She Bleeds for Us: The Galactic Consortium 3

Chapter 3

The next day was not a good day for Gabriel. The hunger pangs from his too small meal made it hard to concentrate at school. Mustapha pushed him down during the lunch recess, but the teacher intervened before him and his friends could make good on their threat to beat him up.

His luck turned on the way home. Uncle Issa was off work that day. He talked to Gabriel about school and saw that Aunt Marie gave him two portions and even a sweet roll for desert.

An older man that Gabriel didn't know fell into step beside him as he made his way through the maze of the ghetto and towards the top of the hill. After he took the same turn as Gabriel three times in a row, he began to wonder about the man and watched him out of the corner of his eye.

The man coughed and stopped, leaning on his knees.

Gabriel was torn, did he flee as Grandma told him do if a stranger was following him? Instead he stopped and watched the man cough. "You okay, sir?"

The man didn't answer at first. "Blind witch," he managed to spit out after some time.

Gabriel nodded. "Just another couple of turns. Top of the hill."

When the man had recovered from his coughing spell they made their way together the last few meters to Grandma's house.

"Have a seat," Gabriel told him on the porch. "I'll tell her."

"Gabriel?" Grandma asked as he entered with the two plates, the roll still balanced on top.

"It's me," Gabriel called out, going to the table. "There's a man outside."

"Heard coughing," Grandma said. Whatever was wrong with her eyes, grandma's hearing was another story. She went to her herbal shelf and pulled down a glass canister, sniffing to confirm the contents.

Gabriel found his school books and found a seat near the door. It was the best light to read here, he wasn't snooping, not completely anyway.

The man had consumption, though Gabriel had learned in school that was actually TB, which had an even longer name in English that he couldn't remember. And no, Grandma couldn't cure it. But she had a tea that helped, loosened up the cough and made people feel better.

Grandma and the man talked while the tea brewed. The police had been in the lower ghetto where the man lived.

"What for?" Grandma asked.

"Someone's been painting on buildings down in the tourist district," the man said.

"Painting what?"

"She bleeds for us."

"Who?" Grandma asked. "Who bleeds for us?"

The man didn't answer and grandma didn't press. He could see Grandma's back. Her head was up, like she was staring at the sky. Neither spoke for a long time.

Gabriel set to day dreaming. Holly, an American woman that taught at the school — some sort of missionary thing -- had showed him a picture on her phone. It was American news, but the picture hadn't been an American. It had been Princess Sarasvat. Unbelievably tall and unbelievably beautiful. Gabriel dreamed of having hair like that, silver white and cascading over his head in gorgeous waves. Everyone would stop and stare as he strode through the streets of Freetown. It made him giggle.

"You're in a good mood," Grandma commented as she came back in. The man had left with his tea. He had pushed a handful of bills on Grandma and she gave them now to Gabriel.

"Careful, there's a roll," he said as she went to the plates.

"And two plates," she commented.

"Uncle Issa," he replied. He read off the numbers on the bill. Most of it would have to go to replace the herbs she'd used but it was still a good amount and they would be okay for some time now.

"Come eat and tell me about your day," she prompted.

They would not eat on the porch this evening. Grandma had already thrown some fragrant herbs on the fire that burned in the yard, but she wouldn't want Gabriel out there until the bad spirits had been cleared, just in case.

Instead they sat at the low table, ate and talked. Gabriel told her about the picture. Grandma chuckled at Gabriel's glowing description of her hair but pressed him on the news story itself. Gabriel didn't remember much but tried his best.