Free Claire's Prayer by Yvonne Cloete

like if Seth had kissed her – if his lips had touched hers… Claire shivered as she hugged herself. She could still feel Seth’s presence and smell his intoxicating scent. Talking to herself sternly, Claire decided to ignore the last half an hour – not that that decision erased the feel of Seth from her mind. As she left the bed and went to open her door, the gong sounded echoingly. Now to face him at breakfast. Straightening her spine, Claire marched down the stairs.
    Naomi was already seated at the table. Sunlight glinted and flickered off the walls and windows, insisting that it really was a glorious day.
    “Hi, Claire!” Naomi chirped. “Did you sleep well? Seth’s gone out in the Jeep, so I guess it’s just you and me this morning. Have a seat and tuck in.”
    A feeling of quiet relief flooded over Claire. Sitting opposite Naomi, she answered cheerfully. “I had a great night’s sleep. And Impunzi looks even more beautiful today!”
    Helping herself to a plateful of mouth-watering food, Claire enquired, “Naomi, Impunzi is such a strange name. Who chose it? And what does it mean?”
    Smiling at her enthusiasm, Naomi swallowed a mouthful of food and answered. “Well, ‘impunzi’ is the Ndebele word for duiker. They’re the small, tawny-coloured antelope: beautiful, graceful and plentiful around here. More so in the old days, though. My grandfather, Sebastian, bought this land in about 1930 but it was my grandmother, Sarah, who chose the site for the homestead. As the story goes, the two of them were checking their boundary fences and stopped near the kopje for an early-evening break. My grandmother climbed to the top of the kopje and, on the exact site where the house now exists, saw a lovely green vlei with a herd of duiker frolicking and grazing.
    “There and then, she made my grandfather promise to build their house on that exact spot, as close to the kopje as he could possibly get it. For years, the herd of duiker still returned in the evenings to graze near the kopje – hence the name, Impunzi.”
    Claire had listened fascinated, imagining the whole scene as Naomi told it. “What an endearing story, Naomi! ‘Kopje’… I take it that that’s the magnificent outcrop of granite rocks on the side of the house?”
    “Oh, yes, sorry. I always forget that some words are strange to foreigners! You’ll pick them up as we go along.” Frowning slightly, Naomi wondered aloud. “I can’t think what could be so urgent that Seth had to rush off before breakfast… Did he say anything to you, Claire?”
    In a guilty voice, Claire choked out an answer. “No, he didn’t say anything to me.”
    Naomi watched with interest as a rosy blush bloomed on Claire’s cheeks. Hmm… she wondered; is there something brewing between those two?
    That morning, Naomi gave Claire the grand tour of the main house. Commenting on the uniqueness of the décor, Claire was impressed to learn that Naomi had redecorated the whole of it. The older girl shrugged off Claire’s praising comments on the beauty and rightness of the interior design, and pressed on: built onto the main house, but totally separate, were the game-viewers’ quarters. Some guests, Claire learned, preferred to stay at the main house rather than in a lodge, in the big, airy rooms, each done up in a different indigenous Zimbabwean colour scheme. The quarters also boasted a comfortably-furnished lounge, where weary photographers could relax and reminisce.
    At ten thirty, Joseph appeared pushing a trolley bearing tea and freshly-baked scones. They enjoyed their tea under a huge, shady tree, which Naomi informed Claire was a jacaranda.
    Swallowing her last sip and looking up with a challenge in her eye, Naomi said, “Well, now you’ve seen the house. Are you ready to tackle the kopje?”
    Standing up and linking her arm through Naomi’s, Claire marched them off. The paved pathways did not in any way spoil the rugged beauty of the kopje. The massive boulders