A JOYFUL GAME IN SOROTI!

CHAPTER 27

....When Cary turned, Jacob nodded and said, “Let’s go.  Won’t take long.”
      When he dropped her off,  when  reaching the children’s camp,  the Teso Arrow guards men recognized her, they nodded and let her walk into the yard. Then, Susan, who Cary and Jill had been with a few times,  came out and waved and walked to her quickly.  “Miss Cary, I would like to spend time with you, of course, but there’s a large group of tourist pastoral-oriented people here and I’m taking them around and showing them everything in all the tents and  and rooms, the three-rocks cooking area where much of the cooking is done, and a small place where the sick ones must be.  So, I hope you can visit a few here, but I don’t think you’d like to fit in with this group of people.  You already know much more than they do.”
      “Oh, I’ll only stay a few minutes anyway, and see some of the kids if I can.  Don’t want to walk out now and try to find a boda.”
      Susan smiled, tapped her shoulder, and walked away.       

      Cary wandered a bit to the other angle of the area, and suddenly saw about half a dozen of the girls.  Cary smiled.  The girls smiled at her and nodded at each other and tossed the ball at her.  Cary grabbed it, and tossed it back.  For about fifteen minutes the ball was tossed up and over and around, and she ran into the center.  They surrounded her and started jumping and tossing the ball towards each other, and Cary, taller than they were, would jump up and grab the ball and toss it up high so someone would get it.
      When she finished, she held the ball, walked over, and handed it to the main active girl.  

       Cary waved at the girls and walked to the boys and the guards who were watching and laughing.  Cary said, “This was so much fun!  I haven’t done this for many, many years, even with my grandchildren.  I loved it and I’m so happy that you were happy, too.”
      “How do you feel, Madam? asked one of the guards, because she obviously was very covered with water on her face, her hair, and even her dress.
      Cary flashed her hands at her face and her hair.  “Oh, I’m so sweaty.  I was in ninety degrees today, which is our way of saying it, but you’d probably say it is thirty-two.”  She laughed and winked.  “If it was thirty-two in my country we would have ice, not heat.  And I don’t do very well with both of those numbers.  I’m way too hot today, because of my jumping around and about, but if that other number was here the way I think of it, I’d be screaming because of the coldness, instead of the heat.  What a day!”
      All the people smiled, laughed, and thanked her for coming.  She smiled and waved and walk out. 
      Cary decided to walk on the lanes that went around the Soroti Rock and she would be going from this side where the kids are protected to the other side where the town has it’s shops and homes most often.  Cary knew she couldn’t climb up the rock and cross over and go down, because the police would be very angry and she could trip and fall about four hundred feet and that wouldn’t keep her alive.

      So she did walk for about a mile, and then, suddenly, Joseph, driving by that area, saw her, honked, and pulled onto the lane.
      “Cary, I was looking for you, and I’m so glad I saw you here.  You are very hot, obviously, and you haven’t had enough water to drink, so get in the car and grab a bottle.”

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Much of this portion of the game deals with reality.  Susan was taking people around.  I actually knew them, but didn't want to hang out with them then.  I truly ended up playing a ball with the girls.  And they truly did laugh at me and toss more and more at me.  The boys and guards also were sitting and hollering and laughing.  What a treat in the midst of so many serious events in Soroti.  I did leave Soroti about three weeks later, and about three weeks later I reached home here in Omaha, but was filled with significant sorrow with long-time PTS for a few months.  Did I love people there?  YES!  Do I want to be there again to check up on things?  YES!  But that little time with me re: laughing and playing, even though it was hot, was the favorite grinny thing I ever did there.