Bastava apelar para um deles, pois Ida Arnold defendia a causa justa. Era jovial e cheia de saúde, podia emborcar um copo como o melhor de entre eles. Gostava da pândega, os seus grandes seios exibiam francamente a sua carnalidade pelo Old Steyne fora, mas bastava olhá-la para compreender que se podia ter confiança nela. Não iria contar coisas à esposa de ninguém, não lembraria a um homem, na manhã seguinte, o que ele desejava esquecer.
"(...) My daughter, she has no use for night runners. You know, her first language is not Luo. Not even Swahili. It is english. When I listen to her talk with her friends, it sounds like gibberish to me. They take bits and pieces of everything - English, Swahili, German, Luo. Sometimes, I get fed up with this. Learn to speak one language properly, I tell them." Rukia laughed to herself. "But I am beggining to resign myself - there's nothing really to do. They live in a mixed-up world. It's just as well, I suppose. In the end, I'm less interested in a daughter who's authentically African than one who is authentically herself." It was getting late; we thanked Rukia for her hospitality and went on our way. But her words would stay with me, bringing into focus my own lingering questions.
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