Cupid's Arrow

April 28 - May 5, Departure

April 28

We are leaving tomorrow. I am excited, I can't wait to see Imbawa and the rest of the village. Nya is just as excited to get home. We are going to zig-zag our way up there, this time we won't just be aimlessly wandering, not knowing which direction to go. Scott knows the way. He has the entire area mapped. He even has all the villages marked on it. Those who are friendly, those who are not. All sorts of information is contained on the map, it is amazing. We will have to travel carefully. Neither Scott or I have any bullets left in the weapons. He left his in a village a while ago, traded it for a spear, and other traditional weapons. He is very good with them. I, on the other hand, couldn't let the 9mm go. After everything we have been through together, it just seemed a shame to leave it behind. I'll find a way to get it home.

April 29

Once again as we left I felt the familiar ache of sadness. The children followed us as far as they could go, laughing and playing but their mothers soon called them back. No longer with the village, the silence was bearing down on us. However, just as it was going to overwhelm my poor heart. Scott began to sing. It wasn't a song that I recognized, but his voice was perfect. He had a deep voice and it resonated out around us. Midway through Nya added her voice to the melody and sang a soprano to his bass, it added to the beauty. After his song was finished he looked at me and smiled, "I learned a while ago that the silence can be deafening, I discovered the singing can dispel that. The sadness of leaving friends behind doesn't go away, nor should it, but a good song can make it easier to bear." I smiled back at him. I didn't know any songs, nor did I know how to sing, but listening to him make my heart jump. We walked single file. Scott in front, me in the middle, and Nya bringing up the rear. We traveled that way for the entire day, Scott breaking the trail.

That night we sat around the fire and Nya told us stories about Imbawa, no doubt he was a very brave man, a man brave enough to leap into flames to save a stranger, but hearing stories of his childhood were hilarious. Apparently, at one point he had snuck into one of the huts and found all the honeycomb. They were preparing for a large feast that night and the honeycomb was to be the prized dessert. Then as the hunters walked in to carry out the honeycomb they found Imbawa asleep where the honeycomb had been, the honey still sticky on his hands. We laughed, Scott joined in telling stories of his growing up. Apparently, he had a neighbor who made amazing pies, she had left one on her window sill to cool down one day and it had smelt so good that he had snuck over and eaten the whole thing. It gave him the biggest tummy ache and when his parents found out he had to make a pie to replace it for her. She was angry at him at first, but then when he gave her his terrible rendition of her pie and apologized with the blueberries still staining his fingers she laughed.

I wish that I could have joined in with the storytelling, shared something, but I don't really have any stories like that from the academy. Arrow's are not supposed to form attachments, that means no friendships, no relationships, that sort of thing. My years were spent learning about the world, training, and studying. When they asked me to share a story I just begged off claiming that I didn't have anything half so interesting to tell. They didn't really buy it but they did continue to tell stories. Nya slept in my tent and Scott and I kept up our pretense. I don't know if it's because he wants to or he is just accustomed to it by now, but I don't mind.

May 3

We have stopped at another village today. Everyone is so friendly, being with Scott really does have its perks. The people around this area know him and are so excited to see us. They were more cautious about me until Nya said something, I don't know what she said but after that everyone accepted me just as much as they were accepting Scott. We aren't going to stay long. We don't have medicines and don't have much of a way to help but the village is throwing a feast tonight for us.

Scott and I sat side by side for the night, laughing and talking between each other, and the members of the village. It was a wonderful night. Happy, easy, nothing that was frightening. It's nice to have reminders of how fun and pleasant the world can be.

May 5

We left the village today, we are making wonderful time all thanks to Scott. He has the best sense of direction I have ever seen on anyone. If I thought my navigational skills were good, mine pale in comparison to his. However, we share that as a connection. We have talked a lot about the benefits of traveling by the north star vs sun positioning, and other things that we have used to traverse this place. Nya is getting very excited, she can't wait to get home and to tell everyone at the village all about our adventures. She also wants to rub it in Aba and Abiodan faces that we have traveled farther than any individual in the village and lived to tell about it. I think she is a little bitter that they left us on our own.

Scott is very careful to never put us in harm's way. It is very sweet, though sometimes it is also a little annoying. I have crossed this landscape without him and managed to live to tell the tale. He is forever after me to be careful about one thing or the other. I recognize that it's because he cares, but still. I can handle myself. We argued about it today when he warned me one too many times that the road was not even and he didn't want me tripping or falling. I kind of yelled at him, the ground crackled under my feet. He got angry, we had a fight, in the end, we didn't speak for almost an hour. Nya for some reason thought this was hilarious. She was laughing.

About an hour into the silent treatment we both broke. I apologized and he did as well. He said that he was worried about me because he cared about me and didn't want anything to happen. I actually felt bad, his voice broke at the end. The exact words were, "I already lost you once, I don't want to try and live through that again." I let him be after that, for the most part anyway. I'm glad that he cares but I don't know if he cares enough. Someone can care for a pet or a friend, I want him to love me. I haven't told him how I feel. I want him to love me too before I talk to him about it. I'm worried that if I bring it up that it will ruin what we have going.