begged Anatole to get me out to anyplace where I wouldn't be a danger to others, but he wouldn't send me alone. He insisted I had nothing to be ashamed of. He was risking his own pro-Lumumbist neck to stay near me, but many people were now taking risks for what they loved, he said, or simply for what they knew. Soon we'd go, he promised, and go together.
Plans were laid for us by friends, including some men from Kilanga I'd never dreamed would take such chances for Anatole. Tata Boanda, for one. Bright red trousers and all, he arrived late one night on foot, toting a suitcase on his head. He had money for us that he claimed was owed to my father, though this is doubtful. The suitcase was ours. In it were a dress and a coloring notebook of Ruth May's, pieces of our hope chests, my bow and arrows. Someone in Kilanga saved these precious things for us. I suppose it's also possible the women who went through our house didn't want these
EXODUS 417
items, though the bow at least would have been valuable. A third possibility, then: dismayed by the failure of our Jesus to protect us, they opted to steer clear.
The news of Father wasn't good. He was living alone. I hadn't thought of this