Footprints!

Rugi meets me walking back from school and we walk the rest of the way together. She asks if I have seen Pateh; I say I have not. When we get to the road past the hospital that leads to Koli Kunda, Rugi starts to walk slower so I stop to wait for her to catch up.

“Who are you waiting for? Me?”
“Yes.”
“Okay, wait.”

I expect her to hurry and catch up, but she maintains her current pace. When she reaches me she explains that we need to look for Pateh’s footprints. He followed her to school in the morning, but now she does not see him. She knows if we see his footprints we will know he went home. She holds up his red sandals and a shirt; he left them at the school. This means we are looking for prints of his bare feet.

We do not see his footprints, or at least, nothing we both agree are his footprints. When we reach the compound Fatou Bobo immediately asks if Rugi has seen Pateh. Rugi explains the story to her mom, who then borrows a bike and pedals off in the direction of the school, shouting for him along the way. I expected this to be a dramatic story people would talk about, but that was the end. Later that day I see Pateh milling about, so I guess he was found, wherever he went.