Doctored by K'Anne Meinel Page B

all agreed on that and the conversation moved on to what Lenny was doing as a teacher.  Fluent in both the local dialect as well as Afrikaans, French, and English, she was well-prepared to help out in the clinic as well as teach.  She had worked hard with Deanna to educate on more than the three ‘Rs’, which would help both the next generation and those women who were attending her classes.
    “What do you think of Alex?” Leida asked as she smiled shyly.  It was obvious that the Australian had a crush on the administrator who would soon be leaving—once he had fully trained Thomas, who had a lot to learn.
    They laughed and openly discussed Alex and Thomas and their potential as mates, even dates.  Neither of the nurses realized that Deanna didn’t participate in the conversation other than to smile and nod.  She seemed to look at the scenery frequently as the two women laughed like school girls over the attributes of the two men. 
    “No, I wouldn’t date him,” Maddie disagreed with Leida about Thomas.  She knew not to put Alex down as the other woman had staked an artificial claim to him, even if he wasn’t aware of it.
    “Why not?  Have a fling while you are here,” the Aussie encouraged.  Even Lakesh smiled at that and laughed at the women.  He had learned long ago that these Westerners were a lot different from the African people.
    “I don’t see anyone else having a fling except for Hamishish,” she answered tartly.
    At the mention of their friend, Deanna finally contributed.  “For her, it’s a duty,” she commented.
    “Isn’t she more like a prostitute then?”
    Deanna shook her head.  “You need to open up your mind more.  Stop thinking with your American values and morals.  It’s an honor to sleep with Hamishish,” she tried explaining.
    “But they give her things in exchange for her honors,” she pointed out with a chuckle.
    Deanna shook her head again.  “You have to understand it from their point of view.  She helps out with their spiritual well-being.  She is almost as important, if not more so, than their elders or leaders of the tribe.  All the different tribes that come through here,” she indicated Lakesh, where they had come from, “have different ideals, and despite cultural differences, they understand a medicine woman such as she.”
    “I thought she was magic?” Leida asked.
    “She is, but not in the way that a Western-raised person would think.  Remember when I had the leaders and Hamishish clean out the wards?”  As both of the women nodded, she continued, “The patients believed it was spiritually cleaned so they healed better, faster even, because it’s in their mindset.  If we didn’t believe in ourselves or what we were raised to believe, we would lose more than our faith.  It’s in the body and mind that the healing begins.”
    Both women looked at the doctor thoughtfully.  It was Maddie who asked, “Do you think you are a medicine woman?  Do they?”
    Deanna nodded.  “Some do.  I don’t claim the title.  If they choose to bestow it on me, who am I to argue if it helps them get better?”
    The conversation continued until they arrived in Mamadu some two hours later.  In rapid French, Deanna asked for directions to specific locations.  “I’m going to be a couple of hours if you two want to explore.  Stay together though, as you are Western women and white.  Do not go anywhere alone,” she warned.
    “What about you?” Leida asked, curious as to why the doctor was ditching them.  She already saw some open markets she wanted to explore and spend some money in.
    “I’m taking Lakesh,” she said brightly.
    They agreed to check in two hours later at the Rover.  Maddie saw Deanna talking to Lakesh and then they went their separate ways.  She was suspicious, but had gone off willingly with Leida; she too wanted to see the markets.  She wondered the whole two hours where the doctor had gone off to.
    Deanna made her way first