Saga

Amanda, a rich little girl from England is sitting together with her parents, MR and MRS Buckley at the breakfast table. Yesterday she got three new toys, Amanda is not stupid, and she knows exactly why she got them.

-     Why are you always giving me these stupid toys? Why can’t you just spend some time with me instead? These toys only remind me of you not having time for me, Amanda says and runs away crying.

-     Maybe we should let Amanda come with us to Africa for a change? MRS Buckley says.

-     I don’t know if that’s such a good idea, MR Buckley answers.

-      But she is our daughter Peter, she is right, we don’t spend enough time with her, she knows our butler better than she knows us…

- Okay, I’ll think about it, but in that case our butler should join us. She needs someone who can take care of her when we are working.

Two weeks later, Amanda, MR and MRS Buckley and George, the butler, head of for Africa. Amanda had spent the last two weeks giving her parents’ headaches because of all her talk about Africa and the wildlife, the hot weather and the dangerous animals and so on.

After a very long time on the plane they finally arrive to Africa. Amanda could not be more exited.

-  George, come on, hurry. Says Amanda while running around with a big smile on her face.

-  I’m coming I’m coming honey. Calm down.

After their arrival at the hotel Amanda is bored. George is sleeping and her parents are out working. She decides to go down to the pool which is located at the main floor. She takes the elevator and when she steps out of it something distracts her. There is an African boy playing outside the hotel and Amanda can’t stand her curiosity. She sneaks out and stands next to the boy. He looks up at her with friendly, brown eyes. Amanda begins to smile.

-  Hello, she says

-  Hi, he answers.

-  Wow, you can speak English? Amanda says with a lot of surprise

-  Yes, why wouldn’t I? He says and smiles.

-  Well I didn’t know you where speaking English in Africa.

-  Well not everybody, but a lot of us do especially here in Ghana.

-  Why? Do you learn in it school?

The boy looks down, as if he has been emotionally hurt.

-  I don’t go to school, he says still with his eyes fixed on the ground. A long time ago, the Americans came here and a lot of us became slaves. The Americans forced us to speak English. I’m grown up with this language. He looks up at Amanda and smiles now.

-  Oh, I remember my parents talked about that with me before, but I didn’t put it on my mind. What’s your name by the way?

-  My name is Kiros, what’s yours?

-  Amanda. Amanda Buckley.

Kiros and Amanda begin to talk a lot and they are playing together  the whole day outside the hotel. They also decide to meet outside the hotel again tomorrow and then Kiros is going to take Amanda to his little village outside the city. 

Amanda doesn’t tell her parents about Kiros, because they have told her not to speak to anyone outside the hotel. She doesn’t know if telling George might be a bad idea to. She decides to wait, and maybe she will tell him tomorrow.

Next day Amanda and Kiros meet outside the hotel just as planned. Kiros has got a bike with him and Amanda jumps up on the package holder.  They rushes down the streets. The eyes of Amanda is getting bigger and bigger the more she sees of the surroundings . Everything is so different from what she’s used to, the smell, the food, the culture and the look of the beautiful nature. Kiros tells her that the people in Ghana are known trough out the world for their great hospitality . Amanda really believes him, every time they have to stop there are always some persons who come to them just for a little talk and to see if they can help in any way and so on.

When they finally arrive to his little village, Konongo Odumasi, Amanda sees these thin little children and the poor women. Amanda begins to cry and Kiros desperately tries to understand what’s wrong.

-  Kiros, do you know that I’m terribly rich, and that I could get almost everything I’m pointing at?

-  No, I didn’t know, but I could guess, everyone who lives at the Royal Park Hotel use to be rich. But why on earth would you cry because of that?

-  Because, i have more money than I could ever spend. And you, you are starving...

After a long conversation about rich and poor people Amanda and Kiros play together, all day long. And when the twilight falls Kiros takes her back home to the hotel. But before they head back  to the hotel he wants to show her a secret place. They go through a thicket and come out on an open spot with one big palm.

-  Oh it’s beautiful here, Amanda said surprised.

-  When I get married, I would like to have the ceremoni right here under this tree.

Then Kiros escorted her home.

-  Do we meet tomorrow again? Amanda asks.

-  Yes, I would love that. Kiros smiles and bikes away.

Amanda enter the hotelroom and finds George sitting on his bed, red eyed and terrified.

-  George what’s wrong?

-  Amanda! Oh tank god you are okay!

George hugs Amanda and begins to cry again. He pushes her away from him and looks her in the eyes.

-  Where have you been? I thought you were dead or something!

-  I was just out with this friend of mine. Amanda answers defiantly.  

-  You are not allowed to go out on your own! What would MR and MRS Buckley say if they were aware of this.

-  But you were just sleeping so I’ve got bored…

-  Okay, I’m really sorry about that. And you, let us not tell your parents about this, okay?

-  Okay that’s sounds like a good idea.

After that evening George always followed Amanda to Konongu Odumasi. Her parents did still not know anything, it was for their own best.

One day when Amanda and George were waiting for Kiros one of his friends arrives in his place.

-  I’m really sorry, but you can’t visit Kiros today.

-  Why? Amanda asks scared.

-  His sick…

-  What do you mean with sick?

-  Well I don’t know how sick he is, I’m not allowed to visit him either. He’s in too bad shape.

Amanda looks at him with tear-filled eyes when he turns his back at her an walks away.

-  George, we have to help Kiros! Amanda says.

-  I’m sorry Amanda but I don’t think there is much we can do.

-  Come on! Amanda whines. Mum and Dad can take him to a hospital!

-  Well, I can talk to them, but they will probably not agree on that one. I’m not sure they will even consider it.

-  Please George, talk to them, you know they won’t listen to me.

-  I will Amanda, I will, but don’t have to high expectations. You know MR and MSR Buckley have a lot of other things to do. 

George was right,  Amanda’s parents didn’t even think about taking Kiros to a hospital. They said he wasn’t their problem. After that Amanda wasn’t even permitted to see Kiros again. But what they didn’t know was that Amanda and George had arranged a way to bring Kiros back to England. How that was possible there is no one who knows, the only thing we know is that George had a lot of good contacts with the people at the airport, both in Africa and in England.

Amanda and her family arrived safely to England and non of her parents suspected anything. The little African boy who sat behind them could have been anyone. Amanda and George told Kiros that they would come back and pick him up later in the afternoon, and so they did. At the beginning George, Kiros and Amanda succeeded surprisingly to fool  MR and MSR Buckley that Kiros was an exchange student. Since George was the one who had best contact with Amanda’s school it took a long time before they looked it up. From their point of view they were considered that George had forgotten to tell them about this matter earlier.

In view of that fact that Kiros was sick they lately had to take him to a hospital, at the same time MR and MSR Buckley found out about who Kiros really was. After Kiros recovered MR and MSR Buckley sent Kiros back to Africa. This was the worst time that  Amanda had ever expired, Kiros was no longer a part of her daily life, she cried herself to sleep for half a year, George virtually got fired and her parents were mad, all the time. Although life moved on and everybody roughly forgot about what had happened. They never talked about it again even though everybody still remembered it.

Fifteen years later Amanda went back to Africa, and Konongu Odumasi. At this time she owned her own company and she was  one of the wealthiest  woman in England.

When she arrived to Konongu Odumasi she was looking right at Kiros. The people told her that he was gone for the day but probably would come back by the night. Amanda waited and when Kiros arrived she recognized his deep brown eyes at once, and when he saw her he  renowned Amanda immediately .

Amanda told him that she was there to donate money to his village. She wanted to rebuild all the houses and make sure that everybody was going to be able to drink clean water every day. The happiness in the village that arose was indescribable. This rebuilding needed  Amanda to stayi in Ghana for 18 months.

Amanda spent every free second together with Kiros. At the end they could not even be apart for two hours. They fell in love. The night before Amanda was supposed to go back to England they spent their last hours together in the moonlight sitting under a palm, the same palm that Kiros had showed to her the first time she visited Konongu Odumasi. They held each other’s hand and the sound of the crickets gave everything an extra romantic touch. Kiros felt that this was the right moment to ask for her hand.

-  Amanda Buckley, he said and knelt. Will you Mary me, Kiros Anikulapo?

-  Yes Kiros, I do! She brought him up at his feet again and kissed him.

And they lived happily ever after.

 

 

Av: Emma Smith

NV09

 

 

 

 

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