《Eternalite》 Chapter 1 Jeffery wakes up in a small campground. Surrounding him was a fire, a tent and people. ¡°Hey Jeffery, are you alright?¡± He shook his head. What seemed to be a dream of a brighter world slowly faded from his thoughts as he looked around himself. ¡°Where¡­¡± he reflected for a moment, ¡°-who¡­ am I?¡± he said more to himself then to the person who had asked. ¡ª Jeffery was twenty-two, slim, taller, a bit pasty, and an amnesiac. After a brief, howbeit thorough examination, the doctor gave an ¡®all clear¡¯, telling him simply let him know if anything changes and he starts to remember. He was labelled as a ¡®possible trauma¡¯, but the doctor didn¡¯t think his amnesia was trauma related. People surrounding him asked him if he could remember anything about what happened to him, but he couldn¡¯t. They informed him on who he was. He was ¡®Jeff¡¯. He was kind- but liked to skid by. A recent undergrad from a university with an engineering degree ¨C he applied to the Peace Corps. Because he had no idea what to do and it didn¡¯t hurt his resume. He didn¡¯t feel like he could relate to their ¡®Jeff¡¯. ¡°Just for a resume?¡± A boy his own age, named Seth smiled, ¡°Don¡¯t worry dude. In a way that¡¯s kind of the reason we¡¯re all here¡­ except maybe Jennifer.¡± Jeff was left alone again. He wondered who Jennifer was. At the moment, he was living a separate housing within the nearest hospital until the charter plane arrived within a month- he would have been in a village within fifty-five miles. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about our mission for now,¡± Seth responded, ¡°I can take care of your translating job for now.¡± From what it sounded like, Seth was a pretty cool guy. He wondered if the reason he was being nice was because of who he ¡®was¡¯. He wondered if he could compare to their ¡®Jeff¡¯. Jeff nodded, just letting them make the decisions for him since he wasn¡¯t quite sure about himself. He watched as ¡®Seth¡¯ left and then followed by doing nothing at the hospital. He was given a plate of food. Looking around he saw an older lady black- she seemed malnourished. He didn¡¯t smile- he didn¡¯t think to, so instead of talking she ended up turning her head away and going back to sleep. ¡ª ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± he asked the PCMO (the nearest Peace Corps. Medical Officer was probably a hundred miles away) over the phone. Currently he was using a landline phone from the office. ¡°Sit back, watch your favorite movie downloads if you have any. The next plane should be there within a month. We have to do it by charter.¡± He looked around for something to pass the time then remembered about the movies. He checked to see if he had any on his It turns out that he did. For some reason having such a selection made him feel guilty. He looked through his equipment trying to get a feeling for who he¡¯d been. It seems he stored some electronic stuff- headphones, a photo of a happy family.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. It didn¡¯t make any waves or bring back anything. Looking at the photo it seemed that he had two younger sisters and lived in a suburban white home. After getting tired of looking through everything for some sort of clues he picked out the movies. He ended up watching films and lying in bed while the doctor came with food every meal. After two days of passing the time, he felt utterly useless. ¡ª On the third- he figured that he¡¯d actually try and walk around, but instead of the normal silence he¡¯d grown used to- he heard a car pull up. Three face he¡¯d recently seen came up to the hospital. Seth- the person who¡¯d explained a little earlier and two girls. ¡°Hey my man.¡± Seth spoke as he gave him a hand clasp into a bro hug. After having twiddled his thumbs for a while now- Jeffery was just glad to have human connection again. ¡°Hey, Seth,¡± he returned as he noticed two girls checking up on the lady who¡¯d been his roommate. ¡°So¡­¡± Seth explained as he introduced Jeffery to the other members of the project they were on. ¡°I guess we have to introduce ourselves again¡­¡± ¡°Basically we call ourselves The Outsiders.¡± ¡°Actually-youcame up with it,¡± The hispanic-filipino girl interrupted. She was dressed somewhat conservatively in a sporty khaki-esque look and a sort of under armor top. Not noticing until after that she had interrupted, she paused hesitantly, then continued, ¡°YOU said that since the people we¡¯re helping don¡¯t really seem to want us here we may as well call ourselves that.¡± Jeff had a slight smile at the remark. He wondered if he¡¯d been able to meet himself if he¡¯d get along. ¡°This is Sarah by the way-¡± Seth spoke introducing the girl who¡¯d just spoken. ¡°You can call me Sari again,¡± She stuck out her hand. Jeff shook it. After taking the hand another member came up. ¡°And THAT¡­¡± Seth spoke pointing at another girl, ¡°is Jennifer Lugawitz.¡± Pointing at a girl with a little more relaxed getup- she was dressed in a more tomboy get-up, blue and white running shoes, rolled up jeans, orange hair tied back in a braided ponytail no makeup, but still made quite an impression to Jeff being so beautiful. Jeff tried to be polite again, ¡°so Jennifer¡­¡± ¡°I still don¡¯t like you,¡± the girl failed to shake the hand that Jeffery had stuck out, instead turning her head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, she treats us all like that,¡± Seth said, brushing off the rejection for Jeff. Jeff felt her attitude was little unfair. What had he done? He wondered if he¡¯d rubbed her the wrong way. Before he could say more however ¨C they and the lady seemed to have geared up to go. ¡°Well, we came back to give the lady a ride to the village,¡± Seth spoke, ¡°we¡¯ll try to make it back before you leave-¡° ¡°Don¡¯t include me!¡± Jennifer shouted behind her as she walked the older black lady towards the door. Holding the door, a young black man in a dressier outfit stood. He looked perhaps a year or two older than any of them. The group including the lady walked out. Jeffery feeling the sting of loneliness followed them out. Seth lagged behind with Jeffery the group as they walked towards what seemed to be ¡°That¡¯s our liaison, Rudo- he¡¯s the reason for us being here in the first place.¡± Upon hearing his name called Rudo politely turned around and stuck out his hand. He seemed to have a light air as he spoke. ¡°Jambo¡­¡± Rudo stuck out his hand. Seth explained, ¡°Rudo speaks Swahili. His English is a little less, but he speaks well enough that he was even able to send a request to the Peace Corps for support for his village. Jambo means-¡± Jeffery responded, ¡°Jambo¡­¡± Taking Rudo¡¯s hand with a shake of his own. Swahili: (how are you Rudo, I¡¯m sorry I¡¯ve forgotten you- but it¡¯s nice to meet you again) Rudo looked at him bemusedly- the others all looked strangely at Jeff. In Swahili: (I am very well now, I find it exciting to converse- you truly are a learned American) ¡°Wow¡­¡± Seth interjected. ¡°What¡¯s wrong,¡± Jeff replied ¡°Before your amnesia, you didn¡¯t know any Swahili¡­¡± Seth returned. Jeff found that strange as well, ¡°really?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s insane¡­¡± Sari responded. During this Jennifer was already buckling in the lady in the front seat of the jeep and hadn¡¯t heard the exchange. ¡°Anyway,¡± Seth spoke, ¡°we were just giving a ride to Camri: we¡¯ll see you man¡±. Sari and Seth shook his hand as Rudo nodded and walked to the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Bye¡­¡± he spoke to himself as they took the backseat of the jeep and Rudo started up the vehicle. He stared blankly into the distance as the vehicle grew smaller and smaller. ¡°Hey, wait up!¡± he shouted after realizing he had no desire to be cooped up in the hospital tent another day.. He chased out after the caravan as it was pulling out. After a couple hundred feet, they noticed him chasing after them and it slowed down. There were five total already and the jeep was enough for five. He hopped in the back, holding the bars. Jenifer looked annoyed while the others looked bemused. The lady was curiously looking at him. ¡°Alright!¡± Seth spoke with a smile, ¡°let¡¯s go.¡± chapter 2 Wind blew past him at a fast pace¡­ While the landscape was beautiful ¨C Jeffery was currently more attentive to holding on for his life. Holding onto the back of the Jeep ¨C he did his best to distract himself with something else. In the distance a sunset began to overtake a mountainside. Lush green wildlife filled a distance mountain while lone Acacia trees covered the flatland that stretched in front. He even spotted a couple gazelle in the distance. Wind blew contrary- he began to wonder at the landscape and how gorgeous it was when jolt awoke him from his gaze. ¡°Sorry [in swahili]!¡± Rudo spoke behind him and the wind carried his voice. How much longer? He wondered. ¡°Only twenty minutes¡­¡± Sari spoke to him, trying to reassure him. He would have found the timing of a response funy- if he weren¡¯t completely sick to his stomach. He wasn¡¯t exactly built for enduring any sort of physical excursions like this. To Jeffery- twenty minutes was a lifetime. ¡°Just hang in there!¡± Seth said laughingly. Jeff sort of wanted to punch him, despite somewhat being friends. He wondered if he¡¯d feel the same had he been the old Jeffery. ¡ª Jeff had leaned forward for a while now. He¡¯d sometimes get a glimpse of the landscape but the angle didn¡¯t allow for much else. Despite being sick to his stomach- he tried to think positively- ok- once he got the village everything would be good again. He¡¯d have fun with the locals, make new friends- do something with his time helping and¡­ He lost his train of thought when he felt his stomach lurch, he was going to throw up for sure. And¡­ and¡­ -eventually the jeep would stop! Whoever he was- he learned one thing for sure- he had motion sickness¡­ Another twenty minutes finally passed when the jeep came to an abrupt stop. He couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore and threw up right on the side from his face-down position alongside the back of the jeep. He crouched down for a moment until he could feel himself regain his composure. Sari came from the back to his side while the rest of the caravan left him there. She patted his back. He was sure that he was a sorry sight. ¡°thanks,¡± he tilted his head in her direction. ¡°you ok?¡± ¡°yeah¡­¡± He looked down for a bit as he crouched down. He noticed that the floor around him was simply yellow and dust covered. He finally looked up. ¡ª- The first thing he noticed was an arid like landscape. A monochromatic yellow: the color of dry grass and dirt. Little homes made of mud-brick and yellow straw on top. They were spread out in a sort of circle around a ravine. One tree stood in the immediate distance. One acacia tree- and it was a sorry sight and a couple miles away. From the mud-like bricks that formed the walls it seemed the village had been here for a while, but there wasn¡¯t any source of food or water. He looked around. Jennifer was currently escorting the lady to her home which turned out to be a house. Seth it seemed was already walking towards a uninformed destination. Sari after having patted him on the back looked backwards as she slowly walked towards the village. A bunch of children rushed up to Rudo to which he responded by giving the lifting up the littlest one a hug. Whoever rudo was- it seemed he held good standing with the people. ¡°well guys,¡± Rudo spoke in Swahili, ¡°here is Aren again¡­¡± He watched Seth walk into the village talking to one of the older people with a reassuring smile. Sari too, meant to walk towards where Seth was. He overheard Seth talk with an older man. [in Swahili] ¡°so, we¡¯ll probably head on out to the farm later- we have some things to do before we go.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The man gave a disheartened smile and nodded. By the time they¡¯d gotten there. ¡°Why is there a village here?¡± he asked as he caught up to Jennifer who was behind. She looked at him and paused for a moment before turning back and offhandedly answering, ¡°There used to be a river¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± ¡°A river¡­¡± Jeff thought. From the looks of it, it must have been at least a couple years since it had dried up. He wondered for what reason the people stayed. ¡°Couldn¡¯t they relocate?¡± He wasn¡¯t trying to be mean- but honestly it seemed easier than this. Jennifer looked back at Jeffery with a look of disinterest, ¡°That¡¯s what you all think isn¡¯t it?¡± Once again she walked back to the villagers without notice. He rubbed his hand against his head. He wondered what he did to make her mad. ¡°So!¡± Seth spoke up looking at him, ¡°this is it¡­ what do you think?¡± ¡°Uh, I think it¡¯s lacking essentials¡­¡± Jeffery returned. ¡°Seth spoke more upbeat, ¡°no no no-obviously- not that! I meant culturally- are you surprised.¡± Jeffery looked around. This time he tried to take in the culture a bit more. He looked at how the homes were made. While initially he only sees brick and straw. only brick and straw appearance ¨C he notices the care and detail put into the design. The homes seem like they¡¯ve been there for a while- they seem well situated near a mostly dry canal inside of the middle. If there had been a working river, he could see how pleasant the village could be. ¡°Not bad right?¡± Seth returned. Jess can only nod in assent, as he watches Seth ready the caravan for a return trip and some empty jugs. ¡°Sarah and myself are headed to return to town ¨C fill up some water and then come back.¡± Jeff nodded. ¡°You can do one of two things,¡± Seth spoke, ¡°come with us ¨C or hang out here with the locals and try and help that girl,¡± ¨C Seth pointed to the direction that Jennifer left towards. Jeff was certainly curious about Jennifer- however he wasn¡¯t really sure if she wanted him there. She¡¯d been giving him the cold shoulder ever since he¡¯d met her. So he nodded to Seth, ¡°yeah- let¡¯s go.¡± He hitched a ride back to town. ¡ª This time the caravan was lighter so Jeffery was able to relax on the trip. The wind blew through his hair as they travelled- the scenery took an even more majestic appearance. He noticed this time some of the wildlife stretching across the savannah. He got lost in thought as he enjoyed the feeling of the trip. Suddenly his thoughts were jolted awake as Seth pumped up the radio on the caravan and Sarah lifted her hands up to the music as they started to sing and move her body to the music. Seth laughed as he watched Sarah¡¯s shoulders moving up and down, Seth himself nodded and did some motions, drumming along the steering wheel. Jeffery felt a tad uncomfortable- recognizing that Seth was driving a little shakily¡­ ¡°Ah man,¡± Jeff scratched his head feeling the bumps a little more heavily in the road, ¡°you almost passed the edge.¡± ¡°Dude,¡± Seth spoke as he turned the wheel even more- he did a complete spin off road and then got back on the road, ¡°There¡¯s literally nooo one around¡­ relaaax.¡± Once again, Seth seemed so knowledgeable to Jeffery. Even still ¨C Jeff¡¯s queasy stomach lurched inside of him while they travelled along. Seth pulled along an even smaller side road that broke apart from the dirt road they were on. It was literally two tire tracks that stretched down into an unknown destination. Jeff wondered where they were headed for a bit, but Sarah had already turned her head to the side in her own sort of daydream. Seth upon looking in the rear view, smiled for a moment and looked back. Jeff looked questioningly at Seth, ¡°So¡­ where are we going?¡± Seth was silent, while Sarah turned around slightly with a small grin, ¡°Jeff, have you ever been off road even once?¡± It was obviously a metaphor, one which was supposed to hint at his life¡¯s direction. Jeff mumbled a little under his breath, but didn¡¯t try and dispute the question. ¡°Ahaha- where¡¯s your sense of adventure?¡± she said and turned back around once again bobbing to the music. Jeff remained quiet afterwards, but was already feeling a bit worn down. A few minutes later, however the car slowed its pace as they neared what looked to be a sort of watering hole. ¡°We¡¯ve arrived,¡± Seth spoke. ¡ª Jeff looked around to see a little bit of overgrowth and a small pond below him. On top of the water, a little tree. It seemed like a little reprieve from the vast savannah. ¡°Is it safe?¡± Jeff asked first- considering the water was somewhat dark. In response to this, Seth climbed partway up the tree and took off his shirt. ¡°I¡¯m going in!¡± was heard, followed by a splash. Sarah simply smiled and started to take off her own shirt. Of course she had a bra on. Jeff wasn¡¯t sure what they were doing here, but supposedly they were going to relax for a little while. Jeff figured he¡¯d join in at least for a little, perhaps it was just a small excursion along the way. He took off his own shirt and decided to join in the swimming. It had been probably half an hour before Seth started to feel awkward about being here. ¡°So are we going to go pick up the water soon?¡± he spoke. Seth replied, ¡°Eh- we have all day.¡± Sarah had already started to sunbathe along the edge. She had a book in her hands and looked like she was planning on staying for a good minute. Jeff decided to get out of the pool- he didn¡¯t want to ruin the vibe, but he felt awkward staying here while there were people that needed the basic needs- he sat on the side waiting for Seth and Sarah. Seth noticed but held off on any reservation. Sarah looked at him for a second before returning to sunbathing. A minute later Seth clapped his hands, ¡°okay,¡± he spoke with his typical smile ¡°let¡¯s go.¡± ¡ª The ride to town was quieter- almost completely silent Jeffery wasn¡¯t sure if he ruined the vibe somehow, he hoped that Sarah and Seth were still enjoying themselves, but there wasn¡¯t anything to do about it now. Reflecting, he wondered if it was bad to want to go when they were at the pond, after all, supposedly they were here for two years. Was it wrong to spend an hour excursion when they had to work the rest of the time? Maybe Seth had made the best call by breaking off from the standard path. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it, man,¡± Seth spoke looking in the rearview. Jeffery realized he was probably thinking too much. The wind continued to blow through his hair and they continued to relax. ¡ª After another forty-five minute drive, they pulled to a stop at a local reservoir inside of the town. ¡°Alright,¡± Seth spoke, ¡°We¡¯ve made it then.¡± Chapter 3 By now the water had all but dried up off their clothes as they got out of the car. "We''re here," Seth spoke. They''d arrived at town. Jeffery looked around the city and was surprised to find such a disparity. In comparison to the village - there was a plentitude of wealth. There were motorbikes and cars. He saw shops and crowds of people. Even some brand named stores. Of course there were places with dirt roads instead of pavement. The buildings were mostly one story and were made a little rough. There was still a big enough divide to make him wonder about the difference. There were plenty of people carrying things on their heads as well and scooters passing by. There were street vendors selling multicolored items. Jeffery looked at where they''d parked initially and found it to be outside of a government building- which was nothing too fancy - a one story building with a sign in front of it. "Jambo!" Jeffery spoke up as he approached the door. A working man came out the building upon seeing them and motioned for them to come to the back of the building.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Seth followed and saw a few barrels of water ready for them. "Maji yako," the man spoke in Swahili- [meaning - your water] "Asante," Seth replied with a nod. "So this is it," - Seth spoke as he pointed jeffery the barrels. Sarah got out too and helped pick up one side of a barrel with Jeffery. Of course Jeffery could have gotten it alone but it helped. "So is that it?" Jeffery spoke. Of course it was laborious, but after twelve or so they were done-it was probably only six minutes since their arrival. "Yeah- hard part''s done, " Seth replied with a smile, "we should get some food with our monthly stipends. They give us enough for food - even though it doesn''t seem like a lot in U.S. it goes a long way here... but hey," Jeffery remembered that he''d had some money in his wallet and felt around his pockets, "oh... i left my wallet." "No prob!" Seth replied with a pat on his shoulder, "I got it, I''ll charge you 50% interest a day." "Let''s go to Bengie''s," Sarah replied smiling. Seth looked upwards weighing the decision. Jeff felt that they hadn''t really done much to earn food yet - but it was getting later on already. "Uh..." Jeffery replied, "what about the villagers?" Seth replied, "Ah yes, they''d probably have five or so women miles to fetch water over the entire day- so this will save them plenty of time...and they should still have some water so they''re okay right now. They won''t need it for a little while." Jeffery felt that this was quite easy. Perhaps a little too easy. If this was all the work they had to do wondered what was Jennifer doing at the village? "Oh, okay then..." They loaded up and took the car out of the lot. Seth nodded to the gentlemen who''d dropped it off. --- Chapter 3.2 Sweat poured quietly down as Jennifer digs out a path a little further into the ground. Alongside her are a couple villager woman and a couple of the kids. They use handcrafted tools. ... The food was delicious in fact - Jeffery ate with his hands as was custom. it was a mixture of rice and a soup of sorts. There were a lot of things like meat, tomatoes and others that he couldn''t quite tell. After paying the owner they left the small cafe and started walking past some other stores to the car. "ooh," Sarah spoke as they past buy a small store of jewelry and walked inside, "i wanna buy a bracelet...you guys go ahead." Seth looked at Jeff which basically said, ''girls, am I right?'' Jeff was about to wait there with Seth for Sarah when he had a thought. After seeing all the street vendors and foods. "Hey," Jeff had a thought, "shouldn''t we get something for Jennifer to eat?"Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "haha..." Seth replied, "she''s probably going to eat at the village..." "Oh... okay," he said slightly disappointed. He did think it would be nice to bury the hatchet. Seth sighed,"ahhh... but if you really want to- maybe you can get her a snack or something... you should probably get more than just her though..." Seth handed him a note of the local currency. "i''ll help you pick it out- but since it''s your idea, you should pay me back with interest - haha." Jeff smiled and looked around. He slightly wondered if Seth would actually make a killing on loans by the end of the tour. "If this is how it''s going to be at the end of the- you should make a killing off me by the end of this." "Yeah, i plan for everyone to owe me the ten grand they get for completing the tour, haha," Seth smiled jokingly, "there''s no way that''d happen, though... the currency isn''t worth anything to the USD here. You''d probably owe me the equivalent of fifteen dollars max..." --- After touring the shops for something to get- they arrived back at the village. Seth waved to the oncomers as they got out of the jeep. The kids rushed up again to see them. They were all quite cheerful as if they were the best thing since sliced bread. It had already gotten almost evening. They unloaded the barrels of water and replaced the old ones with it. The villagers seemed very interested and it seemed that many of them already started using the water as soon as they brought it. "Hujambo," Jeff spoke to the familiar older gentleman from before, "Jennifer, iko wapi?" (hi, where is Jennifer) 3.3 The older man was surprised to hear him speak in swahili, "unaongea kiswahili vizuri...kwanini haukutumia hapo awali?" [you speak swahili well- why haven''t you used it?] Jeffery replied, "nilijifunza tu." [i just learned] The man looked at him strangely then laughed and pointed Jeffery towards Jennifer. Jeffery replied with a wave, "Asante." In retrospect- he wondered it if were best to explain what happened to him. he didn''t actually learn it. He sighed. He''d get around to it. As he walked in the direction the man had pointed he saw a plot of land. he spotted Jennifer further out as well as a couple women and kids in different areas. "Hey." Jennifer spoke looking at him with a look that spoke, ''what do you want?'' As Jeff looked at her- he noticed that her clothes and hands were dirty. "Uh..." he replied, "we brought the water back." "Ohhh, must have been so hard for you three to lift those giant barrels," she said, "it took all day again, huh?" Jeffery noted the sarcasm. He didn''t think it really fair after having just come to try to help - but decided against confronting it.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. In hopes of burying the hatchet he spoke, "I got you something from the town." He spoke and pulled out some of the treats he''d bought. She took the package out of his hands, "Jengo! Chaniya! Niara! Tumaini!" He noticed a few children rush from where they''d been working as she proceeded to hand out the food he''d given her to them. "chakula..." she spoke in broken swahili. The kids eyed the treats happily as she proceeded to hand out everything he''d given her liberally. She then spoke to the few laborers in the plot of land, "let''s take a break!" she smiled and motioned her hand across her head. Jeff noticed the laborers understood her signal as they set down their tools and walked off the plot of land. One of the other women- grabbed a hand of his with both of hers and looked at him sincerely, "Asante sana!" [thankyou so much!] Jeffery scratched his head, "karibu..." [welcome] This was the first time he''d seen what they''d been working on. From what it seemed it was just at garden of a sort- but with this arid climate - he doubted anything would grow. He wondered why they were working so hard on it. Jeff watched as the children started playing and running around the village. "If you''re wondering why she thanked you- that was the children''s mother..." Jennifer took shade alongside one of the houses as she looked at the field they''d been working on. Jeff felt like he had something to say to her so he sat down beside her. Jennifer looked at him as if he were invading her space. Even still - he felt he needed to clear the air a bit - so he spoke what was on his mind. "I was hoping to get off on the right foot... I didn''t mind if you gave them some but I meant the snacks for you." Jeff felt a little bit hurt as he''d seen his carefully chosen treats for Jess get passed out. He''d meant it for her. Jennifer looked at him for a moment and stared back out at the field like he was hopeless. "That''s so mean..." she replied solemnly, "I have enough money. I can buy my own food- but you got it for me while the kids here are starving?" Jennifer then proceeded to get up and left him alone while she walked towards the village square. Jeff then remembered how much of the women''s sincerity he felt while she''d held no to his hands and spoken "Asante sana..." Chapter 4 plus .1 Jeffery followed suit and joined up with the others at the village. By now however the day seemed to be coming to a close. "Dude," he felt a pat on the side as they were heading back- Seth replied, "You can stay at Lakesia''s place with me tonight- but you''re sleeping on the floor..." Jeffery was grateful. He gave another glance at Jennifer before putting aside the comment. They closed up their dealings and the four of them headed back to the town. -- Jeffery stared up at the ceiling in thought. Jennifer''s last words before they''d closed off the day were still mulling through his mind. "You got it for me while the kids here are starving?" Jeffery remembered the disappointment he could sense in Jennifer''s voice at his state of mind. It made him feel like she felt he was hopeless. "Dude, what are you thinking about still?" Seth asked. Seth had been asleep for the past forty five minutes- as his snoring indicated and had just woken up to find Jeffery awake still. "Ah... i''m thinking about what Jennifer said," Jeffery replied. "Oh yeah?" came Seth''s reply disinterested. Even still Jeff found Seth to be receptive enough. "...She really thinks about the village''s needs." "Oh man. You''re really hung up on her opinion, huh? you should really just get some sleep," he replied, "Don''t worry too much about her. That''s my advice." Even still- it stuck with him. --- Jeffery felt a nudge. "Hey, gotta get up..." Seth spoke already prepped for the day. Jeffery had probably stayed up another ten or so minutes after and his eyes were groggy. He was surprised to find that Seth was actually so together. Jeffery did his best to get ready quickly. This included a private bath of water that had been set for him in a bucket. Seth spoke to him, "Lakicia made us some food..." Jeffery walked with him to the dining room where a plate of food had been prepared for him and Seth. He was very impressed by the host family. He wondered how much luxury this was considered in a place like this. --A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. "May I borrow your phone?" Seth motioned to him the time to which Jeffery nodded as Jeffery made a call to the PCMO with the host family''s home phone. "Hello," the officer spoke. "Hi..." he spoke, "this is Jeffery.." "Oh? What''s up? Did you remember anything?" "Actually I''m not calling about that - I was thinking about staying for a bit longer." "Oh... that would be difficult," the PCMO paused on the phone as if he were mulling it over in his mind, "if something were to happen during your condition- it could pose a problem..." Jeffery understood that this would fallback on the PCMO - but he really felt like riding this out. And if new Jeffery and old Jeffery both wanted it, he thought it was best to try and stay. "Ah yeah, but I really feel fine and i think it would be best for me to stay here and finish this up- after all i think i could be useful." "I see..." the officer spoke, "but unless you decided to stay permanently- I can''t sign off to that. If you decide to stay permanently too- I''ll have to check that you''re actually okay." "Okay," Jeffery responded, "how long would i have to decide?" "Hmmm- we were actually finishing the paperwork on your case by the end of the week... so... try to contact me by the end of the day." "Okay, thanks." Jeffery hung up the call and nodded towards Seth while stringing a backpack along his shoulder. -- He and Seth got a quick bite made by the host family for them and then gave a quick wave goodbye. -- "So what do we do today?" Jeffery asked Seth as they walked down the road towards Jennifer and Sarah''s homestay. "We''ll be dropping Jennifer off at the village - check out if everyone''s doing okay - if not then we can bring them to the doctor- we''ll change out their waters and maybe play with the kids a bit- it''s possible that we can teach them a little english too. I''m sure the mother''s would appreciate a babysitter for a little while anyway. "Ah.. okay..." jeffery responded. It seemed like they had some semblance of a plan by the time they left. Seth and Jeffery gave a quick wave to Seth''s host family. -- They met up with Sarah at Jennifer''s homestay. Jennifer was there too. Jennifer seemed to have a big bag with her and a few other bags. Supposedly she''d be transferring her things to the village where they''d made accomodations for her. Jeffery thought that it seemed unique considering the situation. Jeffery and Seth walked down the road a bit to the office where the vehicle was. It seems that they''d met up there. Jennifer seemed to have all her things with her this time and the group helped store it in the back. -- They pulled up to the village and unpacked Jennifer''s things with the help of the villagers. Jeffery noticed that Jennifer was immediately greeted by the locals and the kids seemed to rush up to her side joyfully. He already felt like Jennifer was more a part of the community than before. He wasn''t sure how. Meanwhile he watched Seth and Sarah as he seemed to be touring the village a bit- checking up on the essentials - seeing if there was anything out of place. - Similar to yesterday''s routine- they got the barrels from around the village- there was someone who seemed a bit dehydrated so they were going to bring them to town for a check-up. Once again Jennifer was going to stay in town. Jeffery watched as Jennifer went off towards the back of the village again. He wanted to see what she was doing- but felt like he didn''t belong. He knew she was working on something with the villagers- and whatever it was- it seemed to have everyone motivated to help- and seemed to unite them together as well. He felt like he really was an outsider to the villagers. He watched on as Jennifer glanced in his direction as they were getting ready to go. "You ready?" Seth spoke to Jeffery. "Uh," Jeff hesitated at an open door- looking towards Jennifer and the villagers already walking away. "Man, i''m kinda curious what they''re doing over there..." Jeffery replied. "Oh," Seth scratched his head, "i mean - she''s an agricultural major, while you''re linguistic..." he replied, "it''s up to you if you wanna check it out though. Jeffery looked back at him, "Ah- i''ll give it a day." "Suit yourself," came Seth''s reply. 4.2 Seth gave a quick wave and he and Sarah left with a couple people for checkups while Jeffery meandered towards the back of the village and saw what Jennifer and the others were doing. Jennifer was directing others and using a shovel digging into the dirt. Many of the villagers seemed hard at worked. As she looked up for a moment and their eyes met, she seemed displeased. something in his eyes told him she was thinking, "oh god... this kid." "Heya..." Jeffery spoke deciding to speak up anyway. Jennifer put her foot onto the shovel head and pushed it into the dirt and walked up to him. "Why are you here?" she replied. Jeffery responded, "I was interested in what was going on." Jennifer replied, "well," she spoke as she wiped some sweat off her forehead. there was dirt stains over her clothes as well, "we''re designing a water storage and irrigation system..." Jeff felt that that''s pretty much what it looked like. "I already know what you think," Jennifer replied. "you said that it''s not nice to give the villagers false hopes." "oh..." He replied. I did? Jeffery thought. Of course he wouldn''t remember saying something like that. "Yeah," Jennifer responded, "and although you may have forgotten it- that''s how you felt- So you don''t need to worry about wasting your time here- you should just go hang out with your buddies while we waste our time- dont worry about us -it''s our choice. Jeff scratched his head. this was a difficult situation... in reality all he wanted to do was help if he could.Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. "Well," Jeffery replied, "that''s not how i feel right now...I''d love to help now, see." Jeff mustered his best sincere smile. Jennifer looked at him for a moment as if dumbfounded. After studying him a moment she rolled her eyes and picked up a shovel and handed him it. "Fine," she replied, "she pointed at an empty plot of earth, "dig a foot down in the center there. Make sure it lines up with the other holes." He took the shovel and smiled. It was the first time he''d actually gotten through to her. -- A moment later he put the shovel to the ground and pushed in and was met with resistance. ''How do you make it go in?!'' he thought as he looked at the shovel. He looked around and it seemed that everyone was able to make it work as their holes got bigger- despite the fact that he was probably taller than most of them. "Here..." Jennifer sighed. She took the heel of her foot and pushed the head of the shovel into the ground with it. --- He follwed her lead by repeating what she showed him and he felt the earth crumble below his foot. He pushed into it while met with some moderate resistance- there seemed to be a rock or something. He kept working around and finally was able to maneuver a bit of earth as a small rock shifted. He''d finally gotten some headway! He looked up happily for a moment and noticed that other people were already much further along. He looked back down. The day trickled along- but by the first fifteen minutes- he was already sweating buckets. Why am i so weak... he thought to himself. He looked around a moment and noticed everyone else was further along than himself. As he held onto the shovel- he took a moment to catch his breath. He looked at Jennifer. She seemed focused on laying down some tubing or something with one of the villagers. He got back to work before she could look up. He didn''t want to give her the satisifaction of seeing him resting. After a while - he was able to dig the hole to where it was supposed to be after enough time. Supposedly they were going to setup drip irrigation from a rainwater catching silo. Inside of the holes they would dig and place some mulch to keep in moisture then place some plants above it. "What do i do next?" Jeffery asked Jennifer after finishing the hole. She looked at him and the hole- inspecting it. "Make this more rounded-" she responded. She spoke while critiqueing the hole he''d dug. She showed a couple more things. It turned out there was a lot more to digging holes than he''d initially thought. -- "Hey..." a boy came up to him and patted him on the back. The boy pointed at a tree near the village. "Sijambo..." he responded with a shakey smile. He was determined to do at least twice as much as he''d already done. After all - he was way behind the other''s work. 4.3 Jeffery continued making ground as he dug his shovel- making sure to follow Jennifer''s instructions on the hole size and how to pack the dirt. This went on for another thirty or so minutes- after which Jennifer actually instructed everyone. "Alright guys, good work" ( but in swahili ) . And Jeffery watched as she guided people to take a break for the day. This was the first time he''d seen the village as a community of people working together and not simply as an outsider. He could see the joy in their forms - despite the rigorous labor they''d been doing over the past couple hours.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Jeffery looked at his own section - proud of what he''d done, but comparing it against the others - it wasnt actually that much work. He sighed. However - noone seemed to judge him for it - instead they seemed more willing than usual toi talk with him. he smiled as a couple children came up to him. He let them pull him back up despite being tired -and joined in their game. They were doing something similar to tag- so he chased them. He noticed Jennifer''s gaze as he looked in her direction, but she averted her eyes immediately afterwards.- - 4.4 During the break - Jeff was handed a type of rice and vegetable dish. He watched as the others would grab the food in their hands and ate it. He followed suit despite the unfamiliartiy. It tasted starchy but he was super hungry by then and scarfed it down. It was slightly spicy but certainly flavorful. Jess coughed in his direction - at his appetite. He looked around and noticed that he''d eaten more than the share that the other villagers had taken. He set down the plate and despite still behin hungry- stopped himself from eating more. After another ten or so minutes - they got back into working. It felt good to have the time off- his muscled were already very sore- and he wasn''t sure how much he''d be able to push himself- but he would try regardless. This time Jennifer directed them to plant the seeds above the holes that held the as well as organizing the line for the drip irrigation system they had set up. It seemed to be a working system- but would still require the initial water- so he wondered how they would fare if there wasn''t rain collected in the next few months. Regardles he followed suit. This time. They used a specific type of mulch rather than plain dirt to pack into the holes that spread over the field. "Simama," Jennifer stopped everyone after they''d finished a portion of the project- he''d already exhausted a lot of the excess water in his body to the point where the sweat was no longer coming out. He''d certainly have to replenish and he wondered how the villagers would fair.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. He realized however, that he''d had no need to use the bathroom- because he''d sweat all of the water out instead- so that was kind of interesting. Jennifer actually came up to him and handed him a dry towel. After finishing - it seemed like the villagers seemed very happy with what they''d accomplished. "Good job," Jennifer spoke. But before Jeffery could respond she already walked away and was checking up on some of the villager kids. - Around the time that he noticed the sun beginning to set Sarah and Seth finally returned. It just began to set on him how exhausted he felt- he could hardly help lift any of the items they brought to the village. Jennifer gave him a pathetic look as picked an item that he almost dropped. Sarah chuckled a bit. Jeffery found that he was extremely tired and decided to sit in the back of the jeep while Sarah and Seth played and chatted with a couple villagers for a bit. He shut his eyes for a moment. He wasn''t sure how long it had been - but he was jolted awake by the jeep door closing. The ride back was silent, but satisfying. He looked out onto the landscape. Despite the drought - it was still a very beautiful land. - Seth dropped the girls at their homestay and jeffery took the front seat. - "we''re here," Seth spoke and gave Jeff a pat on the back as they walked home. Jeff ate a nice homecooked meal that had been prepared for the two- took a quick bath where he scrubbed off all the dirt- dumped his old clothes into the sink to rinse off and placed them to dry. He stayed in the common room with Seth and the family for a bit, but couldn''t keep his eyes open for long. Seth shook his shoulder. "Hey," Seth spoke, "you should get some sleep, man." Jeffery nodded and left them to chat while he went to the room and crashed immediately in his pillow. 4.5? "Hey," Seth he spoke as Jeffery was awoken by a shake. -- Jeff was sore. Muscles he didn''t know he had ached. He didn''t want to move. "two more minutes..." he replied. "egh..." seth replied, "i''ll try to save you some breakfast."'' Jeffery closed his eyes for another moment just to let himself adjust to wakin up. He could hear the bustling around the house- as everyone was beginning the day. After another moment he lifted himself off of the mat. He rushed to get ready. There was no time for a rinse off- which he''d done before bed. He brought a canteen and made sure to fill it as much as possible and hydrated before leaving. yesterday he''d actually finished his water water before working was finished and he didn''t want to become dehydrated today.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. On the table was the remnants of breakfast - he picked up the food and started munching on it while Seth got the vehicle prepared. Lunch was also prepacked for him by his host. "Asante" he thanked her while bowing his head slightly. "Karibu" - she smiled and replied. He waved to the host mom as he rushed out the door while Seth started up the vehicle. He hopped into the jeep on the other side and they took off. They went to the girl''s place and picked them up. "Jambo," Sarah spoke with a smile. Seth nodded in reply. Meanwhile Jeffery was in his own thoughts - he was trying to mentally prepare himself for today. "Okay..." he thought to himself. "the first day was the hardest- it only goes up from here..." Sarah looked at him. "You doin okay jeff?" "Ah - haha, I''m... okay," he didn''t want to look weak in front of Jennifer. He would prove that he could work just as hard today. "Hm..." she replied. "