10
Whilst Medi was in the slave quarters shaving his head and Jally Cook snored in her hut, taking an afternoon nap, Jakira bundled up the spices and herbs in a small packet of cloth ripped from the wads Jally Cook used to protect her hands from heat. Kalal gave her a pencil and scrap of paper he had found discarded in the villa and carefully she wrote:
‘Drink pinch of mixture in cupful of water eight times a day until you feel belly pain and bleed heavily. After bleed comes a fever, it will pass. During fever, do not intake any food, only pure water. Eat or drink anything else and you risk sudden death. From… a friend.’
She tied the note to the bundle and gave it to Kalal. He stared at the letters a long time but could not read it. He decided to trust her, put it in his pocket and ran
