Page 44 of Love in the Wild

Thorne hesitated, but agreed. The people in the village had stared at him strangely, and he didn’t want to be dressed improperly.

“Yes, thank you.”

“Come. Dembe, stay there.” She waved for Thorne to follow her, and she led him into another space within the dwelling. This one had a large piece of carved wood. Adresser. Yes, he recognized that too. She opened a drawer and pulled out some clothes.

“Let’s see if some of these fit. You are bigger than my husband, but these might work.”

Thorne held up the strange clothes, and Afiya chuckled. “I guess I’ll have to demonstrate.” She showed him all the clothes and how to put them on while she told him their various names:boxers,cargo shorts,T-shirt,socks,boots. When he was done putting them on, Afiya turned to look at him and smiled.

“Yes, they fit. Barely.”

Thorne stared down at his body, now covered in the strange clothes. He wasn’t sure he liked the restrictive feel of these clothes, but if it was what he must do to be with his mate, he would do it.

“Father’s home!” Dembe’s voice came from the other room.

“Bwanbale is here?” Thorne said with breathless excitement, or perhaps that was the shirt constricting him like a great snake. He and Afiya rushed into the other room in time to see his old friend step inside. Bwanbale’s jaw dropped.

“Thorne!” He laughed as he crossed the room to embrace Thorne. He clapped his back and squeezed him hard in friendship. “But how did this happen? You would never come home with me before, and now I find you dressed in my clothes! Look at you, my friend, you look almost normal.”

Almost?Thorne wondered what was wrong with him. His friend touched his hair and the gold crown on his head. He had forgotten to leave the crown in his tree house.

“But most of us do not wear crowns, you might have noticed.”

Thorne nodded his understanding.

“So why have you left the jungle after all these years?”

“For Eden.”

Bwanbale’s eyes softened with understanding. “As I expected. A man will do a great many things for a woman he loves. But I’m afraid she’s not here. I took her to Kampala to the US Embassy.”

Thorne hadn’t a clue what those words meant. “What isthe US Embassy?”

“It’s where her people are. She is not from Uganda. She lives very far away.”

“Little Rock,” Thorne added, hoping he understood. “How many villages away?”

“Far more than you can run.” Bwanbale patted Dembe’s back. “Go fetch your geography book.” He pushed the child toward her room. She returned with something that looked like his father’s journal, only much larger, and Bwanbale opened it up. It was filled with colorful pictures, but there were shapes he didn’t recognize.

“Come, let me show you. This shows all of the land around the entire world. Great oceans, bigger than any lake or river you’ve seen—these colorful shapes here are separate lands called continents.”

Bwanbale explained geography to him, and Thorne stared in open wonder at the maps. Bits and pieces of old memories of his mother teaching him came back to him.

“You are from England, here.” Bwanbale pointed to a small piece of land that was completely separated from other land by oceans. Well, it was small compared to the land next to it. He then pointed to a large mass across the ocean.

“And this is America. Inside America is Arkansas, and the city of Little Rock is inside that. America is far away from Africa, but they have a building in Kampala where people from her country can find help if they need it. It’s called an embassy. That is where I took her.”

Thorne’s thoughts drifted to the things Eden had told him about her home. He wished he could see it, but now he had some understanding of how far away her home was. These distances were too great to truly grasp, let alone travel to by foot. Thorne’s stomach pitched as he realized that he could never get to Eden, not on his own.

“Will you take me to this embassy?” he asked his friend.

“Yes, but you are not from America. They may not let you inside.”

Thorne had to try. He had to show Eden that he wanted to be with her.

“First, we need to cut your hair.”

Afiya came in from the kitchen, wielding two small knives that were somehow cinched together. The woman smiled deviously at Bwanbale and Thorne. Little Dembe giggled.

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