No Place for Females

Chapter Five

She motioned for me to sit on the floor. When I did, she ran to the far corner of the room and pulled something from a roll of bedding. She brought it over to me. It was a picture of Britney Spears. I smiled. I guess I looked like that to her. I guess any blonde, American female would have fit the bill.

It seemed that they weren't going to kill me, just yet. It felt good to sit down, and to be out of the sun. The girl spoke quietly to the boy. I looked at the two of them. They must be brother and sister. They were too young to be married, of that I was sure. I wondered where their parents were.

The boy sat my rifle down next to the door. I still couldn’t believe that the boy hadn’t taken my nine-millimeter. It was in plain view, but maybe he didn't know what it was. I didn't think about it too hard. All I knew was that I was bone-tired and in a lot of pain. Although I drank my fill of that nasty water, I was thirsty again, and feeling a little hot.

I wished I knew what they were talking about. I was pretty sure by now that the boy wasn't a Talib. But he could still decide to turn me over to them. After another minute or two, the girl went outside. This made me uncomfortable, as I felt that she was my protector. I looked at the boy, trying to guess his intentions.

The girl returned with a bucket.

Water!

She went over into the corner and fired up a little stove.

I looked at her brother. He seemed to have relaxed a little, as if he felt certain that I wasn't just going to run away. I was, but not at that moment. I didn't have the energy to get very far. His sister said something to him, and he sighed. She approached me with a small cup in her hand.

Tea. She made me tea. She placed it in front of me, looking anxious. I picked it up and took a sip. It was mint tea. It tasted sweet and delicious.

"Mihrbaanii," I said. Thank you.

She smiled at that. I wished with all that was in me that I knew more Pashto. She brought over something else. Naan. Bread. Oh, yes. My mouth began to water. As soon as she placed it in front of me, I snatched it up. I devoured the small piece of bread almost instantly.

Maybe this was a blessing in disguise. These kids could help me, if I could just find a way to communicate better with them. I changed my posture, and felt a stabbing pain in my side. I groaned and doubled over, almost blacking out.

"Brit-ah-ney Spears?"

I felt little hands on my side, untying my blouse and lifting up my shirt. She started shouting at her brother. Her brother shouted back. When she touched me, the pain lit up my back.

"Ahh!" I cried out, and she jerked her hand away.

I wanted to push her away. I knew she was just concerned, but if she touched that wound with her hands, it would become infected for sure. I think her intention was to wash it, but the water here wasn’t clean.  

I took her hands and patted them, and then I retied my blouse. "It's okay," I said.

She seemed confused, and tried to reach for my wound again. I took her hands and held them. She seemed to understand.

Her brother was watching from the doorway. He seemed almost bored now, his rifle pointed only in my approximate vicinity.

Maybe if I could reason with them, they would let me go. The sister seemed fond of me. I guessed she must really like Britney Spears. I wondered if I could get the brother to let me go.

I had bigger problems. I was in agony. It was so bad that I could no longer sit up. It felt like my whole side was on fire. I was exhausted, and the events of the last twenty-four hours had started to catch up with me. I lay my head on the floor and closed my eyes. I just needed to rest for a little while.