Free Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers by Sarah Price

shoulder at Sahara before spittin g on the ground. 
    Sahara caught her breath.  “ How dare you ! ”   When she realized the men were ignoring her, refu sing to divulge the Rom Baro or Nicolae 's whereabouts, Sahara whirl ed around furiously and stormed away. 
    The sun shone from high in the sky.  Lord, she thought, as she sought comfort in the shade of a wagon.  It must be afternoon already.  She leaned her back against the wagon, hugging her knees against her body as she s hut her eyes and remembered the music beating into her soul.  Nev er in her life had she imagined that she could dance with such ferocity .  A blush rose to her cheeks as she visualized her da nce with Nicolae .  The gypsy music, along with the liquor, had raped her of any sense.  Surely, she thought, Nicolae will think I like h im now.  That will be corrected at once, she assured herself. 
    Sahara ran her fingers through her hair before lean ing her head on her knees.  Her silky h air fanned over her arm and she eyed the white streak she had al ways thought so unnatural.  Her father had mumbled once about her mother having the same streak.  But Sahara didn't remember her mother or her white streak.  Her father had rarely spoken of his de ceased wife but Sahara sensed a part of her father had died along with her mother.  Certainly he had loved his young, wild Europ ean wife.  But, Sahara realized sadly, he had never mentioned any of Amaya's history.   Now, Sahara feared, it was lost forever.
    Breathing deeply, Sahar a began to drift into an uneasy sleep.  Her head still ached b ut in the back of her mind, she could hear the gypsy music tak e possession of her again.  The wind blew through her as she ima gined she was dancing in the middle of an open field.  She was alone, dancing wildly like the other gypsy women.  Her body sway ed with each movement, her hair caressing the earth.  The musi c slowly faded away.  She could hear a commotion from the edge of t he field.  But as she looked in the direction of the noise, sh e could see nothing through the mist.  Frightened, she collapse d against the ground, trying to hide from the unseen.  The noise grew louder but Sahara kept her eyes shut, her cheek pressed again st the earth.  Suddenly, as if several feet from her ear, she could hear sharp thunder.  The thunder st opped for a split second before it crashed right by her head.
    “ S'hara! ”
    Sahara raised her head, sta rtled out of her light sleep by Nicolae 's voice calling her name .  He stood on the steps of the wagon, staring into it.  Sahara frowned, trying to separate the fantasy of her dream from the re ality of the fury in Nicolae 's eyes when he slammed the door shut and caught sight of her crouched in the shadow.  Quickly, he jumped down the steps and towered over her, his black hair tousled and his hands curled into fists on his hips.  His eyes wrinkled in t he corners as he glared down at her.   Sahara looked up at h im, her black eyes frightened.  Through his legs, she could see the anxious faces of the other gypsies, silently waiting for Nicolae ' s confrontation.  Sahara looked back at Nicolae , frightened by his anger. 
    Nicolae bent down, grabbed Sahar a's arm, and dragged her to her feet.  She could feel his free hand tangle into her hair.  Roughly, he pulled it by the roo ts until she cried out.  But he did not loosen his hold.  Instea d, he shoved her into the crowd that was forming near the wagon.  The crowd opened up, staring at the furious man and feisty woman with a gleam of satisf action in their eyes.   “ This, my bori... ”   He shoved her roughly around the circle of people, still pulli ng fiercely at her hair.  Sahara could barely stand up as she struggled to free herself while keeping most of her hair.  Tears welled in her eyes, half from pain, half from humiliation, as she heard Nicolae yelling, “ This is your new life.  You have chosen it, yes? ”   She tried to