At the Shore

There were waves after waves, there were days after days, as Jack and his new friends enjoyed their time on the ship. As Jack sat on the deck and looked down into the water, the waves seemed be telling him stories - stories about Germain, about Sara and Daniel, about Michael, about the past and future. This was the period in between two phases in his life and Jack was trying to enjoy it fully, as he wasn't sure what to expect to encounter in Africa.

Pinkpot and Mrs Wrinkles were chatting cheerfully next to Jack. They were all so happy to be able to talk to each other after years of being silent. It was such a revelation for them to know that others could understand them and to talk with them. Now, after spending a couple of days together, they were so used to chatting that the time when they were not able to talk seemed alien and very far off. How had Jack managed to live in silence for so long? At least he had had Germain who had understood him, but still... All these children he used to look at through the window and he could have spoken to. Thank goodness for Michael for telling them that he could understand them and that they could took with one another! Otherwise this trip to African would have been very lonely.

After another couple of days and starry nights on the ship, one morning Michael came to the deck to wake them all up.

'My comrades, my comrades', he shouted cheerfully whilst hopping across the deck. 'We can see Africa, we can see Africa!'

Michael jumped across to the railing and pointed towards the horizon. 'Can you see the land? That's Africa!'

Jack rubbed off the last traces of sleep from his eyes and wondered over to where Michael was standing. Jack peered towards the horizon and could indeed see blurry shapes that then turned into objects resembling trees and buildings. Pinkopot, Mrs Wrinkles and Clover wondered over too. They all stared into the distance, as the far-away objects started turning into a coastal town.

'Wow, that's out new home!' Pinkpot screamed and they all laughed.

Michael took hold of their hands and squeezed them hard. 'You will love your new home, let me tell you that!'

As the ship approached the shore, sounds from the land reached Jack's ears. Her rabbit hearing was sharp. He could hear drums playing an upbeat melody, ladies singing along to the drums. He could hear children scream, cows moan and cartwheels creek.

As the ship docked into the bay and Michael shouted hello to the locals, the dark-skinned men, women and children waved at Jack and the rest of the crew. Their smiles were so wide and their teeth so white that the new arrivals could not help but smile back.

'Come on, let's go!' Michael waved at Jack and the others. 'Come and meet my friends! Don't be afraid - they can all understand you. They are all full of love and have good hearts.'

As Jack and the others jumped to the shore, a little girl walked to them. She looked somewhat shy, but extended her arm and handed them bananas. She shyly looked away, as Jack took a banana from her hand.

'These are for us?' Jack asked. 'That is very nice of you'.

'Oh, I love bananas', Pinkpot cheered and took one. She shoved it in her mouth. 'Hmm, so good. The taste is so much better than in the bananas that we find in Europe.'

The girl hesitantly gazed at Pinkpot and smiled, revealing the most beautiful set of white teeth.

Michael walked over with a lady who was dressed in a colourful dress and had her hair tightened up into a bun that was then covered with a bright pink scarf.

'This is Stella', Michael explained. 'She is our host at the orphanage. And this is Mary.' Michael pointed to the girl who had given them the bananas. 'She is one of the girls who lives at the orphanage. Isn't that nice of you, Stella, to give the new comers a taste of Africa?' Michael patted Stella on the shoulder. Stella looked away, but touched Michael's hand.

'So, here you are!' Stella clapped her hands and laughed. 'Welcome, welcome! The children can't wait to see you! They are so excited to get new play friends.' Stella kissed them all on their foreheads in turn.

As Michael was getting their belongings from the ship, Jack looked around the harbour. It was a rather chaotic picture, very different to what they were used in Europe. There were dozens of locals with small market stalls, trying to sell their products and produce. Some of the stalls had their own radios that were blasting out African music, other sellers were shouting out prices for their products. There were fishers men pulling their boats to the shore with their catch jumping in wooden water containers. There were locals walking from stall to stall, bargaining on prices with the sellers. There were chickens jumping around, cats running across the market space, monkeys jumping down from the trees and trying to steel food from the stalls.

Although the scene was rather a mess, there was an overwhelming sense of calm and happiness. Everyone was smiling, everyone was dressed in colourful clothes, everyone looked illuminated in the yellow sunshine.

Jack felt mesmerised by the sight and didn't take his eyes off until he felt a tap on his shoulder.

'Jack, we are heading towards the orphanage on this horse cart', Michael said and gestured towards a brown horse with a wagon. The rest of the gang were already comfortably sitting on the wagon, chatting with Stella and Mary, looking at the scenery.

As the horse started puling the wagon, being directed by a thin young man with a willow push as his whip, Stella pointed towards the market.

'There are many malnourished people in Africa. There is a huge lack of food. So you will see many of the children are very thin and you will see a lot of poverty on the way to the orphanage. Most people don't earn enough money to feed their families. And then we often don't get enough water to let the crops grow and then there is a shortage of food. Many people also have illness that kill them when they are young. Malaria and HIV are very common causes of death. This is why we have the children living with us, all of their parents have died either of illness or of malnutrition.'

As Stella explained such problems to the new comers, Jack could see very thin people walking on the roads, many of them looking like they could collapse any minute. Most of them wore nothing else than a piece of cloth. Some of them were carrying food in hay baskets that they carried on their heads. Jack could also see children walking in groups, smiling yet looking like they had not eaten for days. Eve the donkeys and dogs that Jack noticed on the road were painfully thin.

All of the new comers seemed to be making the same observations, as they all sat in silence and looked at the sandy narrow road that was occupied with horses and motorbikes. There was the occasional old car going towards the near-by town, but most there were people walking.

'These people walk miles and miles to get to work or to school', Michael explained. 'They don't have any other means of transport than their own legs and often schools and offices are far from their houses so they need to walk and run for at least two hours every day.'

Stella nodded. 'It is not easy. They live in small hay huts with their families, cook on fire in the middle of the hut and then walk anywhere they need to go. This is a much more organic way of living than what you are used to in Europe.' Stella laughed. 'But the local people here are also much happier than the average European so you should give them a proper chance and see what you can learn from them.'

Jack nodded. From what he could feel, Africa was a special place and he would definitely give these brave people a chance.