enjoys the best of care but she loves to travel the desert.
As I said, she’s like you.
She has an insatiable thirst for freedom.”

Talya didn’t have time to ask another question since
Abdullah
and Ishmael came in.

“Talya, I have asked my brothers to join us tonight.
I think they need to hear what you have in mind regarding our forward plans.
Abdullah
has the map you’ve asked for and if you are ready to do so, we will hear what you have to say.”

The two men sat down on the ground facing them.

“Thank you, gentlemen.
May I see the map?”

Abdullah
unfolded it and spread it on the floor.

“First,” Talya began, “I would like to ask you both to tell me if you have ever worked or been in contact with explosives of any sort.”

The two brothers looked at Talya quizzically.

Abdullah
was the first to answer. “Ishmael and I have not, My Lady.”

“Well, in that case, I will explain what you are up against and what we should do.”

An hour later, Talya had told the three men where they were headed in the next two weeks.
They were now aware of what they were seeking.

Once they had left their tent, Samir got up, went to the kitchen side and asked
Afilah
for some tea for the both of them.
He knew fresh chamomile would help them sleep.

“Now, Talya, and after hearing what you have concluded, I will ask you only one question.
Do you believe in your heart that we will succeed?”

“I have no doubt whatsoever that we will
, Samir
.
The
sandstorm gave me the idea of being blinded by the sand while being attacked on all sides by sand grains, when in reality the wind was the assailant.
The sand was only an instrument bringing fear and discomfort to us when the enemy swooped pas
t
us.
All I had to do was to lift the veil of sand to feel and sense the wind against my mind so that the enemy’s face would be revealed.”