Chapter One

She walked by the dirty side walk of the streets of Elino going home from school. Being a medical student and living on her own made sure she was shabbily dressed. She smelt the contaminated air coming from the sewage and scrunched her nose. The town really could do with alot of cleaning money from the county government. She however, couldn't complain much given that her faded blue dress and torn shoes looked just as the sewage smelled. It was a hard life but there were others who hard it worse. She was at least lucky to have clothes on her back and shoes to protect her cracked soles from the hard gravel. Like someone had told her before, if we say we don't have good shoes, there are those who will say they don't have feet to put those shoes on. She pulled her braided hair from her face and shuddered, just thinking about the amount of bacteria and God knows what else that might have been transferred from her dirty hair to her fingers. She really needed a miracle. So she took a left turn instead of a right one and headed for the public free park. It was the only place in her short life that held anything good; loneliness and quiet. Just what she needed after a day of digging through the cadavers and dealing with toxic masculinity. Her lips curved into a small smile as she pushed the rusted gate and got in. There weren't many people there, there never were. Infact there were only about ten people who had stayed loyal to the park. It wasn't well maintained, so it wasn't as attractive which is what made it more appealing to the broken like her. She scanned the area and noticed that there was a new face sitting not far from her spot. She walked behind him so that she wouldn't have to say hi. It's not that she hated people. Matter of fact she smiled at everyone. It was one of her life mottos; to smile at a stranger because you might just change a life. As she walked behind him, she saw him move a little and almost stopped breathing. She couldn't deal with talking to someone today. It had been a terrible day today.

***Earlier that day***
When she got to the diner where she worked, Munzi could sense that something was not right. The coat rack had a new coat hanging on it. The last time something like that had happened, old Mr Ferida had been fired. She felt a burn in bottom of her tummy. This wasn't good. If she got fired, her life was over, mostly. She depended on her meager salary combined with the money her parents sent her to make ends meet. After hanging her coat,she picked an apron and started wiping the tables preparing to open the small diner for the late afternoon. There weren't many customers so she had alot of free time to think of the worst case scenarios. After what felt like an eternity but was really just an hour, Jenita, her boss came from the back with a man in a suit. She was smiling which only made things worse. After a firm light-hearted handshake, Jenita faced her and directed her to meet in the back with her head. After making sure that no customers needed anything, she went to the back.
"I won't beat around the bush Munzi. The business has been getting worse and I can't afford to keep it anymore. So in other words I'm closing down the business and you're fired. You're dismissed." Jennifer had said without looking at her. She wasn't kidding, Munzi was screwed.
"Please excuse me." She managed to say before hurrying out of the room and hiding behind the counter. She wanted to cry but she couldn't. Years of bottling it up made sure of that. Besides it couldn't get worse than that. So she picked up her school bag and left leaving her coat behind.
  ***End of flashback***
He watched as she sat and was surprised that he found her attractive. Adrian felt guilty. He had just lost the woman he loved and his wife. He shouldn't be finding other women attractive especially ones who weren't even from the same race as him. He wasn't racist just realistic. It wouldn't work between him and this stranger. But something about her made him want to forget that he had followed his wife to Zenj. That he had chased her and her lover across two continents only to end up being kidnapped. To forget that he had barely escaped with his life from cattle rustlers. This girl that he didn't know made him want to live again. He knew that everything with God worked for good. Every moment in his life was meant to bring him here. Sitting hungry in an abandoned park, thinking about his dead adulterous wife and a girl he didn't know. It was meant to be and then maybe it was also meant to be that he would talk to her. He was a minister in his home church and she looked like she was carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. This was the sign he needed. God had sent him to her. So he waited to build the courage to go and talk to her. Until he found it,he would just watch her from his spot. He saw as she took out her phone and began scrolling. She must have been reading. Several minutes later, she was in another world. Away from whatever was plaguing her in the real world. She began to smile and occasionally laugh. Looking at her, you'd think she was crazy but if you really looked, you'd see that she wasn't alone. She was another person in a different life, a better version of the illusion anyway. He got lost in her expressions. He could watch her all day. Even the late afternoon sunlight that he would normally not care to look at made her look even more ethereal.
"Lord help me." He said to himself as he kept watching. And then the magic was broken. The girl began to sob and then cry silently. So much that only the tears really showed the truth about her sadness. He couldn't wait any longer, he had to go to her. At least try to find out what was wrong and help if possible. He got up and approached her.
"Mind if I sit here? You look like you could use a friend." He said and sat without waiting for a response.
"Why, never seen a girl cry before?" She asked bitingly. He chuckled.
"Believe me, I have seen my fair share. My wife used to cry every night." He told her reminiscing about the late nights calming of Rosette down.
"What makes you think I'm interested in talking or listening to you?" She asked him but turned off her phone while turning to face him. Her beautiful face had trails of dried tears that he wished he could wipe.
"Nothing but in my line of work, I have come to notice that people open up more after I initiate the conversation." He told her smiling.
She thought his smile was charming so she looked away. She couldn't afford to get friendly with the handsome stranger. Men were a big no for her, at least until she was thirty. She was still nursing fresh wounds from her first and only break up.
"So what you are a pastor or something?" She asked out of curiosity. It wouldn't hurt to know.
"Matter of fact I am." He said before adding something else."I am a minister in a small church located in Leville, Colotta."
"Good for you. So what are you doing in Kendi?" She asked the white man and made a point to search for Leville once they parted.
"I was following my wife and her lover. In the process I got kidnapped by a couple of cattle rustlers and barely managed to escape with my life. Now here I am lost in the middle of nowhere." He explained and noticed how easy it seemed to talk to her.
"Sorry about that. Cattle rustling is part of some of our people's lives." She said.
"I have told you my story so what's yours?" He asked.
"First of all I didn't ask and second this isn't Grey's anatomy. Third you are a stranger in 2000 and lastly I don't have a story." She said using her long fingers to show her points.
"Why don't we change that then? Hello, nice to meet you. My name is Adrian Mitchell." He offered his hand to her.
"I am not interested in knowing you but out of politeness and the fact that my parents taught me manners I'll shake your hand." She said taking his big hand in her small one. He was so warm, she could have cuddled him.
"Are you going to tell me your story now?" He asked after letting her cool hand go. She took in a deep breath and let it go before starting.