“And why do you do that?”
Bisila answered without lifting her eyes from the bandage she was applying. “To protect us from the devil. When he touches one of those shells with his claws, he immediately retreats.”
Kilian put his head back and gave a hearty laugh. “Well, Satan must have very delicate feet.”
Bisila tugged the bandage tight. “Careful, Kilian. You shouldn’t joke about these things. And it only took a weak shoot to knock you down . . .”
Kilian sat up and looked her straight in the eye. “I didn’t mean to laugh. In Pasolobino there are also people who still use goats’ feet or birds of prey to ward off the evil spirits and witches.”
In silence, Bisila lit the fire in the middle of the house, extended the thick matting on top of the deerskins that were on the floor, and hung the mosquito net round the full length of the improvised bed.
Then, fixing her eyes on Kilian, she allowed the wrap covering her body to slide to the floor, turned around, lay on the matting, and stretched out her arm, inviting Kilian to come to her.
Kilian got up without taking his eyes from Bisila’s body.
She looked much more beautiful than he had ever imagined. Motherhood had given her breasts a fullness well hidden by the blouses she normally wore. His heart began beating strongly. He lay down beside her and put out his left arm like a pillow so that Bisila could snuggle up beside him.
Kilian slipped his right hand along her side till he reached her waist, stopping at her hips and returning his hand to her stomach then to her breast. He wanted to make sure that Bisila was really in his arms. Her skin was soft and smooth. Mystifyingly, he felt nervous. He was experienced with women, but Bisila was special.
When she smiled, he forgot everything.
Bisila inhaled the scent of him. She wanted to steep herself with his musk. She felt her heart beat differently, joyful and expectant. They were, at last, alone.
The future did not matter.
Mosi did not matter.
“We are finally together, the cocoa and the snow,” said Kilian hoarsely. “You’ve no idea how many times I’ve dreamed of this moment.”
Bisila raised her head and looked at him with her enormous eyes. “Me too. Let me honor you tonight like a real chief. My body is not virgin, but my heart is. I give myself to you.”
Kilian was moved by Bisila’s words. He bent down his head and placed his mouth on her full lips.
“Tonight you will be my queen,” he murmured. “You will be my waíríbo, the guardian of my spirit.”
Their two bodies fit perfectly together, the predestined outcome after a long wait of stolen looks, words, fleeting kisses, and hopeful caresses. They could finally feel the heat and refreshing dampness of the deepest breath in every pore of their bodies.
Both had been with others, but they had never entrusted their souls to anyone.
Now they did.
A good while later, they could still hear songs, no longer so intense. Kilian assumed that most had gone to bed in order to be rested for the following day’s festivities. Soon Bisila would have to return to her cabin to avoid raising suspicions.
Kilian lay on Bisila’s lower belly, his head rested between her breasts. She stroked his hair and, every now and then, placed her lips on his forehead. He felt he was in heaven, although he could not get a worrying thought out of his mind.
“It’s unfair that we have to hide,” he said in a sleepy voice.
“We’ll have to be even more careful now,” she said, sitting up. “I’m an adulterer.”
The word fell like a ton of cocoa sacks on both of them. Bisila belonged to Mosi. And there was no solution to that. If anyone were to find out, Bisila would be severely punished. It was a risk she had decided to take, but she would always be the one to lose.
“In that way, there is not much difference between your country and mine,” Kilian admitted. “A man can have several women, but if a woman is unfaithful, only hell awaits her, in every sense.”
“When I was small, to frighten us, they told us that women adulterers were hung from a tree with rocks tied to their feet, or that their hands were cut off, or even that they were buried alive with just their head exposed for the vermin to eat them.”
Kilian shuddered.
“However, according to Bubi tradition, if a woman is widowed and fulfills the mourning rituals, then she can have all the men she wants, though she can’t marry again.”
Kilian could not help smiling. “If you were my wife, I wouldn’t want to share you with anyone.”
Bisila slid her hands over Kilian’s chest and rested them on his heart.
“We will have to be very careful,” she murmured. “It will be our secret. We can’t hope for more. But this is more than I ever dreamed of.”
Kilian took her hands in his and brought them to his lips.
“I still hope for more, my sweet waíríbo, my guardian,” he whispered.
Bisila moaned. The night had engulfed all sounds. She should go. She carefully moved Kilian’s head away and picked up her colored dress. She got onto her knees and wrapped it round her. Kilian lay on his side, resting on his elbow. He did not stop looking at her and caressing her thighs. Bisila halted his movements with her hands, leaned down to kiss him once more, and stood up.
Before creeping away, she turned to look at him one last time. “Whatever happens, Kilian, I won’t forget this night.” A breath of fresh air wafted through the room, carrying her words as she left. “I’ll always be with you.”
Weeks later, Bisila closed the door to Kilian’s room carefully so as not to make any noise; she made certain that her dress was well buttoned and walked along the corridor, lost in thought. She turned left, toward the stairs, and stopped dead. Had she heard a voice?
She withdrew a few steps, pressed her body against the wall, and listened closely.
Nothing. She must have imagined it. The moon’s position showed it was later than other nights. On weekdays, all the employees were asleep at this time. She went down the steps, hanging on to the railing to soften the sound of her steps, as if that would be much help if she met anybody. Her heart began beating strongly. She knew it was a risk to go to Kilian’s room, but what other option did she have?
Since the naming ceremony, she and Kilian had secretly continued to see each other. He came around to the hospital, pretending to collect medicine, take his blood pressure, or visit a sick laborer just when she was finishing her shift. They made love hastily, barely speaking, in a small storeroom.