You step off the bus and shake the dust off your clothes. A breeze carries the dust away and tousles your hair. It feels refreshing after the stuffiness in the bus.
Voices surround you, some from your team and some from the village kids that gathered around the bus. The kids wander through the crowd, absentmindedly touching people. They’re shopping, shopping for their bla.* And once they’ve found you, their hand slips into yours and suddenly you are theirs. They push and pull, some yelling excitedly at you in Creole, while others extend their hands to you. A girl finds you, maybe 6 or 7 years old. She has thick hair divided into tiny braids with little barrettes holding them in place. She’s small enough to carry, so you pick her up. Her little body clings to you, holding you close. She wraps her thin, little arms around your neck and softly murmurs Creole phrases into your ear. Sometimes you nod, pretending that you understand her, but most of the time you give her a puzzled look and ask, “What?” But she doesn’t respond and instead she just looks at you with her round, brown eyes.
After an awkward pause you ask, “Como rellay?”* You hope you didn’t completely butcher asking her what her name is. The girl shyly laughs and doesn’t answer. Did you say it right? Then, after a moment’s pause, she replies. You try to repeat her name back, but the syllables are awkward in your mouth and it doesn’t quite come out right. She shakes her head and repeats it for you again. You try again, and you know it’s still not quite right but the girl accepts your attempt.
Unsure of what else to say, you look at the other kids around you. You notice there’s one boy running around with only a shirt on. He has found his bla, but his bla is resisting his advances. Secretly, you’re glad that the pantless boy didn’t choose you. You laugh as your teammate tries to move away, giving desperate looks and pleas for help to everyone else. But the pantless boy is persistent. He finally prevails, climbing up his way up your teammate’s waist to victory.
You notice that, while a lot of kids are wearing something to cover themselves, a lot of them are wearing clothes that are way too big for them. They are riddled with holes and filthy. Some kids are just wearing underwear. Many of them have cuts and scrapes. Their hair has collected dirt and other things that you can’t quite identify. You pray it’s not lice.
Still carrying the girl, you and your team are herded up a rocky path to a playground. You slowly stumble up, trying not to fall and unable to see your feet because of the girl in your arms. When you arrive at the top, you see a playground. The girl points to the swings. You make your way there and gently set her down. She says something in Creole and you assume it means push, so you begins to push her back and forth. Slowly at first because you’re not sure if she wants to go higher or not. She says the word again, more insistently this time and waves at you. As you push her higher she excitedly says “Oui, oui!”* As you’re pushing her, another girl comes over to the swings, her own bla in tow. She motions for her bla to get on the swing and then promptly sits on top of her. Seeing you push your bla, she yells, “Hey, you!” As you look over, she motions you over and says the Creole word for push. Giving your girl one last good push, you move over and give the other girl and her bla a push. You don’t push hard, just enough to get them started. Then you go back to your girl. Almost as soon as you reach her, you hear, “Hey, you!” again. Laughing, the other little girl yells “Push!” in Creole, flashing you a sweet, innocent smile. For a while you run back and forth between the girls, pushing them. Soon you’re out of breath and sweaty, but your efforts are rewarded by hearing the little girls laughter.
Finally, your girl motions for you stop. As her swing comes to a halt, she jumps off and motions you to sit in the swing. You sit, thinking that she is going to sit on your lap and swing with you, but she doesn’t. She runs behind you and starts to push. “Mesi,”* you say, surprised. Her pushes are gentle. For a while she pushes you. She doesn’t say anything as she pushes you. For several minutes you swing. The girl doesn’t stop until you want to stop. She tries to slow the swing for you and your feet drag on the ground, kicking up dirt as you try to help her.
As you get off the swing, she grabs your hand. Then she notices your watch. She cups her hands around it and her fingers fumble along the sides as she tries to find the buttons. She presses on them and flashes a satisfied smile as she hears the watch beep. She presses the watch up to her ear and proceeds to push all of the buttons repeatedly, listening to the beeping.
A boy comes up, wanting to play with your watch. But the girl yells at him in Creole and the only word you really understand is bla. Most likely she is telling them that you are hers, which means that your watch is also hers. Then she grabs your arm and pulls you away, her back turned to the boy.
“No, no,” you say, pulling your hand away, feeling bad for the boy. You intend to try to include him, but he’s already run off and found someone else to play with. Then you hear your translator calling your team back, it’s time to go back to the bus.
“Orevwa,”* you say to the girl, motioning in the direction of the bus. She clasps your hand tightly and walks with you back down the path. At the bus, you give her a hug and repeat your goodbye. She waves as you board the bus. You sit next to the window and scan the crowd of kids for the girl. You finally spot her. She’s staring up at the windows, watching for you, her face creased with concentration. You stick your hand out the window and shout the girl’s name. A smile brightens her face as she waves back. That girl will always be in your memories but, as the bus pulls away, you wonder how long you will be in hers. Are you just another face among the many people who have come and played with her?
*bla = slang Creole term for foreigners, short for blanc which means ‘white’
*Como rellay = proper form should be “Como ou relé?” and it means ‘what is your name’
*oui = (wee) means ‘yes’ in Creole
*mesi = ‘thank-you’ in Creole
*orevwa = goodbye
