Thanks for all ur reviews Lin! Ur awesome. :)
Dear diary,
This morning Biko came to wake me up at about six in the morning! I should have been angry but since I was still half asleep but for some reason I wasn't. He asked me if I wanted to see a baby elephant being born. What was I supposed to say? This was a one in a life time experience! I jumped out of bed and it was only then that I realized I was in my bra and underwear from the previous day. Biko turned beat red again and turned around. Anyways, I got dressed and we left. Biko wouldn't look at me for most of the time though. It made me wonder if he had ever seen a girl half naked… I highly doubt it. He's as naïve as the goat mom keeps letting in the house. Man, I hate that goat… Anyway, we left and the sun was just rising over the horizon. It didn't take us long to be on the savannah and then all of the sudden I saw her. Biko told me he named her Korianne. She had been on the wildlife preserve near the house but it had gone bankrupt. No one wanted the elephant so they set her free and Biko looked after her, whenever he could.
"I didn't imagine elephants to be this big!" I whispered. Biko laughed.
"Well she is pregnant. I stayed up all night with her. She's been in labour since yesterday. We might need to go in and help the baby out…"
"What!" I asked horrified. "We won't have to... you know?"
"I think so…"
"Gross! Can't we call the doctor or something?"
"We could, but not when we have a veterinarian right here. Growing up here, people deliver all kinds of animals," he replied. "It's not that bad." He went back to the truck we came in. He brought back some gloves and threw some garbage bags to me. "A City kid like you's not scared of a mother giving birth are you?" He smiled.
"No," I replied indignantly.
"Okay," He sighed. There is not much to describe. How can you describe an elephant giving birth? It was… well a good experience. The baby elephant got out healthy and Korianne took over from there.
"I found a name for her," said Biko after we had gotten home and cleaned up. "I've always liked the name Kelsey. What do you think?"
"You really want to name it after me?" He smiled. He was doing a lot of that lately and it still made me nervous. "I guess it has a nice ring to it Korianne and Kelsey. I like it," I said.
"Want to make breakfast for her?" Biko asked when we got back to the house.
"Who?"
He gave me the look that someone does when you're asking about the obvious. "Your mom, of course. She worked late with the people down at the hospital last night."
"I still don't get what she does. She just stands on a soap box and yells at people to repent in their hospital beds?" I laughed at my own little joke. Biko did not.
"Well, she visits with the ones who nobody visits and preaches with a bunch of other devoted strong people. So, do you want to help make breakfast for her or not?"
"No!" I replied. Why would I make breakfast for her?" He was persistent and got to work making the eggs. "Fine… I let up. But I'm not bringing it in to her."
Since I had nothing else to do for the rest of the day, I spent it hanging out with Biko. We went to go get some more groceries at the market. I went with him on one condition; we ride in his truck. Thankfully it had been fixed the day before. On the way there Biko told me stories of his childhood and the time flew by. I was also glad that we didn't need to go all the way into town just to get groceries. By the time, we had reached the local market, I had learned that he had four sisters (Adriana who was fifteen years old, Ariane eleven, Mary five, and Liana three years) and three brothers (Koby eighteen, Marco thirteen, and Achim nine).
"So let me get this straight. You have eight children in your family?" He nodded. "Koby, you, Adriana, Marco, Ariane, Achim, Mary, and Liana."
"I've just received a letter from my mother and she is pregnant again. She is really happy because it'll be a boy."
"How does she know?" I asked remembering they didn't have ultra-sounds here.
"I still don't know. She just knows these things and she's never been wrong before. My father's especially glad because he wants more boys to help the rest of the family," he said.
"Why aren't you with them?" I asked timidly turning to face him.
He sighed. "Because I became a Christian and they didn't approve. They told me to leave and so I did. It's hard to be surrounded by those who don't share the same beliefs as you, all the time."
"So they kicked you out?"
"Kind of, but I still visit once in a while. They want me to come back and forget about God, but… I can't do that."
"So that's why you and my mom get along so well. You both thought an invisible God was more important than your family," I said. I was annoyed. What was wrong with all these Christians? Couldn't they see how their 'religion' was hurting the people who matter the most?
"Have you looked into Christianity before coming to all these conclusions?" Biko asked.
"I know enough to get by and enough to know that its bull. Some insane guy named Jesus wasted his whole life saying he was god and then died for it, just to prove it. It's all a big money scam made by the church. Besides, any God that would demand that you give up everything for him, isn't worth following. All religion is the same. Stupid and pointless."
"All religions are not the same, Kelsey. Christianity is different. Did you know that Christianity is the only religion in which humans cannot save themselves? We don't need to do any special thing to be accepted, loved. We can only be unconditionally loved by one person; the One who created us. The One who made us from His own image is the only One whose love conquers all things material and intangible. He loved us so much that he sent himself down as a sacrifice, to be whipped, humiliated and nailed to a cross. He did all that so that we could be in heaven with him forever. Hepaid the price for us, i gues you could call it the enterance feefor heaven. So now we have it for free, we just need to accept it.That is love, Kelsey," at this point he stopped his speech. "I'm sorry, am I talking your ear off?"
Despite myself I said, "No." In my subconscious, I wanted to know more about this love. He told me some more about how God changed his life and for the first time I saw God as someone who loved, and wasn't always angry.
It made me think, really think. And this time I didn't stop myself. I knew it was dangerous, but I needed to explore my mind. I needed to think this out… What if this God did exist and I was wrong? I highly doubted it, but none the less I felt like I had to ask someone else about it. I couldn't just believe Biko's word. I would ask Selena next Youth's Night. This could wait, I supposed. Well, I have to go now. Biko and I are going to paint the house with a few of his friends. It seriously needs a good paint job, and mom is paying us (BONUS!)
LOVE, ME