A Jewel in the Sun Read Free

them with other similar speeches. The swim had done her some good. Every day, the pain was easing a little , but it always seem to resurface at nights with very greater vividness. Work helped it to slip into oblivion.
     
    She consulted with her notes while being assisted by Estella Marge . Mama as she was called by the natives was a veteran with bush medicine and had been the recipient of an encyclopedia of oral history of the various plants. This knowledge extended to the ir native name s – locally, uses and how to prepare and apply. Azolee’s work included the latin names and scientific proof of their actual medicinal powers and a comparison of those used in other Caribbean Islands and Western Africa.
    The bush seeds and practice of the use of bush medicine was said to have been brought to the islands more than two hundred years before with the African slaves. There were ‘medici ne men’ and witch doctors who often sang chants as they applied the healing concoction. Some of the plants were aromatic while other were smelly. The use of the art was not as prevalent as the younger generations were more hyped to man- made counter parts.
    Mama was five feet and rotound . The fifty year old village ‘ nurse ’ was well-known for her bush medicine cures for common ailments. “Dis one ‘ere is call stiff cork an we use ‘ m fa when ya ga bad back.” ‘Mama’ as s he was affectionately called, was focused on her descriptions as was Azolee . It was a wonder that they heard the persistent chimes of the bell .
    “I get de door fa ya ”. Mama moved her ample body and went out to check. She had been but took a while. When she came in she was apprehensive. “ One wite foreign man out dere now. Him askin ’ for Ms. Marie. I done tell him, she passed. Come you bes ’ talk wid ‘ im . An he ain no touris ’, no siree . He from strange land, dat one you see.”
    “What does he wa nt?” Azole e asked in preoccupied fashion, even  it though it was a strange occurrence to have visitors at all.
    “Like I say, you bes ’ come see sweety ”.
    Azolee , wi ped her hands on her red tye -dyed skirt. She moved with an unc onscious grace towards the door, closely followed by Mama. Her confident strides were brought up short at the view of the stranger standing by the window. He was very tall, ove r six feet, dressed in a tan slacks with a stark, white linen shirt. His hair was black and insanely thick and slightly long over the color. His shoulders were impressively broad.
    “ Nice view you have here.” He said in thickly accented English. He turned around. The only sound that betrayed him was the extreme stillness and the subtle hardening of his features. They betray him to the others. Only a very observant onlooker who knew him would have been alerted. Mama knew that the stranger’s presence had something to do with a vision she had of long ago. This was not a surprise. She knew these things, but she wondered if Azolee had an inkling ?
    “Thank you. May I be of some help?” Azolee’s voice was low key, had clarity, but with a sweet musical undertone. This was often made more effective by the fact that often observed more than she revealed. Even now, her face was schooled into a mask of inquiry. It hid the fluttery I her stomach and the erratic pace of her heart beats. The tensing of her muscle and the escalation of sensuous thoughts were experienced by Azolee , hidden from the naked eyes but observed by Mama. She gave a small smile and slipped out unnoticed.
    Sarah stared into impenetrable eyes. They were impossibly green, made more so in the dusky light of the evening. He had straight aquiline nose, portuding cheekbones and a strong square chin. He was handsome.
    He was dashingly handsome. Even with a scowl. “ I am in search of one called Anna Marie.”
    For a brief moment , a spasm of pain contorted Azolee’s features, then she composed herself. It happened so fast, it almost went unnoticed. “She’s dead.” The