“Oh, dear…”
“Well, you are the doctor, right?”
“Look, old chap… Can we just keep quiet about this?”
“Keep quiet?”
“Yes, old chap. I just feel silly about all this and want to keep my name out of the papers.”
“But, Dr. Livingstone, you are in all the newspapers. Everyone talks about you.”
“Really? Good Lord…”
“Of course. Why do you think I’m here? Every reader who cares to follow your story wants to know about your predicament, your whereabouts?”
“Ahh, that would include people who know me, I suspect?”
“Well, yes. If those people can read, hear and understand the stories.”
“A pity, then.”
“But, how could that be so?”
“Well, the situation I am in at the moment makes it rather awkward for me to have this kind of attention.”
“Well, you don’t have to leave, you know. As long as we know where you are…”
“Yes, yes, I understand. But you travelled all this way for a reason. You must have done so for more than just a brief ‘Hello’.”
“Ah, yes. May I be honest? The newspapers have offered significant rewards for your discovery. I was simply the first to obtain such contact with you…”
“Yes, the first… Well, I should introduce you the tribesmen…”
“Right. Let’s do that. This is Lake Taganika, is it not?”
“Yes, the Nile does not run from here, though. Ahh, they are ready. Would like to meet them now?”
“Oh, of course. Let me just make some notes…”
“In just one moment. You should really see this ceremony. You will be treated with special accommadations.”
“Interesting. This will interest readers… Oh, is that a pith helmet?”
“Yes, we have quite a collection now. Let’s see the ceremony.”
“An awful lot of them. Where are the owners?”
“I see that the fire’s ready.”
“A lot of them unattended to. Dr Livingstone?”
“You will really enjoy this.”
Writer/Reader/Poet/Dreamer... Kendall is a college instructor, experimenter with the written word, and someone who thinks that books are worth saving. (Also: librarians and snail mail—damn you, Canada Post and certain school boards!) I just hope that someone gets a laugh and enjoys my work...
