One Face in a Million Book 1: Mu Shangaaniana. William Bond
imagined that the city lights at night must resemble what countless diamonds would look like if they were displayed on an expanse of black velvet. The food at the hotel was always good, and the tables were always covered with white linen tablecloths and set with fine china, lovely stemware, and beautiful silverware. She recalled that the waiters at that hotel were invariably attentive, friendly, and good-looking!
Another thing which she had liked about the Hotel Vasco Da Gama was its elegant lobby with its exquisite furnishings, its mirror-covered walls, and its elaborate crystal chandeliers. There was also the impressive grand marble staircase near the lobby. She recalled many times when her mother had waited patiently as she practiced descending that carpeted stairway as if she were a regal lady of some importance.
Clearly, she had never seen anything in Tavani or any place else that was as elegant as the Hotel Vasco Da Gama, and visiting it had always been a pleasant experience. It had given her an idea of how the wealthy might live, and she imagined that such people had a lifestyle that she would enjoy. The hotel’s elegance and grandeur had given Christine a vision of splendor, and although it was an unrealistic dream, she liked to imagine that, someday, she would live in a place that was as wonderful as the lobby of that hotel.
Although Christine loved the harbor area, the various shops and bazaars, and the elegant Hotel Vasco da Gama, one of the things she liked best about going to LM was when they spent some time at the beach. She had never actually been allowed to swim in the ocean, but she and her mother had walked barefoot in shallow water or along the sandy beach. When she was young, she had built sand castles near the water’s edge, or they had walked along the beach looking for interesting seashells. Although the Portuguese in LM could tan beautifully, her mother had insisted that she wear a loose shirt and a hat so that she would avoid getting sunburned. She recalled a time when she had begged her mother to let her take off her hat and shirt so that she could feel the breeze in her hair and get a tan like others on the beach. She had begged and pleaded, and finally, her mother had said that if she got a sunburn, she would just have to live with the consequences.
For a while, she enjoyed being more exposed to the breeze and the sun, but after they had left the beach and were heading for their hotel, Christine discovered that she had gotten too much sun. The pain of it did not go away quickly, and later, she had some blisters and small patches where she shed a bit of skin. Mother had warned that getting too much sun could be very unpleasant, and she had been right. After that experience, she was more careful to protect her skin, and when she was in Tavani, like others, she usually wore a pith helmet to protect her face from the burning rays of the tropical sun.
With the exception of the Shangaan children that were playing in the distance, things were quiet around the mission station. Christine saw no activity at the Rankins’ house. She had wondered what Sara was doing on this hot afternoon, but she didn’t care enough to go over to their place and find out. She hated being alone, but she really didn’t want to spend any time with Two-Faced Sara.
Ms. Ferguson was presently working at the health-care facility with her mother, and of course, there was no one at the Bostwicks’ because they were on furlough in America.
Christine had long known that life on a mission station could be lonely and boring, and it seemed especially so today.
Just a few days earlier, she had been at St. Mark’s. Even though she didn’t always like school, it was a place where there were always activities of some sort. There were classes to attend and times for studying, or there were sporting activities and church services to attend. There were meals together and activities in the dorm, and there were those occasions when she could see Jim. Despite these advantages, Christine had looked forward to coming home for her summer break. Now, Christmas was just two days away, but even that didn’t seem very exciting, at the moment.
With the Bostwicks away, others had to pitch in and do the jobs that they usually did.
Their absence had put an additional burden on Mother who now had increased responsibilities for the church services and teaching Sunday school classes. In addition, she was helping Ms. Ferguson at the health-care facility. Typically, there always seemed to be some Shangaan children and adults in the area who needed some kind of medical attention. If Ms. Ferguson and Mother weren’t dealing with certain accidents or illnesses, they might be assisting in the delivery of a baby or giving care to a newborn infant. Today, one of the Shangaan women was expecting to deliver a baby. Because she was giving more assistance to Ms. Ferguson, Mother had less time to work on her administrative duties that she dared not neglect. Nevertheless, although her mother was very busy, Christine instinctively knew that she would make time for her daughter, and she would certainly do something special for Christmas.
One couldn’t be sure when Mother would return from her work, but Christine didn’t expect her home for at least another hour or two. In the meantime, what was there to do? It looked like she could sit on the swing and be bored, or she could go in the house and be bored! Unfortunately, there wasn’t much of a breeze, and her fan did precious little to make her feel more comfortable on such a hot day.
Boredom, of course, was nothing new for Christine. It was something she had been dealing with for years. Seemingly all of her acquaintances had two parents and one or more siblings, but her father had died before she was born, and she had never had a brother or a sister. She knew that Mother had done the best she could to provide a good home and be both a parent and a friend, but Mother had often been busy with her various responsibilities, and over the years, Christine had had to spend a lot of time by herself. Consequently, she had entertained herself with dolls, books, drawing, and sewing—and she could bake a little. She was very glad that they had a piano, and she was happy that her mother had taught her to play the piano quite well.
As a child, she had enjoyed spending time with her Shangaan friends, Rosianna and Carlotta, and with Beth Nelson who had lived at Tavani until her family moved to another mission station in Nyasaland. When she learned that the Nelsons were leaving Tavani, she had become depressed, and on the day of their leaving, Christine recalled that she had been inconsolable. Later, the Rankins arrived with their children, and she and Sara Rankin had become close friends, almost like sisters. They’d seldom had disagreements, but now their once-great relationship seemed to have gone to pieces. Since the Nelsons’ move, Christine had written numerous letters to Beth, and she really looked forward to her letters. She had recently written to Beth, but she had not heard from her in several weeks. Although it might arrive late, she expected that a Christmas greeting would come to her mother from the Nelsons, and she would receive a separate letter from Beth. She wished that she could be reading a letter from her at this very moment, but no letters had yet come.
For a few years, Christine had been homeschooled, but there were many demands on her mother’s time, and she had decided that it was in Christine’s best interest to be with other children and get a formal education. Because there were no English-speaking schools in Mozambique, and because the English-speaking schools in South Africa were too distant and too expensive, the decision had been made for Christine to attend more affordable boarding schools in Swaziland. She had been going to school now for seven years, and she had been in Mbabane at St. Mark’s school for three years. In just one more year, she would be completing this phase of her education, and then, she would probably go to college in the United States. She hated the thought of being so far away from her mother, but she would eventually have to go somewhere as there was no future for her in Tavani. The mission station had been her home all of her life, but she knew that this was not where she wanted to spend her life. This part of Africa was too hot, and too boring! She wondered whom she would eventually marry, where she would eventually live, and what her destiny would be, but of course, there was no way to know the answers to such questions.
At first, Mother had taken her to school and come for her on those occasions when she could go home. A couple of vehicles were available for the missionaries at Tavani, and these could be used for traveling to and from LM, but in coming or going to Swaziland, one also used a train and a bus or two. A stopover in LM was always necessary, so the three-hundred-mile trip always took the better part of two days. Later, the train and bus portion to and from Swaziland was something that Christine and Sara could do on their own, but usually, someone always took them to LM and made hotel