SUSANNA

15| DIG. HOE. PLANT. EAT. SLEEP. REPEAT

Labouring under the eyes of a whip from early morning until late at night was Susanna's new routine. Up before light. Dig. Shovel. Hoe. Plant. Eat .Sleep. Repeat. One day. Two days. One week. Two weeks. Three weeks? Two months?

Autumn's culling of the Colony's trees left behind a carpet of leaves in different shades and patterns of brown, churned and tossed around in the wind and pouring rain. When winter rolled around Susanna's first encounter was not hugely different to that of the shrivelled leaves. She like them yearned for the cycle of life to run its course and become one with the earth. But winter was determined to establish its authority among the settler community with little regard for those relegated to the draughty Coornhoop or those stuck in some outbuilding freezing to death on Robben Island.

Nommoa followed the hidden route from the back of the Gardens and made his way to the Coornhoop. Susanna was tied to a tree a fair distance from the store, her head slumped to the left of the rough stump. The branches of the huge tree bent and swayed from left to right and the leaves rustled in the wind. Nommoa sat and watched the limp body on the tree, and when the soldiers guarding the slaves retired, as they had done for the past two nights, he crawled towards her.

'Kismia,' he whispered. No response. Why did you provoke the bad spirits of that woman filled with mischief and spite? While he caressed her unconscious, feverish face, he talked to himself, casting his eyes and hands towards the heavens. Tsui-Goab, I bring you my hands to heal her hurt. I am grateful, to you, above Hoerikwaggo, for keeping your arms around her on your tree. From his pouch he brought forth a wet cloth and wiped it across the muttering slave's dry lips. Where the lashes had separated the skin from the flesh, her back was raw. Blood mixed with a yellow fluid seeped from it. He cleaned it with water, applied a thick layer of ointment and covered her whole back with leaves and herbs. He swaddled the unresponsive body in the soft fur of the animal skins he had sewn together. Thank you, Tsui-Goab for not blowing out the spirit of the warrior slave. Stretching his arms towards the mountain, his legs started performing dancing movements. Chase away, Gunab's evil eyes. The beads and ornaments around his ankles chimed rhythmically as his lips hummed in-between his silent prayers. Take away her pain and anger and cool her inside with the honey of the Camissa. He sang a soothing lullaby as he shuffled his bare feet and moved around and around the tree. Thank you for the daccha and the balsam of Hoerikwaggo, mighty One.

Then he sat down, took off the pipe around his neck and filled it with the dry, green tobacco mixture from his pouch. Satisfied that it was stuffed properly, he blew the smoke into her mouth and nose. With first light he awoke from his intoxicated sleep and jumped up. He touched Susanna's forehead and soothed her lips with the remaining water. After taking off the leaves and animal skin from her body, he left. With the swiftness of the gazelle and the speed of the cheetah his legs and feet took him to the safety of the thick forest that hemmed in the Company Gardens.

When he returned at midnight, Susanna's eyes were open. 'Tsk, tsk, tsk.' He clicked his tongue. 'Thank you, Tsui-Goab. Thank you,' he said. He held the water in front of the cracked lips that swallowed it all, until the last drop. He took pieces of the dry leaves, put them in her mouth and waited until it was chewed, and repeated the process. Once again, he spread the ointment over the wounds, covered them with dry herbs and leaves, tucked in her body and lit his pipe. Susanna watched. He pushed the pipe into her mouth, but she was unable to suck in the fumes of the daccha. He pouted his lips and inhaled and exhaled sharply to illustrate how the pipe must be smoked. Susanna followed his example but burst out in a bout of coughing. Nommoa inhaled a mouth full of the vapours and blew them into her mouth. When day broke, he sedated Susanna with yet another generous helping of the ointment. When it took effect, he assembled the skins and disappeared along the secret footpaths amidst the aromas of the fynbos.