The African Affair

The dark, ebon night in which the large, yellowish-white orb of a brilliant full moon was set cast shadows over the

African

plain of the Serengeti, named from the Maasai word

Siring

, meaning "Endless Plain" or better still "The Sea of Grass on Plains." It is a wondrous land covering 27,000 square kilometers that for the Maasai tribe, an indigenous, African, ethnic group of nomadic people who live in East Africa Kenya and northern Tanzania, is home. The Maasai people are noted for their height, tall and lean, and their distinctive customs and dress. Their name is akin to their language, Maa.

The vast grass plains are filled with lion, zebra, wildebeests, Thompson's gazelles, hippopotamus, giraffes, baboons, and other creatures of the wild that share it, making it dangerous for one who is not familiar with the wildlife and vast grass plains.

One such person was Kelly O'Malley, a very popular high-fashion model, who had decided to take some time off to go on one of the popular photographic safaris on the Serengeti, a vacation that she had been looking forward to for months. However, Kelly now was strapped by her seatbelt into her seat in the small, private twin-engine Cessna charter plane that had taken off from Nairobi, the capital city of Kenya, for the campsite where she was to meet up with her personal guide and porters.

She was unconscious and slumped forward with her forehead resting against the back of the seat in front of her. Miraculously, Kelly was the lone survivor of the crash, both the pilot and co-pilot having been killed instantly on impact, leaving the mid and tail sections of the fuselage raised up at a steep angle.

Hours passed before the large orange ball of the sun whose image shimmered in the early morning heat began to rise above the Eastern horizon, gradually sending fingers of golden light over the mist-covered grasslands of the plains where lions roared their morning greeting to a new day and large herds of wildebeest slowly roamed as they munched the blades of tender grass. Wherever there was an occasional Acacia tree, the morning sunlight cast a shadow on the land.

When sunlight illuminated the interior of the downed plane, its filtered light fell upon the slumped body of Kelly who was just beginning to regain consciousness from having suffered a mild concussion when she hit her head against the back of the seat in front of hers. She moaned her pain as the throbbing in her head became more intense as she worked her way towards a conscious state of the reality of the new day that found her heart beating and her lungs taking in oxygen filled with the sweet smell of the grasslands.

Eventually Kelly painfully opened her eyes and found herself staring down at the floor with her vision quite hazy and out of focus. Nevertheless, slowly Kelly raised her hands that had been folded together on her head in the typical crash position but now were resting on her knees and placed them on the back of the seat in front of her. She gently pushed herself into as upright a position as she could because of the acute angle of the plane, the nose of the plane having buried itself into the ground.

"Oh, god, what happened?" Kelly moaned in a tortured, hushed voice, not really aware yet that the plane in which she was being transported from Nairobi to her base camp had crashed due to some mechanical malfunction.

As Kelly's head gradually cleared and her memory slowly returned, she became aware of the events just before the crash. The pilot had spoken through the intercom that they were experiencing some mechanical difficulty and that to be on the safe side she should tighten her seat belt and assume the crash position with her hands resting on top of her head that she should place on her knees.

That was the last thing Kelly remembered except for the staccato sputtering of the engine before it cut out as the plane lost altitude and the pilot attempted to do a dead-stick landing. Unfortunately, because of their low altitude and the speed of the plane's descent, the pilot was unable to make a safe landing, and the plane hit hard nose down and almost flipped over onto its top, throwing Kelly violently forward against the back of the seat in front of hers.

Now those last frantic memories came flooding back into Kelly's consciousness, and she shivered with the fear that had gripped her when she knew the plane was going to crash and that she might be taking the last breaths of her young life, she being only twenty at the time.

Painfully Kelly unlatched her seatbelt and slowly got out of her seat next to the window that was now cracked. She stood up bent over on wobbly legs and stumbled to the cockpit where she looked inside only to find both the captain and his co-pilot slumped over their control yokes dead.

A long, silent scream echoed inside Kelly's still throbbing head as reality hit her that she was the lone survivor of the crash and that she was now all alone somewhere in the vast African wilderness of the plains.

Minutes passed as Kelly struggled to get control of herself, knowing that she had to do something…anything. Finally, she backed away from the cockpit and gathered what she could: the First Aid Kit, two gallons of water, and some sandwiches and snacks that were available for the flight.

Kelly then staggered up the incline of the aisle until she got to the exit door that had popped open upon impact and hung askew on its hinges. The morning heat just about overwhelmed her as she stood in the doorway, but she knew she couldn't stay inside the plane. It was already like an oven. She, therefore, set down her meager supplies, stooped over to let down the folding steps, turned around, and gingerly climbed down to the bottom step. Standing on the bottom step with her hands holding onto the frame of the Exit door, Kelly bent over, held onto the sides of the step, and slowly let herself down until her feet touched the ground. She then straightened up, her head still throbbing painfully with each beat of her heart, and for the first time as she looked around, she saw nothing but the vast grass plains with a large herd of wildebeest in the distance grazing in the morning sunshine, totally unaware of the plane crash and the woman standing alone and bewildered. Except for the plane the only other thing Kelly saw besides the herd of wildebeests was a single Acacia tree standing as a lonely sentinel and looking like an umbrella casting its inviting shadow on the ground beneath its spreading branches.

Kelly, therefore, gingerly bent over, picked up what few supplies she had recovered from the plane, and slowly walked over to the tree where she gratefully found shade to provide some relief from the scorching heat and glare of the sun.

Backing up to the trunk of the tree, Kelly lightly pressed her back against it and carefully lowered herself to the ground. For now this was as much as she could do except for opening the First Aid Kit, hoping to find aspirin or some kind of pain reliever which she did. Kelly took four Advil with a few swallows of water, closed her eyes, and rested her head in her hands that rested on her knees.

Minutes passed into hours as the sun climbed to its afternoon zenith, and in the distance Kelly heard intermittent roars of lions that roamed the plains in search of their day's meal, hoping beyond hope she wasn't going to be one of them.

As the afternoon dragged on, Kelly fell asleep, and her head slumped onto her chest from shear exhaustion. She sat motionless, her head still aching slightly now that the Advil had taken effect.

Time as time does passed on oblivious to whatever was happening or to whom or what. Time was just time.

For Kelly she was unaware of time. She was lost in her sleep and the recesses of her subconscious as she slept, but from time to time she involuntarily moaned when the throbbing in her head spiked.

Kelly didn't see the group of tall, very ebon-black women walking towards her as she slept against the trunk of the Acacia. Their hair was short; jet-black; and naturally, tightly curled as found in tribes of Eastern Africa.

Each woman wore a red, toga-like wrap-around cloth called a shukka, red being the favorite color among the Maasai. Underneath the red shukka was an undergarment piece of gold cloth. The shukka was worn leaving one shoulder bare. On their feet were simple sandals whose soles were made of pieces of motorcycle tires. There were wooden bracelets on their wrists along with bronze or copper wire bands around their upper arms. Around their necks they wore varying amounts of colorful, woven strands of beaded jewelry that plays an essential part in the ornamentation of their bodies.

Dressed as they were, their colorful dress and jewelry against their velvety, black skin made them look stunningly, statuesquely beautiful.

It was almost unheard of to find a single woman alone on the grasslands of the Serengeti, especially a white woman, but when they saw the crashed plane, they understood completely. Nevertheless, the ten Maasai women stood around Kelly in the form of a "U," each admiring her youthful beauty; her smooth white skin; her long, silky auburn hair; her petite size; her large, full breasts pressed against her kaki shirt; and her shapely legs that were only partially covered by her matching kaki shorts.

Each stood in awe and admiration for this beautiful find of female flesh, so much so they exchanged glances one to the other as well as soft murmurs of agreement.

Having had their eye-full of admiring her beauty, one of the women, the tallest standing over six feet and most attractive, whispered to the other nine in their native Maa tongue that they should take her back to their secluded village, secluded because this particular group of women were a Maasai tribe unto itself, being comprised of only women who for various reasons had chosen to live without the company of men. As it were these women were the equivalent to the Amazons given their height and strength of body as well as their independence from any male dominance.

Nevertheless, as with all Maasai cattle were of main importance to them, and as did the men of the other tribes, these women took pride in their own herd of cattle that were the sum of their wealth and power, and their cattle plus small herds of sheep and goats were their main source of food. Their daily subsistence included mainly milk from their cattle and meat from the sheep, but they also drank of their blood for protein that they got by shooting a small arrow into the jugular vein on the neck of a cow and catching the flowing blood into hollow gourds.

The very tall, svelte woman took her long walking stick, something each woman had that they used also in herding their cattle, and put the tip of it onto Kelly's right shoulder and gently pushed in order to awaken her from sleep.

It took some prodding to arouse Kelly given her condition, but she finally did open her eyes, only to find she was no longer alone. Surrounding her were the group of ten Maasai women, each staring at her, consumed with the novelty of her fair complexion and singular beauty. Never before had they seen such a beautiful, foreign woman, and their stumbling upon her delighted each and every one.

Upon seeing the women, strange though they looked to her as far as their dress was concerned not to mention the height, Kelly breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she was no longer alone and lost on the seemingly never-ending grasslands.

The woman who had awakened Kelly with her walking stick said something to her, but Kelly, of course, not speaking Maa didn't understand a word she said. Realizing this herself, the woman pointed to herself and said very slowly and distinctly the word Eng'ai (N -- guy). When Kelly made no response, she repeated herself several times, each time tapping her chest and saying, "Eng'ai."

Finally, Kelly understood the striking black woman was telling her name to her. Eng'ai.

Kelly smiled knowingly, repeating her name as best she could, "Eng'ai?" Saying it as if a question.

The leader smiled back at Kelly and shook her head "yes." She then pointed her stick at Kelly and said something that sounded like a question, and Kelly understood that she, having given her name, wanted to know by what name she should be called.

Kelly, therefore, sounded her first name slowly, thinking that if she spoke slowly the woman would understand her.

"Kel…ley," she said. "My name is Kel…ley."

The leader and all the other women looked at Kelly and at one another in quizzical surprise, their ears so unaccustomed to hearing English spoken.

However, the leader attempted to repeat Kelly's name.

"K…Kel…ley," she mouthed deliberately. "Kel…ley."

Kelly shook her head "yes" and repeated her name once more as she pointed to herself, "Kelly."

The leader grinned broadly and looked around the group with great satisfaction, telling them all to say her name, and in unison each woman in her own way said, "Kelly."

Once this initial greeting was accomplished, the leader Eng'ai, pointed at each of the other nine women and spoke their names: Yieyio (Yee-a-yeoh), Nashal (Nah-shall), Inkilani (In-key-lahnee), Oldoinyo (Ohl-dough-een-yoh), Oibor (O-ee-bohr), Olmal (Ohl-mahl), Sinyati (Sin-yah-tee), Maathi (Mah-thigh), Wangari (Won-gahr-ee).

Kelly just smiled during the introductions, knowing she'd never remember all their names, but she was sure she knew the leader's name, Eng'ai, and that she thought was the most important name to remember.

After Eng'ai had sounded each of the tribeswoman's name, she looked satisfied with herself, and then she pointed to two of the women, Yieyio and Olmal, and had them go over to help Kelly to her feet while Nashal and Oldoinyo picked up her few belongings, the First Aid Kit, water, and food. Eng'ai turned and led the way with the two women with Kelly falling in behind her and the rest in line.

Kelly didn't know where they were taking her, but she knew she had no choice but to go with them, hoping that through them she'd be able to be rescued.

It must have been over an hour's walk before the group came to their village that Kelly found out later are called kraals that are arranged in a circular fashion and are surrounded by fence made of acacia branches that have thorns on them to prevent lions from attacking the cattle. The houses are loaf-shaped and are made of mud, sticks, grass, cow dung and urine.

Eng'ai led the way to a house located in the middle of nine other houses and ushered Kelly into it while the other women went to their respective houses or to do some communal tasks. Unlike other Maasai villages where families share larger houses, each of the women had her own private house or hut since none had any husbands or children.

Theirs was strictly an all-women tribe for which Kelly would soon discover to her naïve surprise and horror.

It took a few minutes for Kelly's pupils to adjust to the dim light inside Eng'ai's house, but when she could make out of her surroundings was that it had a dirt floor, two sleeping mats, and a few shelves attached to the walls on which were beautifully crafted gourds used to hold water, dry foods, and medicinal ointments. Near the center was a smoldering fire that was surrounded by walls of dried mud, and there was a small hole in the roof above it through which smoke was drawn to the outside.

Eng'ai soon followed Kelly into her hut after she had given instructions to the women and stood beside her. She touched her arm, and said, "Kelly," pointing to the mat along the side of the left wall where she wanted her to go. As Kelly did as told, Eng'ai went to the other mat, propped her walking stick against the wall, and sat down on her mat, and looked across the short space that separated her and Kelly.

Kelly went inside herself, wondering what was going to happen to her. For now she was relieved that she had been found by the group of tall, black women, but at the same time since they could not communicate with one another, she didn't know what to do or what was going to happen. In truth, besides being with the other women she was, nevertheless, trapped in a world not of silence but of lack of communication.

However, what was about to happen to her Kelly had no idea, nor could she have conceived what was in store for her now that she was singularly lost in the grasslands of the Serengeti.

While Kelly was mulling over her situation, Eng'ai studied her lovely houseguest, thinking things that were the furthest from Kelly's mind.

At one point Kelly's and Eng'ai's eyes locked, Eng'ai's deep, dark black eyes and Kelly's sparkling, light brown eyes. Eng'ai smiled at Kelly in a strange way, and Kelly was amazed at how white Eng'ai's teeth looked in sharp contrast to her velvety-smooth, ebon, dark skin even visible in the dim light within her hut.

Kelly still had no idea what fate had in store for her, especially since she could not communicate with the Maasai women except through hand gestures, but she made up her mind she would do the best she could to keep the favor of her hostesses since all that she saw in the compound were women. There was not a man in sight, and Kelly thought this to be quite strange.

While Eng'ai kept Kelly's stare locked onto her, she arose and looked so tall, over six feet, to Kelly who herself was only five feet one inch tall, making her about a head shorter than the native women who had found her.

In just a couple of long strides Eng'ai stood towering over Kelly who was still seated on her mat. She motioned Kelly to stand up, a gesture Kelly understood, and so she stood up to face Eng'ai whose name she remembered.

Without saying a word, Eng'ai reached out with her hands and put them under Kelly's large breasts that were 34D and felt their size and weight, making a sound of approval.

Kelly was caught off guard, not expecting such a forward action by Eng'ai, and instinctively she pulled back, but Eng'ai squeezed her breasts firmly with her long fingers, catching her nipples between her forefingers and thumbs and pulling on them until it hurt, so Kelly stopped trying to free her breasts from Eng'ai's firm hold on her nipples and stood still while Eng'ai continued to feel and massage her breasts with her pliable hands.

As Eng'ai tweaked Kelly's nipples, she could not stop responding to Eng'ai's manipulation of them, and despite herself she felt her areolas begin to puff up and her nipples become stiff and erect. It was just a normal reaction to such a seductive touch.

"Mmmmmmmmmm," Eng'ai sighed with pleasure while playing with Kelly's tits, pleasure Kelly herself could not ignore nor deny.

What Kelly didn't understand was the reason Eng'ai had for caressing her breasts, but as Eng'ai continued massaging Kelly's full, round breasts, especially her taut nipples, a rude awakening flashed through Kelly's mind.

"I was found by women, and I've not seen any men around or inside the kraal," Kelly pondered. "Only women. And now here's Eng'ai, the leader feeling me up with complete abandonment."

As Kelly searched for a plausible reason for this to be so, she kept coming up with the only possible conclusion: This tribe of women just might be all lesbians. That would explain Eng'ai's interest in her breasts and the reason for her feeling her up as she was doing.

Having come to this conclusion as the only possible explanation, for the first time since having survived the plane crash, she was frightened…frightened with the reality that she was totally at the mercy of these Maasai women, each of them so much taller and stronger than she.

Eng'ai felt Kelly tremble and believed she had figured out who and what she and the other women were: Lesbians. With that thought in mind, Eng'ai licked her upper lip with her pink tongue, leaving her black skin glistening with her saliva.