Chapter 21: Chapter 21

The tweeting of the birds on the mango tree woke James from sleep. The sun was beginning to set in, and was slicing through the heart of the haze in the air. It was a handsome day. James yawned and stretched himself languorously. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and washed his face and mouth. There was no more time to waste. He would go over to Reverend Grace’s room and whisper with her. He was sure she would listen and understand him because great minds always think alike. James closed his door and walked slowly, shuffling his feet on the ground till he reached Reverend Grace’s room and knocked on her door. Reverend Grace raised the door’s latch and found James standing in front of her with a blank face.

‘Is everything all right?’ she asked him concernedly, as James lumbered into her room.

‘Yes, I am well,’ James said. ‘I’ve come to whisper with you.’ Reverend Grace faced him squarely, with her head resting on her palm. Her ears were looking abnormally big. ‘I am now an old but a wise man. A wise man speaks because he has something to say, but a fool speaks because he wants to say something. It’s why I’ve come for us to begin the search for the black goat, while it’s still day,’ James said in a low tone, as he wiped the sweat on his face. ‘I’ve come to ask you if you noticed that Martha was not at the chapel yesterday.’ Reverend Grace stared at James and wondered how he knew. She had noticed the same thing and had planned to ask Martha.

‘Yes. I noticed. Is she all right? Is she unwell? I’d hoped to go and see her,’ Reverend Grace said. James stared at Reverend Grace; her concern for others was great and admirable. But her nature also made her naïve and innocent.

‘Martha is well,’ James said. ‘But I am worried about her and your son. I may not have proof, but I’ve the feeling that she and Moses are up to something. We’ve to face up to the fact that they might be having an affair. What an elder sees while sitting, a child will not, even when he climbs on a tree. Yesterday morning I saw Martha running to her room in strange clothes when she hurt her foot. I believe she went to see Moses.’ Reverend Grace’s face blanched with shock. James’s words stung her like the bee. For how long have something ungodly been going on under her nose? Has she been a fool all this while not to have noticed? Reverend Grace rose from her bed and paced around the room, as beads of sweat streamed on her face.

‘James, do you think I’ve become too soft?’ she asked him, breaking the silence. James shook his head slowly. ‘If it’s not so then age is surely catching up with me. I’ve taken my foot off the gas and I am beginning to fail in my duties.’ Reverend Grace’s face looked really sad. ‘You saw Martha coming out of my son’s room?’ she asked James again, just to be certain of what she had heard. James nodded his head stiffly, but confidently.

‘I think you should ask them about this,’ James suggested.

‘Moses is my son and Martha is my daughter. A person with only one eye does not play with dust. I shall do as you have said. I shall ask Moses first. If there is something between them, it must stop right away. I’ve to protect them and do the work of the Lord.’

James allowed a fleeting silence, and rose to leave.

‘A forest that forbids baskets must not allow edible fungi to grow in it. We must not allow unhealthy relationships in the convent, especially between such young people. Fire and gunpowder do not sleep together. You must do what is necessary. I’ve spoken to you as a friend and as an old man. An old man may be weak and feeble, but his words of wisdom are always agile. I must go now and mind the gate,’ James said, making towards the door. Reverend Grace sat on the edge of the bed in deep thoughts. If James’s suspicions were right and such a salacious act had been going on under her watch, then she only had herself to blame for being so negligent. She rose from the bed and trudged to the wardrobe and pulled at the door. She stood there, staring at the wall underneath a heap of clothes. It was still there, neatly etched on the wall in slant handwriting, the day she picked Moses from the pile of rubble, some twenty years ago. Scalding tears seeped from her eyes.

Reverend Grace did not let grass grow under feet. Just as James advised, she summoned Moses before her presence. Moses stood in front of her in his tall and manly frame, and Reverend Grace remembered how she had bathed, wrapped and cuddled him to sleep. And how she had spent long hours watching him sleep and turn in the cradle. She still wanted to believe and ponder over it that Moses was still her blameless and well-mannered son. The same child she raised as her son. So she allowed the silence in the room to linger. It was well intended. It was her ploy to unnerve him. Then with one nimble dart, she rose from the bed and waved her finger on his face. Her voice was firm and terse, as it cut through the stillness in the room.

‘Are you having an affair with Reverend Martha?’ she asked Moses barefacedly. Moses was shocked and speechless. Reverend Grace’s words stung him like bees. There was so much emotion packed in her words. Moses looked away, avoiding her stern gaze.

‘I do not understand what you mean,’ he managed to speak.

‘I am your mother. Don’t you dare lie to me! I raised you and I know when you’re lying,’ Reverend Grace said, closing the space between them. There was clearly no need to lie anymore, Moses thought. He and Martha have been discovered.

‘I am sorry, Mom. I love Martha so much and I want a life with her,’ Moses replied somewhat defiantly. Reverend Grace’s eyes flared with anger. She clutched her chest and felt a sharp pain. She had been betrayed by two of the people she cherished the most. Her mind quickly wandered to the Bishop and his fears some twenty years ago. She remembered how she had fought to convince him. Now what would the Bishop say if he heard of Moses’s seamy affair with Martha? She was sure he would smile thinly and glory in his vindication, all to her shame and stupidity. She closed her eyes and pain cut through her heart.

When Reverend Grace opened her eyes tears were streaming on her face. And in a fit of rage, she raised her hand and struck Moses violently on the face. Then she remained silent, as the harsh reality of Moses’s words hit her hard. She gulped air and groaned softly, and then went into a calm mood. It was the first time in donkey’s years she had spanked him so hard.

‘I dreamed I was old; I woke up and it’s true,’ she mumbled. ‘How could you do this to me?’ she asked Moses tearfully. ‘I love you so much and I raised you well. I taught you how to love the Lord and follow in his ways. Instead you went in the way of the world. How can you be in love with a nun? How can you feel amorous towards Martha? Do you not see it’s sinful and ungodly? Do you not see that both of you are strange bedfellows? Martha is the Lord’s handmaid. Do you not see that? Do you not fear the Lord?’ Moses remained silent.

Reverend Grace traipsed to the bed and sat down. She stared at Moses and wondered why he did not understand. She wondered why he did not see the wrong in what he had done, and why he had suddenly become stupid. She clutched the bed’s frame tightly and stared at the marble floor. Where did she go wrong? How did she mistrain him? Did she overpamper him? Maybe it was true that children hate those who give them everything. She was only trying to be a good mother, and only good mothers know what their children will eat. For which mother will her child ask for bread will instead give him a stone? She did not know what changed her son. Was it the exuberance and impressionability of youth? Perhaps she had forgotten that Moses was not her son after all. If he truly was, then he would have listened to her voice. A shepherd knew his sheep and his flock listens to his voice.

‘Henceforth, you must have nothing more to do with Martha. You must stay away from her. Your feelings towards her are ungodly. You must go and prepare. You shall leave the convent in three days’ time,’ Reverend Grace said, as she groaned and rose from the bed. ‘Now get out of my sight!’ she barked at Moses.

Moses traipsed out of her room and went to his room. Reverend Grace buried her face in her hands. She was and sobbing. She would do whatever it would take to put Moses and Martha apart.