Ancil“Nice door, isn’t it?” Anansi came up behind us and said, watching the door with us. “It’s mahogany.”
Megan and Sara both had their hands planted onto their chests, as if Anansi had almost given them a heart attack. We were so focused on the door that no one had even noticed when he crawled in from behind.
“Where did you come from?” Cornell asked.
“I came in through the wall behind you,” he said, pointing to it. He spoke properly as if he was trying to sound like an Englishman. He still wore the fancy suit he had on to go to Caura River and had the cane as well.
“I just came to find out if you all had a good night,” Anansi said.
“Slept like a baby,” Sara said gruffly.
Anansi looked at Sara with the same fixed gaze that Sam had met her with back in Arima. He then looked at Justin and Saraya in the same way. I was beginning to think that he had recognized them. I grabbed hold of my gun which was tucked into my pants at the back. I didn’t take it out from my pants but held onto it and took the safety off just in case Anansi decided to attack Sara and her siblings.
He quickly looked away and said, “I’m going to the Caura River to take a little swim. There are more fruits in the kitchen. Help yourself.” He then crawled out the room, using the door this time.
We all looked at each other a bit confused at what had happened.
“We should follow him.” Sara said.
“No, too dangerous.” Megan said.
“I followed after him last night and I’m still alive.”
“Yeah that’s because Jed was there,” Megan scoffed.
“Ladies let’s just focus on keeping each other safe,” I said.
Cornell, who was looking out the window and out into the forest, called us over to show us something. Outside of the window we saw Anansi walking into the forest carrying three baby goats tied to a rope.
“Orrrr hooorrr!!!” I laughed. I guess we misinterpreted what Anansi meant by kids but I wasn’t sure if Mama Glow did as well.
***
We had promised Anansi that we would have left the next day, but we got so comfortable that no one wanted to leave. We all knew what was out there and it was the first time that we had felt safe in a long time. Maggie made some breakfast for us. A lot of breakfast. The wooden table was so packed with food that it was weighed down to the point that it looked like it might break. There were eggs, tomato choka, roti, bread and much more. We all stuffed the foods down our throats.
“How come you have so much food?” Cornell asked.
“We always have food in this house but Anansi does only eat fruits so most of the food does go to waste. Besides having a forest we also have a farm where we does grow crops. I does manage the farm and keep food from it to eat. But it’s only so much that I could eat by myself.”
“So all this food does just usually go to waste?” Megan asked with her mouth full.
“All the time.” Maggie said. “Anansi does most of the eating but all he does eat is fruits like oranges and bananas.”
“Thank you for the meal, Ms. Maggie,” I said. The rest followed, showing their gratitude.
“No need to thank me,” Maggie said. “I needed somebody to eat up all this food. It woulda just waste. You people doing me a favor.”
There was so much food on the table that we couldn’t eat all without taking rests in between. I gobbled up a couple of boiled eggs with some honey oat bread. But that was just the tip of the iceberg. I couldn’t resist the tomato choka and fried bake. I was never a fan of spicy foods but the choka was just spicy enough. I was so caught up with the choka that I didn’t even notice that there was dhalpuri roti. It was almost finished but I managed to get a bite before the rest devoured it all up.
Bookman had also joined us but he didn’t eat very much. He seemed to be really good friends with Maggie because he was talking to her for most of the time. They were chatting about old times and life back in Mas Camp. I wasn’t paying attention to what they were saying though because I focused most of my energy on eating. It was my first good meal in months and I wanted to savor every bite. Back in Arima I only ate small amounts of food in order to preserve it for Sara and her siblings who actually needed it more.
We got so comfortable at Anansi’s house that the thought of leaving was unbearable. Anansi came back a little while after breakfast, smiling as if he had just won the lottery. He didn’t even talk to us when he came back in. He just crawled past the table and made his way back to his chamber. We all exchanged glances with one another. Did he finalize the deal with Mama Glow? Did she expect the baby goats or did his prank enrage her. I couldn’t tell. It didn’t matter though. Or maybe it did. A little while after Anansi had passed us by, the tranquil atmosphere was suddenly disrupted by a loud high pitched scream that riveted through the air. It only lasted a couple seconds but it was enough to break all the glasses on the table spilling food and liquids all over the place. The majority of the food on the table were held in glass plates, bowls and cups so everything spilled with a bit of an artistic flavor as the colors spewed everywhere. A couple seconds after the glasses shattered, the table which was already weighed down by the food cracked open in the middle further spilling the food onto the floor. It had happened so sudden and unexpectedly that no one immediately reacted to it. Everyone remained on the chairs in shock creating a slight moment of uncomfortable silence.
“So, what’s for lunch?” Sara asked, breaking the silence awkwardly.
