It was a long Saturday afternoon and the sun had been painfully hot. All of us were sitting in the balcony where every now and then, a breeze would come. I was reading Haruki Murakami's Wild Sheep Chase with a beer in one hand. The rest were just lounging around, wasting time.
"I decided I am going to be celibate while I am here," she said.
This is my friend from Ethiopia making a conclusion. She was having a hard time adjusting to her new surroundings - the desert and the endless sky, plus the hot whiff of air in the afternoons. Of course, the donkeys are not helping either.
"For me to survive in a desperate setting like this, I would have to concentrate on work," she continued. "Maybe I'll have to take up a new hobby"
"That's a good idea. I have some poster paints and paper, if you are interested in painting..." I volunteered.
"I have some knick knacks if you want to make bracelets and necklaces. " said the nurse from the other project who came for a visit.
"Let's go shopping," said another.
"Thanks, but I decided I will try gardening..." she retorted.
"That is very good. You not only entertain yourself but you give something back to the earth." I said. "I find gardening to be very rewarding." I know because I have several pots of herbs growing outside of my window, several pots of flowers and cacti on the balcony - an effort I started a couple of months ago.
"What sort of plants will you be planting?" Asked someone.
"Oh, you know... those long things. Eggplants, cucumbers, gourds. Long things."
Oh, oh... Freudian slip.
We fell silent. I started to bury my head into the book I was reading, secretly hoping that dinner would not be eggplant.
Beam me up, Scottie.
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