Mother

by Murdell Moore (Canada)

I didn't expect to find Ethiopia

As Mary stepped off the plane in Addis Ababa her lungs were filled with cool mountain air .Her entire body permeated with the earthy smell of Africa . She had left Cape Breton a couple of days before and with a quick visit to see the Pope she flew into Ethiopia , full of hope and anticipation. As she stepped out into the night , there were the unfamiliar sounds of drivers speaking the language of our Lord Jesus , Amharic . Quickly she was drawn to something she knew. It was the sound of English and a young man was asking her where she wanted to go. When she arrived at the Haile Salasse Hotel she was greeted by a smiling women who struggled to communicate . They managed with a few physical jesters and before long Mary was in her room. She was relieved to see a lock on her door. When she left her lonesome Island home she was both excited and scared ,after all most people in her town went to Florida for a vacation , not the Great Rift Valley in East Africa. After unpacking and laying down for the first time in 24 hours , she realized that the silence of the night was broken by the sound of hundreds of dogs barking in the distance. She wondered if the dogs where keeping the wild animals at bay in this uncolonized country. Finally and without warning the sounds faded and sleep took hold . Mary awoke to a very light knocking on her door, as she made her way over to the door, the previous night came flooding back and she realized she was alone , in Africa. As she peered through the small crack of the door , the same young women from the night before was smiling and pointing towards the courtyard . Mary could see the tables had been set with dishes . As the girl spoke in Amharic and pointed towards the table, Mary smiled in agreement then closed the door. Mary realized that she was hungry and had not eaten since her layover in Rome AirItalia was one of only a few airlines that flew from North America to Ethiopia via Italy. The Italian army had tried to invade Ethiopia nearly 60 years earlier but were unsuccessful . Some say the arid mountains around the capital Addis Ababa had held the invaders back. Haile Salasse made a plea to the United Nations and was rewarded with the help of the British in keeping out the Italians. The only remnants of the war was spaghetti and Air Italia flights . As Mary sat down to eat she was surprised at how ordinary her breakfast was . Boiled eggs and toast . She chuckled to herself and thought I could have stayed in Cape Breton and ate this at the Highland Restaurant. She was still thankful for the food and ate it enthusiastically . Suddenly , something or someone had jumped from behind her chair and was semi-perched on the table . Mary screamed in horror . As she looked up a giant male baboon was grabbing a slice of toast and with his other hand he reached for the butter as he leaped off the table and ran. The pleasant young women came running towards Mary with a smile as she tried hard to hold back laughter. Mary could hardly see what was funny about the baboon stealing her breakfast and turned towards her room . After calming down Mary went to the reception desk to inquire about a taxi to take her around the City . A man appeared and to Mary’s astonishment he spoke perfect English and offered to give her a tour of the City. The first place they went to was the Addis Ababa museum . Mary did not know what to expect , the building was small and the windows were open with long white curtains were being drawn outside by the wind. The cost of admission was 2 Bir . She walked into the first room and it was filled with belongings of the Royal family of Ethiopia. Mary found this to be odd. These priceless treasures were laid out on tables for all to see and touch . When Mary turned the corner into the next room , there laid out on a unceremonious table , on top of a modest piece of cloth were the bones of a small human being . The driver leaned over and said this is our mother Lucy.