Claire's Prayer by Yvonne Cloete

togetherness, she had mused, and still she wondered if her intense awareness of his physical beauty would ever fade. Naomi had snapped out of her daydream as she’d heard the rumble of engines in the distance.
    Then the trucks had arrived and, over the course of that October afternoon, Naomi’d watched as the antelope were off-loaded and guided into the boma. As the sun hung low on the horizon, she’d joined Seth and Tony at the enclosure’s wooden rails. Each section held a different type of antelope. After the long truck ride, they would all spend a few days here, and then be released into the bush. In the quiet after the labourers had gone home and the trucks had left, a gentle breeze had brushed across Naomi’s flushed face, Tony’s arm had wrapped itself firmly around her waist, and they’d stared in fascination at the magnificent kudu, eland and sable. The antelope were skittish after the long journey, but they would soon become accustomed to their new territory. In pure happiness, Naomi had given her brother’s hand a squeeze. Their dream was becoming a reality. Slowly, truck-load by truck-load, they were restocking their land with game. The back-breaking labour of the past two years had been worth it. If only Dad and Mom had lived to see this day , she’d thought.
    It had taken a while for joy to return to Impunzi, but Naomi had never stopped loving the ranch. Even on her first day back after the tragedy, she had stood outside it with her eyes closed, absorbing the smells and sounds that were home. At her request, Seth and Tony had unwillingly left her to re-enter the house alone. Opening her eyes, arms flung wide, Naomi had spun slowly around. How she loved this place, and how she had missed it.
    Naomi wandered slowly through the house; everything seemed pretty much the same. Taking a deep breath, she walked into her parents’ room. It looked cold – every trace of them was gone. She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to capture the scent of her mother’s perfume. Nothing. There was no lingering presence here. Feeling a deep sadness invade her heart, Naomi hugged herself tightly and let the tears trickle freely down her cheeks. Falling to her knees in grief she collapsed against the bed her parents had shared and sobbed brokenly. This is too hard to bear , she thought. Then, seemingly from nowhere, strong arms lifted her up. She curled into Tony’s warm, vital body and clung there as her grief played out.
    Tony held her close, tears in his own eyes as he realized that he couldn’t make this better for her. Hurt like this needed to run its course, this he knew from bitter experience. From the corner of his eye, he saw Seth hesitating in the doorway, his eyes bright with unshed tears and his fists clenched in helpless frustration. Tony gathered Naomi closer and silently nodded to Seth. Turning away from them, Seth stalked off.
    After a long while, Naomi calmed. Tony poured her a cup of strong, sweet tea; then they opened the front door and walked slowly around the garden. For the first time, Naomi noticed that the sandbags were gone from in front of the windows, the only evidence of their existence the brown, dead patches of lawn that had been left in their wake. It was good to have the sun shining into the house again.
    Naomi had, from then on, kept herself occupied with ranch business. Her newly-completed design qualifications were put to immediate use as she spent many hours going over Seth’s plans for his vision of turning Impunzi into the big game viewing and fishing resort it now was, trying to imagine how their home could look. His excitement was contagious, and together they had formed a picture of their future.
    Now those plans were a reality, and Impunzi had gone from strength to strength since the day the antelope had come. With only one guest to care for , Naomi thought, this winter will be idyllic . Then she looked around and, almost bursting with joy, saw Seth’s sleek BMW pull into the