Village by the River

An hour or so later we reach the settlement. The houses on the outskirts are little more than stone huts. There are a few fields, supplied by rudimentary irrigation trenches. Men, women in long robes with headscarves, and children are all working to tend the crops. A solitary man stands on a grassy hillside, tending a flock of goats and sheep.

The center of the town has a few sand colored stone buildings. A group of children run excitedley up to the caravan to greet the men, who start to unload the packages the caravan brought back. The black bearded man who spoke with me earlier arrives and escorts me out of the wagon.

"Wait here." He says. An older man steps out of the large building in the center of town. Black-beard embraces him warmly and they begin to converse.

They aren't speaking English, so I'm not sure what they're saying, but I guess I'm the topic of conversation, since they keep gesturing my way. At one point the conversation gets heated. Black-beard raises his voice, only to be rebuked by the older man. Eventually, he seems to concede something, then heads back my way.

"I've just had a talk with our village chief. It is his decision that you will not be sent back to the facility. Though I must say I disagree with him."

"So you're letting me go?" I ask, hopeful.

He chuckles. "No, no, the chief just thinks you can serve our village in better ways, than by just returning you to the facility."

I'm suddenly very nervous. "What does he expect me to do?"

He fixes me with a serious stare and replies:

1. "You speak English, which is a rare but valuable skill in these parts. We need you to be an interpreter and liason for the village."
2. "You will work in the fields"
3. "The goat-herder is looking for a wife."

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