The crop fields surrounded the village on three sides, and the time soon came to plow the fields again to prepare for the planting of the next crop.
Eric had told her that the harvesting stage was backbreaking work, the ripened shoots having to be taken down with cradle scythes, one by one and row after row until all the fields were clear, but from what she was observing, it seemed that at no point was crop growing an easy task at all.
It was midday, and the both of them had just enjoyed a hearty lunch that Jackie had painstakingly prepared, and Eric had made his way to the crop fields, a long shovel and rake in hand.
She had stared, bemused, when he had grabbed them from where they had been resting by the side of the door but quietly followed him when he indicated she do so, curious as to what other side of him would be revealed to her now.
And reveal itself it had. They weaved in and out the other similar thatch-roofed, mud-walled circular dwellings that belonged to the other villagers, along a path that Eric and the other villagers had set. She followed him all the way down to the fields, uncaring as her shoes were scuffed with dirt and the sun beat down on her head.
A change in the texture and color of the soil marked the edge of the crop fields, and Eric automatically placed his hat on her head and then stomped on the dirt on the ground. He shoved his spade forcefully into the ground, unearthing about two and a half feet of the soil before turning to her with a smile.
"This here is topsoil. It's good, it's rich and we are incredibly fortunate that our luck has held so far and we've got about thirty inches of quality soil."
"Thirty inches is good?"
He nodded. "On a down season, you might get less than five inches, and it will not make for a good crop. Not enough nutrients to feed the plant. And sugarcane is a massive plant."
She understood. "Ah. You're plowing the fields."
He looked at her and grinned. "Yep. I dig up the soil and turn it over. At the same time breaking up these clods you see here," -he nudged at a clump of earth with his foot- "and loosening the soil to improve aeration. You can call it tillage, and it helps the roots of the plant to grow more easily, which makes for a better plant."
She looked across at the now clear fields stretching far into the horizon. They seemed suddenly a lot more vast than she had previously thought them to be. "Oh my God," she blurted out. "You do this by hand?! With those pathetic tools?"
He laughed. He couldn't help it. He found her adorable with the incredulity on her face and her eyes as wide as saucers.
"About sums it up. We all do it. We've got more arable land here, so it'll take us half a month, maybe slightly less. The faster we work, the faster the crop goes in, and we don't wanna take too long or the season will change and the saplings won't grow properly."
She stared at his primitive rake and shovel, and lifted her eyes to scan the never ending vastness of the fields, noting dots here and there where the men have already gotten to work. She looked at him again, eyes darting back and forth between him, his tools, and the fields. "Eric, this is unbelievable. And you've done this before?"
He adjusted the hat on her head to properly shade the tip of her nose. "Yeah. The first time it was hard, but the crop rotates every three to four months, so this would make it about my third or fourth time doing this."
He lifted his shoulders in a nonchalant shrug. "It's okay, you get used to it. I'm an old hand now," he said and shot her charming grin.
She shook her head in disbelief, still stunned at the sheer amount of labor that he subjected himself to on a daily basis. She stepped back suddenly and ran her eyes over his muscled frame with new eyes and no small amount of respect.
"I'm beginning to understand now," she murmured.
And she did. As sexy as she found him now, what really got her was that he hadn't gotten like this from vanity, or from pumping iron at leisure in an indoor gym.
He had used his body, used it and pushed it, and it had responded, being honed thus because of his desire to help the people, to ease their workload, better their livelihood and shoulder their burden.
It was easy to see why he was loved here and her admiration for him grew even further.
God, he was something else. She lowered her eyes, feeling a sudden surge of emotion for him that she could barely contain. She thought about all he had done and accomplished and given up, for the people here, his family, his friends and her, and was staggered by it all. He's amazing. He's the most amazing man I know.
He frowned a little, puzzled at what she had said and her reaction, but brushed it off when someone hailed his attention. He shouted back an answer in rapid Swahili and the man nodded in reply.
"Okay. Gotta work now," he murmured distractedly. He turned back to her with a small smile. "Be good and don't stay out in the sun too long. Your skin's delicate and not used to it yet."
She laughed, touched again at his concern. She reached up to place his hat back on his head but he stopped her with a shake of his head.
"You hang on to it. Knowing you, you'll probably hang around nearby till I'm done for the day." He looked slightly troubled at that, and looked around for a shady area she could sit under.
He spotted her tree and pointed to it, "Not too far off, is it?"
She looked over and shook her head in agreement. "Now that you're certain I won't burn the top layer of my skin off under this sun, take this back will you?" She plonked his hat on his head. "So I won't have to worry about you getting heat stroke."
A smile tugged at the corner of his lips and on impulse, he snagged one of her hands as she turned to go.
He didn't know why he did so, but he was reluctant to let her leave just yet and couldn't resist pressing a kiss to the inside of her wrist in goodbye. Her skin was warm against his lips and he felt her pulse leap at his touch.
"See you later," he said huskily.
Jackie couldn't tear her eyes away from his green gaze. She managed a weak nod before he let go of her wrist and it fell limply to her side. She watched him stride off to join the others; the imprint of his lips on her wrist burning through her skin and setting her whole body afire.
They were enjoying a quiet evening together. Eric was sitting at the wooden table where they also had their meals grading papers by the light of a kerosene lamp. The air outside was damp, and the village had been expecting a heavy storm all day.
Lightning flashed and across the table, Jackie tensed. She didn't like storms. She forced herself to continue what she was doing: chronicling the goings-on of the village and contemplating how she could provide to ease their way.
Thunder sounded and this time she jumped. Eric looked up from his work.
"You're afraid?" he asked.
She nodded weakly. "A little," she said.
He contemplated her, shifting his gaze to the storm outside. "Come with me," he said quietly.
He pulled her up by her hand and led her to the door. The fringe of the thatched roof provided them a little shelter from the rain pouring outside, and they sat on a crude little bench just under it with their backs to the rough mud of the outside wall.
Stray splashes of water hit them from the cascade coming down in front of them, and Jackie pulled her knees up to her chest on the bench. It didn't seem to bother Eric though, and he had a far off look in his eye as he stared out at the heavy downpour before him.
And then he spoke.
"The people here love rain. Rain is... Life." A pause, then, "Look." He pointed to the red of the wet ground before them. "It seeps into the earth. And from it, life sprouts."
Raising his hand, he pointed past all the huts of the village, and indicated the crops in the far off field. "The crops drink it. The rain feeds them. It's a wonderful thing - rain. It wipes the slate clean. Washes away the dirt and dust and just like that, everything becomes sharper, clearer… and cleaner."
Lulled by the soothing cadence of his voice, Jackie looked, and she saw.
The rain continued to pour down all around them.
"Close your eyes. Listen. I love the sound of rain. It's like music." A distant clap of thunder sounded and Eric whispered, "That's the drums. A thunderstorm is it's very own orchestra."
A flash of lightning split the sky. "Complete with visual effects too." He turned to grin at her.
She opened her eyes and giggled.
"A lot of your ABBA tracks really sound like this, you know."
Jackie turned to him with an eyebrow raised in wry amusement.
"No? Okay well," he started ticking them off his fingers. "Man after Midnight. Fernando." He paused for a breath. "Dancing Queen. Lots of crashing and banging going on there."
He opened his palms. "Just like this."
Jackie couldn't help herself. She laughed.
Eric smiled at her. "Ah. But the most wonderful part of it is this. Breathe it in."
Jackie looked at him. His eyes were closed and he had both hands on his knees. He took a deep breath and exhaled. She observed him for a couple more seconds before she closed her eyes and did the same. Inhale. Exhale.
It was several seconds before he spoke again. "I feel like it cleanses me. It cleanses me on the inside. Takes away my fears. My… Guilt… My regrets. And washes it away. 'Cos it is so clean, you know, so pure… that it can only come from all that is good in this world.
"And... even after the rain stops. The smell of it remains. You can smell it on the leaves of the trees. The earth beneath our feet. The crops in the field. The grass in the meadow... The smell of it, it lingers. And until the sun comes out and it all dries up..." —a smile so faint it barely made it past his lips— "…I can feel all that is good in this world."
He took another deep breath and held it in before he expelled it again. "And that is why I love the rain."
They sat together for a long while, shoulder to shoulder, thigh to thigh, hand in hand. Watching and listening and breathing everything in together as the rain poured ceaselessly around them.
Her head found its way to the nook in his neck and along with the rain she smelled wood and spice and earth. It was a wonderful scent — soothing and comforting, and Jackie once again found the peace that had deserted her so long ago, and felt the many broken pieces of her heart start to come together again.