Chapter 19 Amellal The airport swallows us whole, its air heavy with dust, sweat, and kerosene. I settle back against the cart seat, my hand resting instinctively upon the curve of my belly. Departures have always lifted me—each voyage a renewal, a flight into possibility. But this time my spirit drags. It begins suddenly—a bloom…
Tag: Labé
The COMC File – Alkebulan
PART II Chapter 15 Listening at the Crossroads The plan — as I’d promised myself back in Conakry — was to hike the hills above the village. “What was I thinking,” I mutter, looking up at those long inclines, my belly full and heavy with new life. Instead I wander through dusty lanes and flowering…
The COMC Files – Alkebulan
PART II Chapter13 Mountains dont Bow The plane lurches down onto the airstrip with a bounce that rattles my teeth, wheels clattering across tarmac patched more with willpower than concrete. When the cabin door opens, the smell of earth and woodsmoke sweeps in. Outside, Labé greets us in a riot of colour and dust. Motorbikes…
The COMC Files – Alkebulan
PART II Chapter 12 The Rattletrap The clerk — a young man, visibly nervous and more than a little dazzled — tries to collect himself. “Madame… monsieur… you are travelling to Labé? Domestic flight… yes… but, eh—” His gaze drops to my belly. “Madame, you are… how far along, please?” “Far enough to notice, young…
The C.O.M.C. Files 