The ride to Dialo

‘An African sunsed – an excerpt

'We'd better have another look at our mail boxes, don't you think?' Everon asked
rhetorically pushing his hat back, and wipping the perspiration off his brow. 'You
can't imagine how lazy those bastards are, that's why I check mail twice every
day, morning and afternoon.'
Shatz pulled out his bundle of keys and utterly surprised turned back to Everon.
'I don't remember it’s number, and I can't find the note on which it was written!
I'm frightfully sorry...'

'I thought it might happen, and I'll bet you haven't notified anyone back home
that you have a box of your own yet!' Remarked Everon angrily.
'Well yes, sorry I've simply forgotten the whole thing. But the newspapers would
get to the embassy in any case.'

'Sure, they'll get to the embassy all right, but would you authorize me with a
search warrant to look for your newspapers at the apartments of Peleg or Avisar.
For there you'll be able to collect them! You won't find them in the embassy. Now
if you don't mind open the glove compartment in front of you, there you'll find
some envelopes and an airmail pad – and by the way, your post office box number is
written on top of that pad. But what I want you to do is this: write two lines to
the editorial of that paper of yours, and don't forget to add your box number.
Meanwhile give me its key, and while I'll check our boxes you are going to send
that letter.'
Having completed his urgent task Shatz came out of the post office hall, and
returned to the parking car. Everon was already sitting behind the steereing
wheel.
'There wasn't any mail and I didn't think there would be any today but I don't
regret the time we wasted over it – it’s an integral part of our daily life here.'
Smiled to him Everon. '...Anyway don't forget it’s part of your readjustment just
as well, you must return to your normal level of functioning – be yourself again
as fast as possible. You'll have to deal with the locals, with types as smart and
sophisticated as any of us – with Da-Silva for instance... who wraps Priel round
his small finger, and I'm counting on you to put an end to it.' Everon added while
switching on the car’s engine.

'Da-Silva? Where did he get that kind of a name from? It must be the local
manager, isn't it?'

'That's right he's the farm's manager at Dialo and in spite of all his faults, we
can't get rid of him. He's too powerful and getting rid of him isn't your job
after all. You'll have to get along with him. Now, about that peculiar name of
his, there are several local families along the coast, who carry such kind of
names rather proudly; its origin is Portuguese and those who carry such names
claim to have Portuguese blood in their veins. Anyway I can't find any difference
between any of them and the rest of the locals, but their self-esteem is
unbearable. They treat themselves as the local elite; we in their eyes are no
better than dust – mind you!' He said raising his voice, pointing his chest with
his left thumb. 'My advice is: Keep away from him, you'll understand why during
this weekend!'
As soon as the town was left behind them, Everon stepped down on the accelerator
with all his might, increasing the car's speed enormously. The speedometer's
needle was dancing between a hundred and a hundred and fifty, and sometimes even
more. The narrow asphalt road twisted and winded just like a long moving serpent,
going up and down alternatively, crossing creeks, gorges; ascending steep slopes
bordered on each of its sides with the savanna’s dense and low vegetation. Thin
groves of palm trees soared to the sky majestically here and there. Reminding
Shatz of huge human palms with their fingers pointing up; a few huge baobab trees
with their gray broad trunks and their round canopies like branches, dominated the
view in the open plain that right now stretched before them.
Women were moving on foot on both sides of the narrow road, half-naked – with
their hands up to support the bundles, jars and baskets; which they were carrying
on top of their heads. Just like two long endless rows of ants, moving on towards
Mouaka.
Shatz abandoned the speedometer and straightened up in his seat with a start,
swarthy breasts of all kinds and shapes dazzled his eyes.
'You wanted to give me a lift in your own car today, didn't you! I wouldn't have
been surprised if we would have kissed a tree trunk just after a few minutes
ride!' Teased him Everon with a short laugh. "Woah, what a pair of tits, what a
pair of saucy tits!" He called out excited himself, on seeing a teenager of about
sixteen years of age, with a pair of towering brown breasts, which quivered and
vibrated rhythmically with each of her movements.
'You can reach peaks of lust or peaks of esthetical pleasure when you get used to
these spectacles. Then after a second or two some old hag with two dwindled skin
bags, catches your eye - or one whose breasts reach her navel, in short, you drop
down from the heights of excitement to the bottom of despair. The extreme and
unexpected change frustrates you, and you loose all interest in them and end up
looking straight ahead of you, as if all the rest of them don't exist.'
The rare sights of old and withered women, or of low hanging breasts, did not cool
Shatz's enthusiasm. There were plenty young women on both sides of the road, with
beautifully shaped dark breasts, parading in front of his admiring eyes. He sat
still rigid and tensed, breathing hard, his blood pounding wildly in his veins;
beads of perspiration appeared on his upper lip, covered his face, filled his
armpits, and flowed down his ribs.

'I say, you do sweat hard, don't you?' Laughed Everon. 'Well open your mouth, talk
on any subject that might interest you, we have got a twenty minutes ride at least
before us.'

'Good God, look at those human convoys!' Called out Shatz. 'Wouldn't that parade
ever end up?'
'Never, not even at Dialo,' Everon laughed again. 'But come’n try to forget it,
think of something else, you won't find Claude and his sacred services at Dialo...
Okay, I’ll tell you what, let’s divert your attention a bit, how long have you
already been here? Some three days, am I right? Haven't you got some remarks, any
observations? Spit it out!'
'I've just arrived what do I know? I’ve spent a couple of days with you, but I
hardly know all the others…' Turned to him Shatz with an innocent smile.
'Oh come’n, knock that stuff off! I asked you a question didn't I?'
'It’s hard to form an opinion in such a short period, I need time... I'm still
digesting things. What I do know already is how lucky I'm to fall in with you, in
that so different part of the globe. I do appreciate your support and I know I can
count on you, whenever I'll need to. But between you and me, I have not even seen
Dialo and that famous farm yet.'
'Oh boy, you know how to do it!' Laughed Everon who was rather fond of compliments
and flattery in general. 'That excessive cautious attitude of yours is completely
out of place, you may talk freely to me. I trust you and we do get along quite
well, so what's the problem?'
'I can't have any conclusive opinion even on the most trivial matter, being just a
few days in this country. That's why I'd better avoid dealing with impressions,
which are no more than rushing into conclusions on a very flimsy basis.' Shatz
added, with the same evasive and cautious tendency.
'I didn't ask you to part with any of your opinions. What I'd like to know: is
there anything or are there any matters which you might think as strange or
irregular, in comparison with your expectations. Well, the fact you've just
arrived and being the closest among us to the standards we were all brought upon
back home, could contribute quite a lot to our interest in that country, yeah
quite a lot.'

He could have changed the subject, or put an end to the whole matter with a short
sentence. With something like: “I didn't notice anything strange or irregular...”
– but he had better take off some of his load of reservations...- Decided Shatz,
without taking his eyes off the fascinating sights, which kept appearing in front
of them.
'Well, the little I've noticed up till now is the strange relationship between the
rest of the embassy members and us. It does bother me a bit of course. I don’t
mean the ambassador, I don’t include him in that category.'

'Oh my goodness! What a ravishing dish! What a divine figure! Exclaimed Everon
excitedly. 'Sorry! Haven't seen such a beauty for quite a while! She must be a
Fulany that's a nomad tribe; they don't have the typical African features... Sorry
again... You must feel it quite hard now, don’t you!'
'Oh yeah, I need a cold bath badly!' Answered him Shatz with a faint smile.
'No need to exaggerate, hang on will you.' Everon added with a chuckle. 'Where
were we exactly? Do you care to remind me? Oh yeah, unstable relationships.’
May I ask first, what bothers them, those Foreign office boys? They've served
previously abroad on several missions each one of them, and they'll serve on
abroad in the future; while we serve a mission or two, and that’s all. So, what
bothers them? Can any of us undermine their elevated status?’ Asked Shatz
interrupting his boss monologue.
‘Such problems exist in all the foreign delegations, without exceptions. There are
much graver disturbances in some delegations, right here in Mouaka. The American
first secretary for instance, with whom I'm closely associated, you should hear
him talk on the sort of relationship he has with his ambassador. The language he
uses describing some of his colleagues… You wouldn't believe it unless you'll hear
it with your own ears. A car approaches!' He warned Shatz raising his voice and
sending his left hand to the windshield.
'Where do I put my hands?' Asked Shatz alarmed.
'In front of your face!' Answered Everon angrily and slowing down turned aside to
let the other car pass. A tiny shower of gravel knocked on their windshield, as
the other car passed them, but that was all, nothing happened.

'Got the message?' Asked him Everon, drawing back his hand and straightening up in
his seat, while turning the car back to the middle of the narrow asphalt strip.
The speedometer's needle was dancing again over the one hundred kilometers mark.
'So you may conclude yourself that the state of affairs in our small delegation,
isn't so bad after all. The heart of the problem in our case is a small financial
difference in our favor, and that's a thorn in their eyes, the cause they’re
complaining of. It’s the subsidies of outside town expenses that we get and they
don't, and do remind me how to fill these forms at the farm "chez les Priels’".
There’s the subsidy of twenty percent for lodging expenses on top of it that we do
enjoy, while they get just a fifteen percent subsidy. They’ll never forgive us,
they won’t spare a minute of thought on the hard work, the conditions that we have
to face, see?' Everon summed the matter up with a cheerful laugh. 'They think that
we tour the countryside on the taxpayer's expenses, while they have to cover such
expenses with their own pockets. Well these rules were fixed long ago, and they
have no reason to complain. You can't compare their pay with ours; it’s such an
absurd! In any case that's how things are, but when that sacred "status quo" that
they had to get used to, changes drastically in our favor then hell breaks loose!'
'But how can any change take place at all? The rules are fixed and above all, they
watch the safe and keep its keys, don't they?' Wondered Shatz aloud.
'That's right and it won't ever change, I guess; but that's not the real problem
that plagues us.'
'What is it then?' Wondered Shatz quite intrigued.
'C'est une histoire piquante!' Remarked Everon with emphasize. 'But that problem
is about to be solved, in about a fortnight I'd say!'
'It’s the Priels’ then?'
'That's right! It’s them and our dear acquaintance, Da-Silva. When they first came
to Mouaka, they left the hotel after a short stay, and rode straight to the farm.
Moshe didn't want to lose the five percent monthly difference of subsidy. That
hasty “gold rush" of theirs brought in its wake the first wave of gossip that had
turned into a mutual animosity. About a couple of weeks later, they appeared at
the embassy in full force, including their kids; with some bizarre tale and
strange claims. It turned out quite surprisingly that they’ve checked in the hoter
again, occupying its presidential suite – nothing less! They stayed almost a week
already without having notified anyone, mind you. And they came to demand a full
coverage of their hotel expanses – and the rides to Dialo and back. Well, it was
quite a shock to the embassy’s mice, an earthquake, and I don't blame them! Who do
you think was behind it all? Hilla Priel of course! Take a look at your right,
quick before you’ll miss her! Do you see that old hag over there? That sight
should ease your pains I hope!' He remarked laughing cheerfully.
'In short', he went on talking without giving Shatz a chance to comment. 'Hell
broke loose! You can imagine what Peleg thought seeing the hotel bill they have
pushed under his nose. The previous ambassador the one Yossef replaced arrived on
the double; having been urgently summoned and it turned out that he knew every
little detail of it from the very beginning! Hilla called him up from their suite,
right after they checked in. They had been encountered with a problem they had not
been able to cope with, that's what they had told him. Well, it all started with
Da-Silva who asked Moshe to join his two aides in a tour of the district's
villages. Da-Silva himself stayed behind with no intentions to leave the farm on
that certain weekend. Hilla, and that's her opinion alone, suspected that the
whole thing was framed up to leave her behind as a helpless prey, to Da-Silva's
claws. That’s why she urged Moshe to drive her and their children to the Etoile,
before leaving. That’s what he did and joined them on his return, a couple of days
later. What kept them so long at the hotel? That question bothered everyone in the
embassy, except the ambassador himself who was very fond of Hilla, too fond of her
I should say and I don’t blame him. The poor thing was on the verge of a nervous
breakdown, she was let to take her time to recover; to overcome her fears that's
what the previous ambassador said... Anyhow, from that time on just like in the
legends, whenever Moshe has to leave the farm for a day or two, he installs Hilla
and their offsprings in the presidential suite. A fact that pleases the hotel's
manager very much, but grieves of course our embassy’s associates. Well the whole
thing was too far fetched, after all the sexual fears of that female oughtn't to
dominate the entire social life of our delegation; and by the way, make us the
laughing stock of Mouaka. Yossef I'm sorry to tell you, treats her as if she were
a sacred martyr! Allow me to quote him: We'd better lodge her at the hotel than
risk a... for if that wild beast should happen to violate her – the innocent and
delicate creature! Goodness! What would become of us? Where would we hide our
shame? We should have to send them off right away, to avoid a possible scandal,
while that evil wrongdoer with his backing, would get away with it! In short, ten
more days and we'll be able to look straight in anyone’s eyes, but the threat
hangs over our heads yet!' He ended up his monologue with a sarcastic laugh.
Looking up at the road ahead Shatz realized relieved that the human convoys were
dwindling gradually. That incredible surge of bare human flesh that dazzled him,
kindled his desire up to exhaustion almost – seemed to reach its limits. Small
groups of old and shriveled women mostly, who lagged behind no doubt, were still
seen at bigger and bigger intervals. The road climbed up a bare rocky hill; upon
its top, below a huge cliff towering above them like a sentinel. The savana’s
landscape extended before their eyes, with Dialo just down below, small and
miserable. Two long clusters of low mud huts with a few buildings between them, on
both sides of the road.
'Voila Dialo!' Announced Everon dryly, 'and that's what they call their second
biggest town... But take a look at its far end, you can see the beginning of the
Piste over there. We'll take a better look at it later on, if we'll have the time
for it. The right turn to the farm is quite visible right in the center, you can’t
miss it and thank God its a paved road.'
'Yeah, I can see it.' Answered Shatz, utterly disappointed.
They were descending down slowly towards the town and passed through its rows of
few dilapidated buildings and mud huts in a matter of minutes. Just a few passers-
by were seen in Dialo’s only street, which was in fact the country's main road to
the north provinces. In the shadows of doorsteps and windows some more curious
faces watched them pass. A few old French made cars were parked here and there on
their way. The town’s hotel and a deserted filling station dominated the road turn
to the farm – and that was the whole lot of it.
'If they didn't have lunch yet they're lucky, if they had they shall have to serve
us themselves!'
'Do they expect us?' Asked Shatz surprised. 'You didn't inform them, did you?'
'I did not and I never informed them before, whenever I just passed-by or whenever
I came to pay them a visit – an official one or just to see how they're doing. But
let me tell you the simple truth, even if we had a terrible row previously, a day
or more before – they jump right out of their skins on seeing me, yeah right out
of their skins so lonely they are!'
I won't mind if she'll just jump right out of her cloths! Passed the quick thought
in Shatz's brain, seeing Hilla's beautiful shaped figure in his mind's eye
Good God! What's happening to me, what has that stretch of road done to me? He
thought alarmed.