One Face in a Million Book 1: Mu Shangaaniana. William Bond

One Face in a Million is an entirely fictional story that evolved over many years. I began thinking about writing a story after I visited southern Africa in 1967, where my wife had been born and raised. She was often called Mu Shangaaniana when she was young.

I began to formulate a story about a young gal who had been raised on a mission station in Mozambique, Africa. She was anxious to leave Africa for America to have a more interesting life. A plot began in my mind where I envisioned a striking gal to have quite an amazing life. She would travel, fall in love, meet notable people, and experience a lot of success. Would that prove to be satisfying? During the years that followed, I was privileged to travel to many places throughout the world, so my story evolved in a way that readers could share in some of my traveling experiences.

My protagonist had to decide what was really important in her life. Her story takes place across the span of a few decades, therefore the story eventually developed into a series of five books which should be considered as one. Because the title is One Face in a Million, I knew her appearance would be of real interest. I looked at images of notable actresses of the past. The ones that I preferred were of Merle Oberon. Perhaps it would be just as well for my readers to formulate your own ideas of what my characters would look like. Although this is a fictitious story, I hope that it entertains those who choose to read it.

Chapter 1

Mu Shangaaniana

In December, the sun’s rays are very intense along the Tropic of Capricorn, so the days around Christmas can be extremely hot in southern Africa. Christine Cartwright, a student at St. Mark’s Boarding School in Swaziland, had just returned to her home in Tavani, which was a mission station in Mozambique that was not far from the Indian Ocean. She had been anticipating the long summer break and having some time with her mother. She had also been looking forward to Christmas, which was now just two days away.

Although she was at home, she hated the heat that was typical for Mozambique in the summer season. She much preferred the more comfortable climate that is found in the highlands of Swaziland where she was attending St. Mark’s, but she was not at all anxious to return to school. She missed seeing Jim, of course, but she was ready for a vacation, and it was good to be at home.

It was just too hot to do anything outside at this time of day, but because it was also uncomfortably warm in the house, she had come out onto the shaded veranda and settled herself onto the two-seated swing which was suspended from the ceiling. Here on the veranda, there was at least the chance of an occasional breeze from the Indian Ocean that could help make a hot day more bearable. With the help of a small fan, she was making herself as comfortable as possible.

From the swing, she could see the Rankins’ house, Jessica Ferguson’s home, and the place where the Bostwicks lived. All of the missionaries’ homes were sturdy cement block structures with tin roofs. They were all about the same size, and all of them were painted white. Each house had a veranda, a few shade trees nearby, and a small outbuilding or two behind each home. There were flowering shrubs near the buildings, but the ground was sandy and there was little grass to be seen. Down the hill and not far away, she could see the mission’s little church and the health-care facility where her mother was presently at work. Somewhat further in the distance, she could see several huts where a number of native Shangaan families lived.

The

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One Face in a Million Book 1: Mu Shangaaniana. William Bond

One Face in a Million Book 1: Mu Shangaaniana

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