Malaria

It was so good to be out in the sun after such a long time in bed. Dad was up today also. Mom said it was Malaria.
Galilee truly didn’t remember much. She remembered being really sick, mom giving her cool water sponge baths. Also, she remembered the walls swirling in like they were going to draw her into the swirl. She would get so scared and cry out. Her mom would come in and comfort her,  and that made the walls stand up properly.

Galilee had been getting up and going for meals for the last 3 days, but only in her robe and pajamas. That meant going out the house where they slept and over the house where they food was cooked and they ate. Life was so very different from how they lived in America.  Galilee still was not used to living in two houses that were made of grass.
Today, mom had placed her clothes on the end of the bed, under the net and told her she must get up. She needed to move around to begin to regain her strength. She didn't much feel like running around but with everyone out all day it was lonely, so she was glad to get dressed and go out.

Mom thought Galilee would forget about emptying her shoes out and staying under the net to dress after being in bed for so long, so she reminded her. The children from the village sometimes parted the wall grass to see what these strange people who’d come to live by their village were doing. The net helped not to be seen so well. Also, it protected them while sleeping from bugs, lizards, and worse, snakes. They killed snakes on the property every day and her brother Jerry had even killed a snake in the grass in the roof a few mornings ago.

The last thing before climbing off the bed was to raise the net and carefully empty her shoes out before putting them on her feet. She remember the morning her brother was careless and when he put his foot in the shoe, something wiggled. He had yelped so loud they all came running to see why. He’d managed to yank his foot out the shoe quickly and wasn't bitten. In fact, when he emptied the shoe it was a lizard. Galilee thought the lizard was more frightened than Dick was. But it is when little creatures feel trapped that they bite so this, and also the possible sting of a scorpion was most fearful. Everyone quickly learned about checking shoes and clothes laying around before putting them on.

 As she was dressing Galilee was thinking of their new home. Everything was so different from when they lived at that other house. The one by the lake in a place called Camp JIM, in Minnesota. That was before they got on the big ship and crossed the ocean. That house had running water, and lights you could turn on with a switch, and a toilet inside that you could flush. And, there were no nets over the beds there. 

Galilee was more used to how they lived by now. They slept in one house - made of grass like the people in the village down the road. Dad and her brothers had started on the house as soon as they arrived. Men from the village helped them.  Galilee remembered her terror when early in the building of the new grass houses she went to see what was going on and got lost in the grass.  One of the men working with dad heard her crying and came to rescue her.  That was the last time she willing stepped of a visible path into that tall grass.  It towered above her head.  But, she found she did like the smell of it, especially when the heat of the sun warmed it.

First thing after they arrived, Dad had put the big green tent up and they stored things in there, and the motor dad called the ‘light generator’ was there. After building the two grass houses, one on either side of the tent dad and her brothers had strung up lines to each house, and one over to the Deming's house. These lines had light bulbs attached. Every evening from dark until Mom and Dad went to bed. the generator motor ran and they had light. That was nice. The little Tilley lamps were not so easy to put on and they had to keep putting kerosene in them. Galilee of course, didn't do this but she watched her brothers do it.

Mom had drawn a picture of their houses with the tent in the middle, to put in letters to their family and friends they’d left behind.

Dad didn't have his photography room set up yet to develop pictures so a drawing had to do.

Finally dressed, Galilee wandered outside. The sun was warm. That was good after several months of very cold weather. Everyone else had had breakfast but mom had some toast with peanut butter and a drink of milk set aside for her.



There was an air of ‘something special’ going to happen. Galilee had heard her older brothers tell Mom that they wanted to cook supper for them. They wanted mom and dad’s 19th wedding anniversary supper to be a surprise. Her brother Jim enjoyed cooking and Jerry and Dick would help by doing all the non cooking stuff.


Some of the village children greeted her and crowded around to play. They couldn’t understand each others words much, but it was nice to be with kids around her own age. They were as fascinated by her white hair (blond) as Galilee was with their short, very curly black hair. It felt so very soft to touch.


Mikka motioned her to come and look. There, going across a ditch, on the road toward the church and school, by the fig tree was a dark line. It was moving . Galilee went close to see what it was. Mikka held her back from touching the line. It was a line of huge black ants, with what looked like pincher's for noses. They were crossing the water ditch. Each ant held onto the one in front, making a bridge all the way across the ditch and then other ants were walking across the ditch on top of the ants under them. It was so fun to watch. Mikka picked up a blade of grass and poked at the ants and one pinched the grass piece fiercely with it’s pincher's.


Then Mikka jumped up and jumped on the line of ants. Her feet were bare but she moved so quickly that the ants didn’t pinch her.


“Come” Mikka gestured, “you do it.”

Mary had shoes on so she wasn’t worried. She jumped on and off. After a few jumps, the ants were in turmoil. Suddenly Galilee yelled. She felt a fiery bite on her leg. Looking down there were several ants hanging on to her by their pincher's. Oh it hurt. It burned and stung all at once.


Mikka, laughing very hard, pulled Galilee away from the now very angry ants and got the pinching ants off her but it hurt for a long time. All the children thought this was the funniest thing. They danced around her laughing and pointing at her. Imagine, this foreign girl who didn’t know anything.

Galilee was embarrassed and pulling away ran to the sleeping house. It wasn’t fun to be laughed at when you were in pain. Mom and dad were talking in by where dad had the typewriter set up and they didn’t seem to notice her so Galilee went and got a doll and climbing on her bed, under the net,  played quietly for a bit - pretending the doll was her baby.

It was her favorite baby doll with a brown body so it fit in with the children she now played with. She called it Amos. You could put real water in the bottle and feed Amos, and then the baby wet itself as the water came through. Mom didn’t often let her play with the water but because they were busy Galilee didn’t ask. After a short while she fell asleep.