Gypsy in Black: The Romance of Gypsy Travelers (6 page)

It was her father who broke the silence first.  She was nursing the infant, sitting alone in her section of the boat, next to several crates filled with stale hard tack and dried meat.  She had not seen him approach her, nor had she seen him standing behind her.  He must have been watching her for quite some time. But the woman did not know this.  Instead, she hummed to the baby in her arms, watching the sweet puckered mouth as it drank from her breast. It was the most wonderful of moments, to feel the drawing of the milk as it fed her sweet child.

He cleared his throat. 

She was startled and jumped, causing a momentary cessation in the nursing process.  But the infant did not cry, just sought the breast once again before hungrily eating.  “Father!” She adjusted herself, covering her baby’s face and her own bare breast with a scarf.  “I did not see you there,” she stammered.  She had been living with silence ever since the baby had been born.  No one had spoken to her and she had, in fact, become invisible.  She hadn’t minded, after all.  Instead, it had been welcome.  There were no
questions, which
meant she did not have to produce any answers.

“It has been decided that you will leave to join another family,” he said softly.

She frowned. “Another family?”

“Once we are on land, you will join another and the child will be promised to the first born,” he said.  “It is the only way.”  He did not say another word nor did he spare a glance at his first-born grandchild.  Instead, he turned on his heel and fought his way back to his area.  The woman watched him leave, not speaking.  Her expression was blank but her heart pounded inside of her chest.  She knew that no one would ever own her for her heart belonged to another man already. 

The two men danced.  T
heir bronze
d
limbs moved wildly,
rhythmically, beautifully in time
to the music.  The golden glow
from the fire caressed their s
kin, casting shadows around the
audience.  Sahara felt light as he
r head paid heed to the devil's
race from the strings.  The fid
dle breathed music, eerie music
that hypnotized Sahara.  T
he two men, dressed in
colorful
costumes made from sheer silk scarves, slapped their hands and
knees, leaping into the air and
twirling around like a child's
toy top.  The other gypsies sat
around the fires, watching the
dancing as they tore into piec
es of chicken with their teeth.
Occasionally, someone would forget their
meal for a minute to
trill their tongue in time wi
th the music.  Several children
fought over a large
chicken leg.
  Their selfish struggle grew
louder and continued until they
were finally silenced by their
mother.

The music raced, faster and faster.  T
he two men twirled
around and around, their shadow
s falling over every face that 
turned up to watch the crazed and
flamboyant dancing.  Faster and
faster they spun around.  Harder and harder Sahara's heart beat.  As the men twirled, Sahara began to clutch
her hands together. 
The fiddle kept racing and the
men continued to dance faster. 
Suddenly, the music crashed to s
ilence and the two men crumpled
to the ground.  They
laid
there
in the ensuing silence.  Sahara
saw their backs rise and fall as
they caught their breath.  Were
they as excited as she or just exhausted, she wondered.

“
You like?
”

Sahara looked up at
Nicolae
. 
Already she had
drunk
more than
her share of
barreled
ale and
bottled whiskey.  Blinking back
her intoxication, Sahara realized
Nicolae
loo
ked more beautiful in
the firelight than she had rem
embered.  His skin was a golden
brown and his eyes sparkled the
color of the flames.  A wave of
his black hair, the same blue blac
k color as her own, hung across
his forehead.  For a second, she almost re
ached out to brush it
aside.  Composing herself, sh
e narrowed her eyes. 
“
It meant
nothing to me.
”

“
You lie,
”
he said softly, a quiet laugh escaping his lips.  The sound was gentle and soothing.  He reached out, touching her cheek lightly with his finger. 
“
But that is just fine, S’hara. You will learn soon enough to appreciate the music that flows through your blood as well as to your ears.
”

Sahara shrugged her shoulde
rs, trying to deny the emotions
the music had aroused in her.
 
Or was it his touch?
“
Think what you like.
”
If anything, it was h
er blood
that
raced in her veins when he laughed again.  Her skin tingled where he had touched her.  She wished he would touch her again.  She wished the dance could continue t
o distract her
.  Whenever he was near, her heart pounded and she felt
weak.  The ale and whiskey weren’t making it any easier to resist the power of his presence.  It was too overwhelming and she didn’t like the direction of the thoughts running through her mind.

When she looked back toward the dancers, she saw that t
he two men were nowhere in
sight. They had
vanished from the cleari
ng. 
Instead, a
young boy and girl stood
where the two men had colla
psed.  Their wild, gypsy beauty
immediately caught Sahara's attent
ion.  Slowly, the music began. 
This time, the fiddle sang soft and gentle as the boy and girl
danced a
love story. 
“
How beaut
iful...
”
  The words escaped her
mouth before she could detain them
.  She glanced at
Nicolae
to see if
he had heard her.  He was staring
at her with a hint of a smile. 
Sahara frowned. 
“
I meant, they ar
e beautiful children.  Are they
brother and sister?
”

Nicolae
chuckled softly as he r
eached over to touch her hand. 
Holding it,
Nicolae
stroked her s
oft skin.
“
Brother and sister,
S'hara?  They are husband and wife.
”

She
felt
Nicolae
clutch
ing her hand
, the warmth of his touch sending a chill through her.  She forced herself to return her gaze to
the young ch
ildren dancing. 
The dance was beautiful, their movement completely fluid and in tune with the music.  Their arms wrapped around each other as they stared into each other’s faces. But, for Sahara, t
he love story
disappeared.  S
he only saw two young children
play-acting
as they mimicked what they had been taug
ht by their
parents. 
“
They are
so young,
”
she whispered. 
“
N
o more than twelve, thirteen!
”

Leaning closer to her,
Nicolae
lowered his voice. 
“
She is
thirteen
, he is
four
teen.
”

Sahara gawked at him, am
azed at the difference in gypsy
culture. 
“
They are
still children.
”

He shrugged. 
“
To you, yes.  To us, they are man and woman.
”

“
Do all
gypsies get married so young?
”

Nicolae
stared at her, her face i
lluminated in the glow from the
fire.  Her hair, shimmering in t
he light from the fires, draped
down her back, almost brushing th
e ground they sat on.  When she
turned her face back up to his,
her dark black eyes pierced his
heart and met his own dark eyes with a hidden passion.  He released her hand as he reached
out for the clear bottle before
him.  Raising it to his lips, he
finished what was in it. 
“
Yes,
S'hara.  All gypsies get married so young.
”

Her head began to spin in ti
me to the music. 
Suppressing
a
smile, Sahara reached for her
own bottle.  She held it by her
lips, staring at
Nicolae
with such b
urning intensity
that
even she could
not understand what she felt. 
He was truly beautiful in the glow from the fire.  His skin glistened with small beads of sweat, just enough to make his white shirt cling ever so slightly to his chest.  Feeling brazen from the liquor, she asked quietly,
“
And you,
Nicolae
?  Did you marry so
young?
”

He watched her drink the
gypsy liquor from her bottle. 
Unconsciously, her lips ling
ered on the end of the bottle. 
Their eyes locked, and for just one moment, neither could speak.  The silence said enough. 
Swallowing, he
signaled
for more
rakiya.  An old woman
came over and
handed both
Nicolae
a new
bottle, which
Nicolae
promptly
uncorked
with his teeth, spitting
the cork out. 
“
Did I marry so
young?
”
  He waited for Sahara to loo
k at him. 
“
I did,
yes.
”

“
And where is your wife?
”

Appearing indifferent,
Nicolae
sh
rugged his shoulders and pushed
the faded image of Miquela out
of his head. 
“
My family
arranged for me to
marry her
in order
to
strengthen two kum
panias
.  I was fif
teen and she
was t
hirteen
.  Whe
n I was
six
teen
, she died.
”

“That’s so young!” Sahara gasped.

He simply nodded. “Yes, so young.”

“
Did you love her?
”

“
Love?
”
  He shook his head. 
“
What is love at
that age
?
”

“
Why didn't you remarry?
”

Nicolae
looked back at the dan
cers.  The girl was dancing for
the boy.  The boy watched her, not responding to the seductive
flashing of her
skirt
as any man
should.  Suddenly,
Nicolae
realized
they were too young to unders
tand what their dancing meant. 
Disgusted with his own reckless
emotions,
Nicolae
turned away from
the dance
, his face dark from the memory of his past
. 
“
Perhaps I did.
”

Sahara reached over and touched his arm.  When he looked at her, there was a sense of sadness clouding over her face. 
“
And where is she?
”

Nicolae
put his hand over hers.  He stroked her skin and stared back into her face.  She was beautiful, the way she looked up at him.  He sighed and gave her a soft smile.
 
“
Perhaps I did not.
”

Sahara blushed, an innocent
giggle escaping her intoxicated
throat.  Had she sounded disappoin
ted?  Had he noticed?  She took
a quick gulp from the bottle, toss
ing her head back
.  She couldn’t look at him anymore.  He was too handsome with those high cheekbones and piercing black eyes.  Tonight, h
is hair hung
over his shoulders in gentle wave
s
. 
It was so long and soft, that black color so similar to her own. 
“
That must've been
many
years ago that she died.
”

“
Ten
.
”

“
That long?
”

“
Enough!
”
  His voice lacked
the teasing undertone.  Several
people turned to see who had anger
ed him so quickly.  Even Sahara seemed taken
aback. 
Nicolae
star
ed at her, speaking in a low voice
.
“
I speak of myself no
more!
”
 
He knew where the questions were headed and he couldn’t face the past.  Not tonight. 
H
e softened his tone as he said,
“
You tell me of you, yes?
”

At fi
rst, she wanted to refuse h
im.   Her feelings were hurt by
the sudden turn of his manner toward her
. 
Nicolae
was
her only friend in this strange
place with strange people.  No
one else had attempted to befriend
her or even speak to her since
her arrival.  It would be wise to keep
Nicolae
's friend
ship, she reminded herself as she
fingered the necklace around her neck. 
“
What do you wish to learn of me?
”