Turn the Page: Pt. 06

Preface:

Theresa 'Terri' Murphy is on a mission. Three things have recently shaped her outlook on life. The first was her meeting in Paris with her publisher. Her work had been received very well. The first excerpt from her writings have been published in a number of erotic European magazines earning her a modest payment and a request from Louise Lambert to get to work on her ending.

The second had been a number of encounters with African emigrees from Senegal, DRC and the Ivory coast among others while in Paris. Terri was determined to journey to Africa, her appetite suitably wetted, to meet more locals.

The third and most significant was a pregnancy risk sex session with a group of men in Los Angeles. Although she hadn't fallen pregnant at that time, she had wondered what would have happened if she had. Terri had thought long and hard, weighing up the consequences and balancing them against her needs and desires. Ultimately, she had determined that she wanted to become pregnant, to have a child. More than that she wanted to do it in a way that the father would be unknown to her, one of a number of candidates in a breeding frenzy. She just had to figure out the 'how' of it all.

These three points had brought her to where she was now. Standing in line at Charles de Gaulle airport in Paris, waiting to board a plane to Africa. She had done a little research; she was on a budget but still wanted to see some of Africa's beautiful scenery and wildlife. So, she had settled on Namibia as her destination. The fact that English was spoken there as well also had a bearing on her decision.

Two days before her flight she had sent a small package to her publisher, the package contained her birth control pills. The note attached read 'I won't need these where I am going'.

Chapter 1:

Africa was hot. Okay that was obvious but now, in summer, for someone of Terri's complexion... Africa was HOT!

Windhoek, the capital city, was small as cities went. Just 250,000 people made their home here. In comparison to some of the cities Terri had been in over the last year it was tiny, but it had a calm, unhurried atmosphere which suited her well.

She had chosen a 3-star hotel just north of the center of the city for the day or so that she planned to spend in the capital. It was a lovely three storied building, with a fantastic BBQ area, the smell from which reached Terri as she checked in making her stomach growl.

The hotel clerk smiled at the sound, passed Terri her room key before telling her that the BBQ kitchen was open from 7am till 11pm. Terri thanked her and shouldered her rucksack. She paused on her way to the lift, backtracking to the check in desk.

"Can I help you miss?" the clerk asked.

"Sorry yes, I wanted to ask about organizing trips in the countryside, like outside of the capital. Where would you recommend?"

The clerk picked up a small map of the city, she circled the location of the hotel before circling another spot, almost in the city center.

"The hotel offers day trips, but I don't think that's what you are looking for. If you go here, you will find a tourism office. They can help you or you will find independent operators around this area offering trips. Might I ask what you are looking for?"

"Umm something quiet, out of the ordinary, not really touristy. I want to avoid crowds."

"Then you should look at the Kunene region, that might be what you want."

"Thanks, I'll do that" Terri said and headed for her room.

Terri had sent most of her belongings back to the US before leaving France. Her laptop and heavier or formal clothing had all been sent back to New Jersey. She'd bought herself some clothing and footwear better suited to the Namibian climate, a good quality rucksack and a small set of binoculars. Aside from some small make up items, her phone and underwear, that was all she'd packed. She planned on travelling light.

She prioritized once she'd reached the room. There didn't seem to be any need to unpack as she wasn't going to be here more than a day or two at the most. Terri splashed some water on her face, put her passport and most of her money in the room safe. Finally, she reapplied some sun block on her exposed skin, there was a lot of it as she was wearing quite high shorts and a cropped tee shirt. Then she went in search of food.

The hotel had been an excellent choice. After stuffing herself to bursting with chicken and ribs from the BBQ, Terri settled down in a shaded corner with a cold beer and a clutch of pamphlets she'd picked up in the lobby. She poured over them looking for inspiration. It was however as the clerk had said, mostly day long trips, all within a few miles of the city. The couple of exceptions were to lodges and other hotels around the country and seemed to be aimed at families and groups, nothing for the lone traveler.

While disappointed, Terri figured she'd hang out the rest of the day while acclimating to the heat. At least she'd have time to drink a few more beers. She'd go to the tourist office tomorrow.

Bright and early Terri headed into the city center, the idea being to get back to the hotel before the noon day sun cooked her.

Passing through a market she bought herself a leather bush hat, pulling it down over her short blonde hair, the wide brim kept the sun off her face and neck. It was also a bonus that it went so well with her khaki shorts and short sleeved shirt.

There were about 10 independent tour operators, all working from small wooden desks with signs on them, scattered near the main tourism office. Terri decided to check out the office first and so breezed past them.

As she walked along the rows of signs on the walls, each one describing trips, prices and dates Terri noticed two things. The first was that all the trips were built around groups of four or more, which made sense as all the tourists in the area, and the ones in her own hotel, were in family groups. The second thing she noticed were the prices, although she was trying to do this trip on a budget, she actually had a lot more to spend than she'd first thought since things were so cheap here.

Seeing nothing in the office that suited her she tried a few of the independents. They all offered excursions to the Kunene region, had tents, 4x4's...everything. But they all required a minimum of four people for the trip to make it worth their while.

After striking out with the fifth one she asked if he knew anyone who might do it.

"Try two streets over, ask for Lucas, maybe he help, maybe not, depends on if he sober."

That wasn't exactly a glowing recommendation but with nothing to be lost by checking it out Terri walked in the direction indicated.

Lucas was sober, sort of. Terri couldn't be sure if he'd already started drinking this early in the day or was just still bleary from drinking the night before. He was also ancient. He must have been in his 70's and was stick thin, whether from age, diet or alcohol abuse she couldn't know.

He had probably once been a handsome man, there was still glimpses there to be seen. His brown eyes were deeply bloodshot and his dark skin sagged loosely on his face a clear sign of his weight loss. He had tried to greet Terri with a smile, it seemed off though, some of his yellowed teeth clearly missing as his large lips parted with a sickly grin.

His appearance however bore no relevance to him being able to guide her. Once she offered to pay for two people instead of one, he seemed to focus quick enough. He attempted to bargain her up to three people, but Terri managed to make him settle for two with an extra $20 towards fuel. A quick conference with him about the trip and they decided to start first thing the next morning. It was between seven and ten hours from the capital by car depending on traffic in the city. After that things would slow down because they would be off road.

Leaving Lucas clutching the $20 as a down payment Terri headed back to the hotel. Along the way she picked up extra water and food for the trip, not entirely confident in Lucas's ability to plan ahead.

Chapter 2:

To her surprise, Lucas was waiting outside the hotel as she emerged at 8am the next morning. Even more surprisingly he appeared sober and alert. He didn't offer to help Terri load her rucksack and the extra provisions in the back of his battered blue open topped 4x4 but she thought the weight of the box might have snapped his stick thin arms. It was an old Land Rover 2A, it sported a felt canopy instead of a roof, the canopy itself currently rolled up and stored in the flatbed back. A thicker roll bar had been fitted just behind the crew cab with a mounting for a searchlight placed on it.

Terri pushed the box in the back, beside another box filled to the brim with everything they might need. This filled her with confidence, maybe her trip was off to a good start after all.

Lucas might have been old, his 4x4 might have seen better days but his driving skills were spot on. He weaved them through the press of what passed for rush hour traffic in the city and soon they were leaving the suburbs behind, heading northwest towards the remote Kunene region.

An hour into the trip and Lucas pulled over to the side of the near deserted highway to relieve himself. There wasn't a bush or tree in sight but Terri decided she should take the opportunity to go as well. She squatted behind the 4x4, sheltering herself from the occasional vehicles trundling past to pee. She was pulling up her shorts when she saw Lucas shaking the last drop of urine from his cock before he started to stuff it back into the baggy canvas shorts, he wore.

As always, the sight of a black cock made her heart skip a beat and her pussy begin to moisten. She didn't have a chance to think any more on it though as Lucas was now behind the steering wheel, the engine firing to life.

He switched the radio on, skimming through the stations. Terri grabbed his hand, stopping him from switching.

"Leave this on please, I love this song."

It was a dance song by Sia. Terri moved and sang along with it until, in the euphoria of the moment, she stood up in her seat, one hand on the windshield, shuffling out some dance steps, her body dipping and moving in time to the music. Lucas laughed, turning up the volume, and continued driving.

They made great time. The impromptu dance had broken the ice between them, and they had chatted amiably as they drove along. About an hour before dinner time, they left the highway, heading on a dirt track into the Kunene area proper. The area was mostly dry and rocky and quite mountainous in spots. It was also almost devoid of people. After an hour they had still to pass a person or a home.

They stopped to eat and on Lucas's recommendation they also decided to make camp as well and to press on early in the morning.

"So, missy, tell me why you are out here?"

"I told you Lucas, I wanted to see the real Africa, the real Namibia."

Lucas poured himself another glass of whiskey, Terri contenting herself with a warm beer. He took a sip, grimaced slightly and then tapped the side of his nose.

"Bullshit. Beautiful bullshit but still bullshit."

Terri couldn't help but laugh at him. She threw up her arms in mock surrender.

"Fine, fine, fine, I'll tell you, you old trickster. But you're gonna tell me I'm crazy."

"I told you that you were crazy when you picked beer over whiskey so how bad can it be?" He chortled away at his own weak joke, eventually falling silent to allow her to talk.

So, Terri told him. Not everything, she hadn't that long, just what she was looking for on this trip, sex with a bunch of men. She decided to keep the whole pregnancy bit to herself.

Lucas hadn't touched his whiskey while she'd been talking but he swallowed what remained in the glass now in one gulp.

"Before this" he tapped the empty glass, "took the iron out of this" he grabbed at the front of his shorts, "I'd have been first in line to help you out."

Lucas twisted the cap off the bottle, filling his own glass and a second for Terri which he passed over to her. She attempted to hand it back but he held up his hand.

"Drink it, good for you. Ok, I might know somewhere we can go. This is Himba territory."

Terri looked blankly at him so he explained that it was the indigenous people who lived in this area.

"Anyway" he continued "the women of the tribe tend to stick to the villages, doing most of their work there and looking after their young, along with a few of the men. The rest of the men work mostly on the livestock, herding and that. This time of year, they move cattle further north nearer the river. Might be that we can find someone who has an itch and no wife around to scratch it."

"Sounds good" Terri said, drinking her whiskey.

As they drove along the track, leaving it in places when the way became too rocky, Lucas gave Terri a brief rundown on the Himba people and society. The men mainly herd sheep, goats and cattle, moving back to the village area after the dry season. Both men and women dressed mostly in the traditional garb of a skirt made from calf skin although some of the younger men incorporated some western clothing as well.

Also, the women covered their skin in a paste of butterfat and ochre giving their skin and sometimes their hair a distinctive orange tint. It was used to clean the skin as well as protect them from insects and the sun. Hairstyles denoted status, marriage and motherhood reflected in how it was worn. Married men wearing headgear, single men wore their hair in a braided fashion.

Terri was enthralled and wished she had internet coverage so that she could look them up but for now she made do with whatever information Lucas would share.

It was almost evening when they passed some cattle, their lowing sounds increasing as the vehicle approached them. Lucas pulled off the track, he pointed up at a small hill. A thin wisp of smoke announced a campfire. A fire meant people.

"That'll be where the herders are, good spot to keep an eye around. Probable more animals scattered around the base of the hill" Lucas explained.

He climbed out, stretched himself after so long in the driver's seat. Terri joined him outside the 4x4, she pulled a few stretches herself, easing the muscles in her legs and back.

"Well then missy, you sure you want to do this? Don't make me climb that hill if you are just going to change your mind at the top. These are hard men, have to be to live out here. No soft touches and kisses here. So, is it stay or go?" Lucas spoke quietly but evenly, no trace of a personal opinion in his words, it was entirely up to Terri.

She shaded her eyes from the sun that was slowly disappearing over the same hill. She could make out figures now but it was too far away and the sun was in her eyes. Was it two or three people moving about up there? She couldn't tell.

"We go" she answered, pulling her rucksack out of the back of the vehicle, slipping a full water bottle into it before she settled it into place on her back.

Lucas reached inside his 4x4, fished out a half empty bottle of whiskey and then led the way up the hillside.

They made their way up the rocky surface, there was a lot of loose shale so Terri took her time, she didn't want to end up slipping and falling. The sparse vegetation disappeared about midway up, so that the bald domed hillock resembled a brown breast rising above a sparse green brown landscape.

When they were about a hundred feet from the top Lucas paused to call out a greeting. This was returned so they continued their ascent.

"Do they speak English?" Terri asked.

"Maybe a little from school but mostly Otjihimba" was his answer.

"And you speak Otjihimba?"

"Some, I'm Herero, so you might call me and them cousins."

When they had crested the rise, she could see there was a small camp fire near them, a small iron pot with a porridge like substance bubbling in it. Three small low leather structures were dotted around forming the camp. They appeared to be calf skin stretched over some branches, offering the inhabitant much needed shade from the sun beating down.

Three men occupied the camp. Two of them were older men, somewhere between thirty-five and forty-five, both clad in traditional garb and wearing caps, turbans really, on their heads. The third man was younger, eighteen or perhaps nineteen. In addition to the traditional skirt, he was also wearing a dark blue Nike T-shirt, his hair done in an elaborate hairstyle, shaved at the sides and back with the rest gathered and braided along the crest of his head.

They seemed very friendly, one of them exchanging claps on the shoulder with Lucas in a fashion that spoke of familiarity with each other. The heat and the climb had winded Terri, while the four men exchanged pleasantries with one another, she let the rucksack slide off her back to the ground. The bag provided her with a handy seat and so she used it for that, taking off her hat and scrubbing both hands through her short blonde hair, letting the light breeze play across her damp scalp.

The Himba's occasionally glanced over at her but they seemed more taken by Lucas and whatever he was saying. When he paused for a moment Terri took the chance to ask him what was happening.

"These men don't get many visitors; I am bringing them up to date on what's happening in the world. Get comfortable, might take a while."

Lucas wasn't joking. Soon enough the four men were seated near the fire passing Lucas's bottle back and forth between them, still talking to each other incessantly. An hour passed. The youngest man fetched some wooden bowls and food was ladled out into them. Lucas passed one to Terri. She ate the mushy porridge tentatively at first and then with real pleasure as she found herself enjoying the taste. After the food was distributed, the young man set off jogging down the hill to where Lucas had parked, returning shortly after with another bottle.

After eating, Terri took her boots and socks off, glad of the opportunity to let her feet breathe. There was a change in the background noise, the talking took on a subtly different tone, more serious, something of significance being discussed. Looking over she saw that all the men were now looking at her with more than curiosity in their eyes. Lucas must have finally gotten around to discussing her she figured.

Lucas stopped talking, the three men continuing to talk amongst themselves, gesticulating towards themselves or towards Terri at times. With a grin Lucas padded over beside Terri, dropped to a squat to talk to her.

"Well seems like you got your wish anyway. They are definitely interested. You are whiter, blonder and a good bit shorter than the women of their tribe so they are keen to see how well you lay too. Right now, they are just sorting out seniority to decide who is first."

Terri nodded her understanding, her eyes fixed on the men arguing. In the past, with strangers, she'd tended to name them in her head, to give them a form of identify. She wasn't going to bother this time, they were all one and the same to her, three men, three cocks. As one of the cattle called loudly from below, almost as a signal for the setting sun, she thought of them as four black bulls set to breed this white heifer.

Chapter 3:

To speed up the negotiations, Terri began to remove her clothes. She opened up the khaki shirt, button by button. She wasn't wearing a bra. At the sight of her pale naked flesh the arguing picked up in tempo.

Next, she opened the belt on her shorts, pushing them down before stepping out of them. Shirt and shorts were deposited on the rucksack. Terri was now just wearing a pair of light blue panties while she stood on a hilltop in northern Namibia. This was a far cry from sitting lonely in a small apartment in Savannah Georgia worrying about the air conditioning unit. It had been a weird and wonderful journey from there to here.