A Mzungu Oasis by lisa89 (Inc Outtakes) COMPLETE.pdf

A Mzungu Oasis

By Lisa89

Summary: Edward hasn't seen Bella in four long years, until they're seated next to each other on a flight with

nowhere to run. The story of how two young adults volunteering in Kenya fell in love and fell apart.

Prologue ~ Mwanzo

"Here's your beverage, sir," the bleached-blonde flight attendant said, handing Edward Cullen his rum and

coke with a smile.

"Thanks." She seemed offended that he barely gave her a second look before he took a sip of his drink,

glancing out the airplane window and then turning back to his book. He'd been one of the first passengers on

the plane, as he was traveling first class, and he wanted to use that time to relax, not flirt with some random

girl with fake breasts. There was no point in that.

Edward paid little attention to the flow of passengers in the aisle as they all took their seats. He found few

people very interesting anymore, other than the couple of good friends he'd made in medical school.

A flash of chestnut hair caught his eye. Though it was difficult to tell when he'd only been using his peripheral

vision and hadn't been paying attention in the first place, he could have sworn he'd just seen her walk by.

Instinctively, he turned his head to check who he'd actually seen, but the woman had already disappeared

behind the curtain that separated the first class section from the rest of the aircraft.

Edward let out a soft sigh of frustration and pinched the bridge of his nose to release some of his tension. It

was like the damn girl was following him everywhere he went, haunting him. He'd wanted to turn over a new

leaf when he'd gone to medical school, but her presence had still affected him too strongly. And now he

wanted to have another attempt at starting fresh, the moment he got off the plane and stepped on Chicago

soil.

He wanted to forget her, once and for all.

He pushed all thoughts of her out of his mind and focused on his book once more. He was startled out of his

reading several minutes later by a sudden cry coming from behind the curtain. His ears automatically perked

up – not only because he'd just finished four years of medical school, but because the ringing female voice

he'd heard sounded exactly like what he remembered her voice to sound like. Yes, it had been almost exactly

four years since he'd last heard it, but it was impossible for him to forget. The sound of her laughter rang

through his memory. He could see her as clear as day in his head, lying on the beach next to him in Mombasa,

squealing with excitement at a baby giraffe on safari, folding bandages on the slow days in the clinic.

He needed to forget these things.

There was silence in the cabin once more, so he didn't see the point in getting up to see if whoever had cried

out was okay. Someone would ask for a doctor if they needed one. However, being reminded of her once again

did nothing to lift his mood. Was he having hallucinations now? Why couldn't he get her out of his head?

He took a long drink of his rum, emptying the glass. He had just opened his book once more when he became

aware of someone standing in the aisle near him. His heart gave a painful lurch as he glanced up automatically

and realized that he hadn't been hallucinating earlier.

A very weary-looking Bella Swan was standing in the aisle, the flight attendant from earlier right behind her,

holding her bags. The blonde woman looked upset, and when Edward glanced down, he could see why. Bella

had a large cut on her leg, and he realized that she had indeed been the source of the noise from minutes

earlier.

He couldn't stop himself from looking at her eyes, the same ones that he'd thought he would never see again.

It was at that exact moment that she spotted him, and as she held his gaze, her expression turned quickly from

a grimace of pain to one of shock.

It only took a half a second for Edward to know exactly what he was going to need. He looked up at the flight

attendant, avoiding Bella's stunned gaze.

"I'm going to need another drink, please."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter One ~ Moja

May 2005 – Kenya

Edward couldn't have been more relieved to exit the overcrowded, noisy plane and escape into Jomo Kenyatta

International Airport. He'd been stuck next to a toddler who'd lain sideways and dangled her legs over the

armrest the entire flight from Frankfurt. He knew it was wrong to hit a child, let alone a stranger, but boy, had

he been tempted.

He took in a lungful of clean air the moment he stepped into the terminal. The air still carried that stale, dry

quality of every airport, but there was some other unique scent mixed in that he could only assume was the

smell of Kenya. It was the smell of excitement, of the adventure he had embarked upon the moment he'd

stepped on the plane back in Chicago.

Edward waited patiently in line to get his visa, and he looked at his surroundings as the line slowly moved

forward. This airport didn't look particularly different from the others he'd found himself in over the years,

but he'd never felt so much like the minority before. There were a handful of white people in sight, but every

single other person was black. It wasn't as though he'd been only surrounded by people of his own race in

Chicago – that had hardly been the case, and he'd never noticed it. He'd just never been in a situation where

he'd been one of the only people around who wasn't black. It didn't bother him, but he did feel very

conspicuous. He didn't like to stand out.

He got to the front of the line, after a blonde guy who sounded like he might be from the UK had gotten his

visa. Edward smiled politely at the man behind the counter, who took his passport and visa application from

him with a curt, "Hello." While he was processing it, he looked up at Edward and said something that Edward

couldn't for the life of him understand. Was he speaking in Swahili?

There was an awkward pause for a moment while the man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and

looked at him expectantly.

"Pardon me?" Edward said, drumming his fingers on the countertop nervously. He took great care to focus on

the man, concentrating on trying to decipher his speech.

"Why are you coming to Kenya?" the man repeated in a thick accent.

"Oh," Edward breathed, immensely relieved to have actually understood. "Volunteer work."

The man nodded and stamped his visa, and then Edward was free to go. He was officially in Kenya. His lips

curled up into a tiny smile of anticipation as he made his way over to the baggage claim. He only had to wait

for one piece of luggage, so he didn't have to stand around for very long. One hiking backpack was more than

enough for all he wanted to bring. He was in Africa; he hardly needed very much, especially in terms of

clothes. While he'd always made a point to dress nicely when he'd been in school, volunteering in a

developing country wasn't exactly a fashion show.

Once he'd snagged his backpack from the carousel, he stood idly at the edge of the crowd. He found himself at

a momentary loss for what to do. He knew the plan was to go out to the arrivals lobby and look for his name –

it had been clearly stated in his instruction booklet from the organization. However, a sudden onslaught of

nerves had overcome him when he'd spotted the mass of people beyond the glass doors, all waiting for

passengers.

After a few seconds of standing completely motionless in the middle of the baggage claim area, earning a few

curious stares, he shook himself mentally. If he couldn't handle walking out into arrivals, how was he

supposed to manage the actual volunteering? Feeling stupid, he made his way through the crowd.

His nerves were back in full force as he came face to face with the slew of people gathered in front of him. Each

one was holding a sign, and all of them – there were maybe thirty or forty – were staring eagerly at him. He

wandered back and forth, desperately searching for his name. Everyone was smiling and pointing to their

signs, but Edward shook his head each time, feeling more awkward by the second. Why couldn't he find his

name? Was there no one there to pick him up? He didn't have a phone – how would he call the organization?

As he avoided the curious eyes of the throng, he began to formulate a plan. He was good at plans. He would

simply wait a little while longer for someone to show up, and in the worst case scenario, he would just have to

go up to a member of the airport staff and explain the situation. They would most likely provide him with a

phone, and it would be fine. As long as he had a plan to stick to, he would be okay.

Edward's eyes suddenly fell upon the beautiful familiarity of his name, and his shoulders sagged with relief.

Thank God . He eagerly hurried away from all the staring eyes and approached the man holding his name.

"Uh, hi," he began awkwardly, not quite sure how to introduce himself to someone carrying a sign with his

name on it. "I'm, uh, Edward Cullen."

The man smiled brightly at him and stuck out his hand for Edward to shake. He was very tall, very skinny, and

looked to be in his twenties. "I'm Benjamin," he said, shaking Edward's hand firmly. "Karibu."

Edward just nodded and smiled politely. He'd read in his Swahili phrasebook that "Karibu" meant welcome,

but he wasn't sure what to reply with. At least Benjamin's accent wasn't too thick to understand. Just like the

man at the counter, he spoke slowly, with no sense of urgency. Maybe Edward was just getting used to the

accent already, but he found Benjamin much easier to understand.

"I work with the Jamani Volunteers," Benjamin said. "I have to wait here for the other volunteers that are

coming out, but David is just arriving now to take your things to the van."

"Okay," Edward said. "Thanks." He knew he should probably start using the basic Swahili terms – "Asante"

would have been an appropriate response – but he'd just barely arrived in Kenya, and he felt too insecure to

start using the few Swahili words he knew.

After a few moments, a man who introduced himself as David approached him and led him to the van – a

simple white Nissan. There was no one else in the vehicle, and Edward felt a bit nervous about getting in after

chucking his luggage in the back. What if they weren't really from the Jamani Volunteers? As far as he knew,

they could be mastermind kidnappers and he'd wind up being ransomed for a monstrous amount of money.

That would be just his luck.

"If you'd like to wait outside the van while we get the other volunteers, you're welcome to," David said in the

same calm, almost soothing tone that Edward had heard from Benjamin. "You're probably wanting some fresh

air, no?"

Edward smiled gratefully at him, his nerves eased. He was being ridiculous and paranoid, but he supposed

that was to be expected. He'd traveled before, but now he was virtually on his own in a completely foreign

country. He'd planned everything up to this point meticulously, but now things were out of his hands. He

wasn't used to not knowing what to expect, and it unnerved him.

He breathed in the cool air of the late afternoon as David left him. Edward had been right before – the unique,

earthy scent he'd caught a hint of in the airport was strong here, and it was the smell of Kenya. He relished the

new sensations, letting the smell calm him. He was in Africa. Africa . It was an amazing thought, one he couldn't

quite wrap his mind around. He planned on having the best volunteer experience he possibly could. There

were surely plenty of opportunities to gain good work experience here. He wasn't naïve enough to really

believe he could make much of a difference, but he could learn a lot here. He was going to make use of that.

His train of thought was interrupted by a small group of people coming up and throwing their luggage in the

back of the van next to Edward's. Benjamin and David were back, accompanied by three others whom he

recognized from the plane. They must have been the other volunteers.

The blonde boy with the English accent introduced himself as Michael, and he was volunteering with his

girlfriend, Jessica. The third volunteer, Angela, told them that she was from Australia, and Edward wondered

if he would get to meet anyone from home.

"What program are you volunteering with?" Michael asked him, as they all piled in the van.

"HIV/AIDS," Edward answered. When he'd been choosing which area of volunteering he wanted to do, the

HIV/AIDS program had seemed the most obvious and appealing choice. He hadn't started med school yet, so

he wasn't qualified to take a medical position, but he would still get to work in a clinic and be exposed to the

medical care in Kenya with the program he'd chosen.

"Cool," Michael replied politely. "Jessica and I are doing the teaching placements."

"Me too," Angela added.

And with that, Edward immediately lost interest in making small talk with the three of them – he hated small

talk, anyway. He'd never really seen the point in it. But if he was the only one volunteering with HIV/AIDS, he

probably wasn't going to be seeing these people very much, if at all, over the course of his three months in

Kenya. They seemed nice enough, but Edward wasn't going to bother getting to know them, only to say

goodbye after the car ride.

"The highway is right next to the edge of Nairobi National Park," David called from the driver's seat. "You

might be able to see some giraffes in the tree line over there."

Edward eagerly looked over Michael's head (still taking a second to get used to driving on the left side of the

road) and out the far window, hoping to get a glimpse of a giraffe. He didn't plan on doing too much

sightseeing while in Kenya, at least nothing that would disrupt his volunteering, but he did hope to at least see

some interesting African animals. His overactive imagination made a giraffe out of every misshapen tree

hidden amongst the others.

Then David pointed out a herd of zebras on Edward's side of the road, and he peered out at the fading light of

day, grinning excitedly when he spotted them. How funny that there should be zebras right next to the airport,

Edward mused. Only in Africa.

As Edward was gazing at the scenery, watching it rush by and taking in as much as he could, Benjamin passed

envelopes back to the other volunteers and him. He took the one with his name on it and opened it up, taking

out its contents. At the top of the first piece of paper was listed someone named Alice as his "host mom," and

he was staying in some place called Ngresi. He wondered idly if that meant he was going to be in some tiny

village in the middle of nowhere, and not Nairobi.

"David?" Edward asked. "Where's, uh, N –" He was hesitant to attempt the name; he didn't want to look like

the ignorant white person he was bound to come across as in this country.

David chuckled. "Ngresi?" It sounded easy when he said it, slowly and fluidly. "It's about forty-five minutes

outside Nairobi. Only ten minutes from the airport, actually. Since you four all missed orientation yesterday,

we're just going to drop you off at your respective homestays now. Angela, since you'll be out in Maasailand,

you'll be staying in Nairobi tonight. Someone will drive you out tomorrow morning."

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