Cry of the Firebird

by T. M. Clark

  ‘What about your rights as being previous custodians of the land? They have such a thing in Australia,’ Lily said.

  ‘It is diamonds, Lily. No one stands between that industry and profit. Especially not the San.’

  Lily shook her head. ‘It’s Africa; I should have known better.’

  ‘Quintin, to answer your last question, we do not have any stories of the pink flamingo yet.’

  ‘Do you have any other animal you tell stories of?’ Lily asked.

  ‘In our culture it is the eland that is special, sacred. We kill them when our boys want to become men. The animal is skinned and the fat from the eland’s throat and collarbone is cooked and made into a soup. Then the boy drinks this for … what is the word that will not offend Lily?’ He made a gesture with his arm around his crutch area going up and down from his elbow.

  Quintin laughed aloud. ‘Classic.’

  ‘You’re kidding,’ Lily said. ‘What about the females?’

  ‘There is a ceremony for girls, too, when one of our girls passes into puberty, and she has her first blood. She is put into a special hut. The women all celebrate by participating in the Eland Bull Dance that imitates the mating eland with the men.’

  ‘Why?’ asked Lily. ‘That doesn’t sound like a celebration for her at all. Knowing that everyone will now know that she’s menstruating.’

  ‘The dance is so that the girl will stay beautiful, and she will not be hungry or thirsty but have a peaceful life,’ Piet said.

  ‘Ah, wow, the boys get potency, and the girls get beauty, health and peace. Can’t be too peaceful with all those vigorous males in the village,’ Lily said.

  Piet and Quintin were laughing. ‘I never thought of it like that before. The women, in the end, get all the spoils of the eland,’ Piet said.

  Lily shook her head.

  Quintin was trying to control his laughter but was failing horribly.

  ‘You men are terrible,’ Lily said. ‘You’re like a pack; you stick up for each other no matter what!’

  ‘True,’ said Piet. ‘Sometimes we feast on elands when there is a marriage. The husband gifts the fat from the eland’s heart to the bride’s parents. And then later, the bride gets rubbed with eland fat. My people also use our God Kaggen’s favourite animal in the trance dance with the shaman.’

  ‘I thought you were a shaman,’ Quintin said.

  ‘I am a medicine man. I do not call spirits to myself; I do not try to heal people with magic. I use plants and modern medicines so that my people have the best chance possible. I have too much of the law in me to be a shonky sheister. Besides, most shamans are just show-offs and frauds.’

  ‘Do you believe the shaman can cure anyone?’ Lily asked.

  ‘I do not, but that is my personal belief.’

  ‘I can understand that,’ Quintin said. ‘When we were in Zimbabwe many years ago, we met a sangoma. He was both the medicine man and the shaman.’

  ‘They are not normally separated in our culture. It is usually one person and they are often male. But my grandmother was very good with herbs and healing. So, our tribe adapted.’

  ‘Just as well, because looks like they need your medical skills here at Platfontein, not some hocus-pocus garbage,’ Quintin said.

  Piet smiled. ‘There is room for both. I am lucky; I get to be the medicine man and the storyteller. One day soon, now that we are resettled in this new home, I hope that we will tell new stories of these flamingos and how we made a difference to them.’

  ‘Hang on, you don’t swim but you help protect the flamingos anyway?’ Quintin asked.

  Piet nodded. ‘Aiden invited us to be involved. We keep an eye on the birds. To make sure that not too many people come too close to look. There are people who come past the dam looking for free food, and they take the flamingos that fly into the powerlines.’

  ‘So, you and your community actually look after the flamingos?’ Quintin asked.

  ‘It is a win-win situation. My people have no work and miss the freedom of space. Aiden needs eyes on his lands. For every person we catch walking on his ground, he gives us some money for the Platfontein school and the community. It also gives protection to all the other birds on the dam. We make sure that their eggs are not stolen either.’

  * * *

  For a while, they walked single file in silence, each lost in their own thoughts as they walked towards the dam.

  They could hear the flamingos before they saw them. The en masse honking and chatter from the birds was incredibly loud. They reached the top of the ridge and stood side by side as they looked out over the sea of flamingos, at pink-and-white birds spread over the blue water in an almost Picasso-style live painting.

  A few metres in, where the water and the land met, was an island of pink. The beautiful birds flapped their wings and put their heads back down as they moved altogether. Their heaving flock made it look like the island was getting bigger, and bigger, then suddenly they bunched together again, and a wave of changing colours shimmered as some of the flamingos began running and took to the sky. They flew a little way and then elegantly landed once again, gliding onto the flat surface. They settled back down as if whatever had spooked them a few metres away no longer mattered.

  Quintin could see that the birds were content living together, safe in their numbers, even if they had to be vigilant on the edge of the water and from attacks above by predator birds like fish eagles and marabou storks.

  He turned to watch the amazement on Lily’s face. ‘Stunning, isn’t it.’

  ‘It’s mesmerising. There’re so many I don’t quite know where to look, and which one to concentrate on,’ Lily admitted.

  ‘They take my breath away every time I see them,’ Piet said. ‘It is the true beauty of Kimberley where some raise their babies. Thousands will call this dam their home and return each year to breed.’

  ‘They’re beautiful. Do they always arrive so suddenly?’ Quintin asked.

  ‘Some of the birds, they stay here always. As long as there is water and food. The Flamingo Warrior who first comes to Platfontein to educate the children at school, he said in the last two years there were about one hundred and thirty thousand chicks that fledged from here. It is good to see the flamingos back this year. To many people, the flamingo is seen as food, and it is big enough to feed the whole family.’

  ‘You eat them?’ asked Quintin.

  ‘I have eaten them: they taste like chicken and shrimp together.’

  ‘Everyone always says things taste like chicken,’ Quintin said.

  ‘These birds are too beautiful to eat,’ Lily said.

  ‘Ja. Flamingos are beautiful,’ Piet said. ‘At least now we have a way to make a difference in our community and ensure that they are alive for our children’s children.’

  ‘Like volunteer game guards?’ Quintin said.

  ‘Ja, but it is our youth mostly, so they do not carry guns.’

  Lily nodded in understanding.

  ‘From far away, this water looked green, but now that we’ve walked closer it looks blue,’ Quintin said.

  ‘It is green. It is the algae that makes it look blue when you are closer to the water,’ Piet said. ‘Come, let us get going. We need to go to where the islands are showing further towards the wall from here. It is easier to walk near the water than in the bush along that stretch.’

  They walked for a full hour before Piet changed direction and headed towards what looked like a small hill.

  ‘We begin looking here on this island,’ Piet said.

  ‘That’s an island?’ asked Lily.

  ‘When there is water, ja. Now before the rains, it is the place where we find the plant I am looking for. When I harvested it, I was careful to leave behind many little tubers, so perhaps today it will be here still, and no other traditional medicine person has come and taken it already.’

  ‘Do you have a problem with that?’ Quintin asked.

  ‘Sometimes. My grandmother taught my sister and
me—what some might call “the old ways”. When I moved to Platfontein, I tried to grow my own plants. I was not having much luck when I met Lincoln, and he had green fingers. When Lincoln went to work for Ian, he said we should begin growing the plants in Ian’s garden instead. But not all plants thrive in the cultivated environment, some die. Even Lincoln cannot make the exact same conditions as they have in the wild. This one unfortunately did not grow and had to be rediscovered.’

  There was a noise of birds chattering in the area, but there were no trees in the reeds or grasses that clung to the hard-crusted dirt.

  ‘What is that awful smell?’ Lily asked.

  ‘Grey-headed gulls. They are very noisy and stinky, too,’ Piet said. Using his walking stick to help him, he climbed up the embankment and was on the island. Quintin followed, then put his hand out to help Lily.

  ‘Thanks, hon,’ she said and bent to kiss him.

  ‘Sis tog, just like teenagers,’ Piet said.

  ‘We’ve got a licence to do that, and believe me, after all these years it’s a good thing. I’m not trading Lily in for a newer model, I like this one too much,’ Quintin said, causing Lily to blush even more.

  ‘Lily, she is a diamond. Why would you throw her away for something less precious?’

  ‘She’s exquisite, isn’t she?’ Quintin said as he raised his camera to start taking photos.

  ‘Excuse me, you two, I’m standing right here, while you talk about me like a lump of compressed coal,’ Lily said.

  ‘Oh sorry—hadn’t noticed you there,’ Quintin said with a broad grin.

  Lily stuck out her tongue at him.

  CHAPTER

  19

  By mid-September, Lily had increased her clinics at Platfontein to three days a week to attempt to get on top of the backlog of people who needed medical help. That along with the continual contact between the police team and her, and she was ready for the weekend and some down time.

  Instead, she was looking at Piet, standing next to his police bakkie parked on her driveway. Today he wore a white T-shirt with a ‘save the rhino’ slogan on it and three-quarter-length shorts. David stood next to him with his little sister, Diamond, perched on his shoulders.

  ‘Hello, Dr Lily,’ David greeted her.

  ‘Hello, David. Good to see you and Diamond. How’re her ears doing?’

  ‘She’s much better. That’s why Elise told me I should bring her here with Piet, so that we got away from Platfontein for a little while, and I could earn some money, too. But Elise isn’t feeling good today. She’s sick.’

  ‘Please tell her to come to the clinic on Monday,’ Lily said. ‘Piet, why are you carrying spades?’

  ‘You needed new ones, so I picked them up for Quintin from the farmers’ coop yesterday. Today we are getting the beds ready in the vegetable garden for some new crops, and we are helping Lincoln in his garden, too.’

  ‘Why’re you helping Lincoln plant a vegetable patch? You’ve been talking about having this weekend off all week.’

  ‘Gardening is how I like to spend my weekends off,’ Piet said. ‘I wanted off from investigations and crooks.’

  Lily smiled. She should have known.

  ‘This afternoon, we planned on harvesting some of the dagga. It is time to make CBD oil again, and Lincoln and I can show you how to make it if you want to.’

  ‘I’d like that. Not that I can make it back in Australia, the cops there do not turn a blind eye to things, but it would be good to know how if I ever needed to.’

  ‘Ja, you can learn like an imithi abesifazane, a medicine woman.’

  Lily smiled. ‘Why don’t we do that this morning?’

  ‘Because this morning you and Quintin were going to the farmers’ market to buy all the new seedlings for Lincoln’s garden. Quintin discussed this with you at the clinic on Wednesday when I dropped in, remember?’

  Lily screwed up her nose; she searched her mind, but it was blank. ‘No, but that’s okay, I just can’t remember it. I’ve had a lot on my mind. I take it that there are plans for lots of plants going in today?’

  Piet nodded. ‘Lincoln and Quintin have written a list of what was needed from the farmers’ market, so while you’re there, you might find that man called Mr Magaso. You tell him who you are. You tell him that you need some more plants for me, and he will bring them here, and we can put them in the new hothouse that Quintin got us.’

  ‘No. Seriously? I tell you what—you come to the market with us, since you know this Mr Magaso, and you talk to him.’

  ‘With you and Quintin?’ Piet asked.

  ‘Why not. You, David and Diamond. We can make a morning of it, treat the kids to something special at the market. Surely they have face painting or pony rides, or something there?’

  ‘Ja, but—are you sure you want us there with you two lovebirds?’

  Lily smiled. ‘I wouldn’t have asked if I didn’t want you there, Piet. Besides, it’s also for David and Diamond. Quintin can pay David the same as if he had worked all day. Only this way, he gets to have a bit of excitement, too.’

  Piet nodded.

  At that moment, Diamond seemed to realise that she knew Lily and started moving up and down on David’s shoulders, her arms outstretched, wanting to get to her.

  ‘Hello, sweetie,’ Lily said, taking the little girl from David. ‘You’re so precious.’

  Diamond looked at her with big brown eyes and grinned.

  ‘Here,’ Piet said, taking the spades off his shoulder and loading them onto the boy, ‘take these and go find Lincoln. He is probably in the hothouse. Tell him there is a change of plan, then come back here so we can all go to the market.’

  David passed the loaded nappy bag to Piet with a grin and walked towards the garden beds.

  ‘I had an email this morning. The IT department got onto that flash drive you gave me, and they found hidden files within those Quintin could not get into,’ Piet said.

  ‘Hidden files?’

  ‘There is more—they had military-grade encryption, too. Ian was definitely trying to hide something. To be honest, I am actually more comfortable with going with you to the market, because I was going to have to warn you to be extra careful, to stay with Quintin and not wander off alone, not stop for anyone on the roads. But now I will be with you, so that is one less thing to worry about.’

  ‘You worry about me?’

  ‘All the time, Lily, all the time.’

  ‘Aww, that’s sweet, Piet.’

  ‘Ja, not so sweet when you think about why. Someone might be after you now, Lily, and we need to protect you.’

  ‘Thank you, it means a lot to me that you think like that. Now this little lady and I are going to get ready for a morning in the market. Whoever they are, they will not make me hide inside.’

  Piet shook his head. ‘I will be here when you guys are ready to go.’

  ‘Come on, sugar, let’s go find Quintin and get moving,’ Lily said as she walked back to the house and opened the door.

  Lily walked into the studio and was immediately immersed in her husband playing one of his new tunes. His eyes were closed as he played on La Angelique, Fred dancing back and forth over the strings. Silently she moved closer, but Quintin had a sixth sense for when she was around, and he opened his eyes and winked at her.

  ‘Don’t stop on my behalf,’ she said.

  ‘I won’t,’ he said. ‘Give me another three minutes and this one will be done.’

  ‘I’ll be waiting,’ she said and took a stool from the counter and sat on it, Diamond still attached to her, but now listening intently to the music. She closed her eyes and listened to the rhythm and was lost in the moment as the sweet sound of the notes vibrated through the ancient wood and washed over her.

  The music faded, and finally, silence filled the room. Diamond blew a raspberry and spit bubble, and Lily was woken from her trance.

  ‘Time to go already?’ asked Quintin.

  ‘I would rather stay here and listen to y
ou all day,’ Lily said.

  ‘You’ve always been my biggest fan. Who’s this?’

  ‘And proud of it. You remember this little lady? This is Diamond—one of Piet’s extended family. She’s coming shopping, and I asked David, her older brother, too. Piet is also outside waiting—going to be a full car.’ She filled him in on the file encryptions.

  Quintin walked over to her, hugged her tightly and kissed her head. Diamond reached out her arms for him. ‘Really?’

  ‘She wants to come to you,’ Lily said as Diamond continued to reach for Quintin.

  Quintin put his hands around the little girl’s waist and held her securely, placing her on his hip. ‘Hello, Diamond, nice to see you again.’

  Diamond blew him a raspberry and giggled, running her fingers into his beard then holding onto it tightly.

  ‘That’s the most I have heard her vocalise since I met her at the clinic,’ Lily said.

  ‘Hang on, little one, a bit less tugging on that, it hurts,’ Quintin said as he eased her fingers loose. ‘You sure it’s a group outing to the market?’

  ‘Yes, I’m sure. Actually, I’ve been hankering for some biltong and some dry wors. I’m hoping we’ll find some there.’

  ‘Why not just make your own? I like that you make yours at home,’ he said.

  ‘Yes, that’s because in Australia they eat that horrible jerky, which tastes nothing like biltong, and they don’t make wors, so I have no choice but to make it. What time does the farmers’ market open?’

  ‘Now-ish. Lincoln insisted it was better to get there early,’ Quintin said.

  ‘Let me put La Angelique away and we can get going.’

  * * *

  The Beans Se Bos Country Market was a flea market, with homemade goods, antique furniture and plants for every household, so no one went home empty-handed. The smell of braai and boerewors rolls permeated the air and mixed with the smell of hundreds of people milling around in the African sunshine. Despite the cooler weather, the sun was already beating down on everybody when they got to the market. Umbrellas with tables underneath as well as a few gazebos were scattered around in an orderly manner, and people milled around in between.