Telesa - The Covenant Keeper Read Online Free PDF Page A

breath and followed her out the door to the car, reminding myself stay calm Leila, be polite, you’re a guest here, she’s your aunty, be patient, nod and smile and agree with everything.
    Thankfully, Aunt Matile’s lectures were substantially shorter than Grandmother Folger’s and the ride to town was punctuated only by Tuala’s attempts to be a helpful tour guide as he pointed out places he deemed to be of interest along the route. Places like the church headquarters on the main Beach Road where he and Matile worked. The Police Station. The Mulivai Cathedral. The weary courthouse where a sniper had shot a protesting Mau leader. The government building of offices on a stretch of reclaimed waterfront land. I looked around with great interest. Apia was small. Dusty. Hot. And colorful. I loved the abundance of flowers everywhere and the view out to the golden blue harbor was breath-taking. We stopped first at an ATM so I could withdraw some cash, the Samoan tala notes feeling strange in my hands. At the clothing supplier, buying the uniforms was painless as the first one I tried on, fit perfectly. It was the colors that had me reeling – bright orange pinafores and sunburst-yellow blouses.
    “Aunty, this uniform is hideous. Who dreamed up this color combination?”
    She only pursed her lips at me as she took our purchases to the counter. “Samoa College is the oldest and finest high school in the country. Young people are proud to wear these colors. And they try their best not to disgrace them.”
    O-kaaaay. I repeated what was fast becoming my Samoa mantra. Leila, breathe. Be polite. You’re a guest. Be nice. Be patient. Be quiet!
    I tried hard to sound meek. “Yes Aunty Matile. I will try very hard not to disgrace the uniform or you and Uncle Tuala.” She looked at me suspiciously as if she could read the falseness hidden in my words and I struggled to keep a straight face that spoke only of reticence and humility.
    “Harrumph, well then. Let’s get going. Tuala will be wanting to get back to the house in time for the rugby game that’s coming on this afternoon. Come along, I think we have everything.”
    Laden with uniforms we made our way back to the car and the short drive home. Passing a cemetery where frangipani trees dropped their petals on moss-covered graves had me thinking, and, back at the house, once the shopping was all safely stowed away and Matile was preparing dinner, I took the moment to ask her for directions. To my mother’s grave.
    The silence was ominous. Both Tuala and Matile froze and looked at each other. My gaze went to first one and then the other, waiting for the answer. Uncle Tuala spoke first.
    “Your mother is a sensitive topic in this house. Your aunty does not like to speak of her.”
    “Oh. I see.” But I didn’t. The woman was my mother, surely I of all people had every right to ask where her grave was? I persisted. “I’m sorry if it’s painful for you, Aunty. If you could just tell me where I can find her grave, I can get myself there?”
    Aunty Matile turned her back on me and vigorously stirred the pot on the stove, throwing her answer over her shoulder. “Your mother is not buried in town. Now let us talk of something else.”
    I took a deep breath. “The main reason I came to Samoa is so that I could learn as much as possible about my mother. My dad didn’t tell me a lot about her. I’ve never even seen a photo of her.” I quickened with excitement. “Do you have some pictures of her I could look at, please? It would mean so much to me to be able to know what she looked like.”
    Matile dropped the pot she was holding. It fell with a crash, splattering boiled taro everywhere and bringing Tuala abruptly to his feet.
    “Matile! Are you alright?”
    Matile was trembling as she shook her fist at me. “Leila, no more questions about that woman. No more.”
    My confusion made me ignore the warnings. “Why not? I don’t understand? What’s wrong with talking