Sabine would try as much as possible not to get herself involved in the gossip but well Ellie was the opposite,she loved listening and taking part in the talks.
"Have you heard the news from Jessica?" Josephine, Paulina's mom asked catching the attention of all .
"Tell us, what does she have to say this time?" one woman asked
" She was telling some women after church on Sunday that her son would be visiting home soon and also that he got a job which was earning him good money ."Josephine explained
"Lucky lad huh... I'm sure many girls will try to catch his attention" another said.
Hearing this Ellie chimed in,
" He wants pretty girls like me no doubt...I remember when we were young he liked talking to me."
"You look like a scarescrow with all those things you call makeup ,"
somebody added quietly but loud enough for everyone to hear.
" Hmph....You are just jealous that am prettier than most of you," Ellie added in an obvious tone.
Meanwhile Sabine didn't comment on anything silently listening to her sister trying to defend her pride ,Ellie would never back down.As for her she didn't care to know who this Leonard was as she had never seen him before and she couldn't understand what was so special about him except that he was half white .After some time the topic changed to other things, from who had the best harvest to the worst or the fact that John ,the son to Mr and Mrs Smith who lived two houses fromn Sabine's home got a job as a science teacher at the primary school where she worked.John was quite popular among the ladies since he was a handsome bachelor , very hard working but never accepted any approaches from the ladies.Only she knew why because John had once secretly approached her and confessed his growing likeness towards her. Sabine also liked him alot but not enough to start a relationship ,she looked up to him more like a close friend.
Few kilometers away from the river two people a man and a woman sat inside a house facing each other having a serious conversation. With what the woman was saying,the man getting rather impatient and irritated. He kept on scratching his bald head or his moustache which had grown long and thick. His legs were placed on a footstool to give space to his big fat belly that seemed to carry more weight than the rest of the body. Looking at him she wondered how he even bent to tie his shoe laces or well you know bedroom matters,his eyes looked like they'd disappear inside his small head with how fat he was getting ,his neck had already disappeared with his head looking like it was attached to the shoulders.He snapped two fingers in front of her face to get her attention back.
"I asked you a question woman..."he questioned
"oh .... everything is going on fine I just need a little more time to find the right moment to finish up everything"she answered nervously.
"How long?"
"Before the next full moon,I promise" she said getting ready to leave.
"Okay , that's seems fair ... I'll wait then but if you try to deceive me just find yourself a new place to live because I'll let everyone know what you have done."he threatened cooly as if he was reading a children's book.
Standing up she answered,"Don't worry everything will go as planned,"
He spared her a side glance before waving off his hand for her to leave the place,which she did hurriedly.
The following week,school had resumed and Sabine was busy in the kitchen preparing lunch for the pupils with the help of other six cooks.Cooking for all those little children was not an easy task, especially when one had to make sure it was ready in time to avoid keeping them waiting.Children have little to no patience when hungry.She was busy arranging the plates ready to serve when the head cook called her, movng to the other side of the kitchen, Sabine noted how te cooks were busier than usual preparing extravagant dishes.
' Seems like there were guests to be expected anytime' she thought to her herself
Making way for the ones working she walked to where the head cook was standing,"Sir you called for me?"
"Yes ,I need you to help me take these plates to the meeting hall." he answered hurriedly already giving her a full set to carry.
She followed him quickly, although she worked in the school kitchen not everyone got the chance to see the other parts of the school,since it was rebuilt and started receiving funds from non governmental organizations and the government itself it had turned out magnificent like one of those schools overseas she had seen in a magazine.
Sabine carefully helped arrange the plates and everything else needed,she knew how meticulous the head cook was and everything was always at its best,she arranged some flowers on the table while taking some time to admire the decorations made. Sabine did not realize that everyone else had left and she was left there alone walking around admiring every effort that had been made to turn the place so extravagant,she wondered what kind of special and important people were coming to make this place look like tha, "So beautiful," Sabine murmured as she bent to sniff some red roses that had been placed on the table.
"They are indeed beautiful.." a male voice boomed behind her.
"Aaaah.."
Startled, Sabine lost her footing and fell flat on the floor on her bum,
"Ouch "
The man chuckled and offered his hand for her to stand up.She was to embarrassed to even look at him , taking his hand she stood up and left hurriedly without sparing a glance.
"Such a clumsy girl,"he muttered while staring at his hand where she had held,it felt so familiar like he had met her before but couldn't remember where.Even her scent though faint felt all to familiar like a trace of a memory long forgotten.
Pushing the thoughts away ,he took a seat as the other officials started streaming in the hall one by one.He had come here as a representative of one of the organizations that were supporting the school, there was an annual meeting held in the school held every year to discuss and monitor the progress of the school and it's management of funds.Today the meeting had ended quite early and they were all having lunch together before leaving for the city