18370328 19:23:09

18370328 19:23:09

"Here! Come here!" Daron compelled him to come to the spot with a raspy whisper as he knocked against the wooden wall of the barn. He knocked again as he watched the outline of Doctor Adewa Kufo's body in the weak moonlight turn his head around from side to side. Finally, the man turned to face the wall from the other side and leaned his face against the wall in a failed attempt to confirm who was on the other side.
"Daron?"
"Hush! Turn your back to the wall and just answer the questions that I ask you."
"Understood." The Doctor did as instructed and leaned his body against the wall, causing a creak to emit from the aged planks. Daron sighed and shook his head. "I just wanted to make sure-"
"Yes, yes, fine, but no names. Ain't no secret if names are heard." Daron strained to keep his speech in a whisper and his words were delivered with enough rasp to compel him to cough.
"I suppose you're right." The Doctor was embarrassed to make that admission, and his voice reflected it.
"Just remember it. Anyways, reason I wanted you here is to tell you that some folks here got a story against you and your pal Garr. They want you out of here. I don't agree, but you need to make a reason that you should stay."
"Is it the Reverend?"
"Doesn't matter who. Bad enough you're not out there with the rest of us workin the crop. Folks think you just here to leech."
"That's unfortunate. Research takes time."
"Well one of em is sayin that you do experiments on dead babies, Doctor. This ain't just about how you spendin your time."
"Oh, what rubbish. It is the Reverend, then. They get one story about one person and-"
"Look, I just said it doesn't matter. What you gotta do is prove your worth here. What is your work now, then? What're you working on?"
"Well, Dr. Peterson and I were making experimental formulations for new feminine cosmetic products. We're trying to find better formulas for compounds which hydrate the flesh. We believe there to be a strong market for that."
"So, beauty products?"
"Yes, D-. Yes sir."
"All right. All right. I hear what you're sayin but you gotta change that now. Like right now. What's something you can do for something like our crops first, instead?"
"Uh, well, I uh... you must understand that neither Dr. Peterson or I are specialists in that kind of organic chemistry, and we just can't-"
"Hush, I don't care, I don't care. It don't matter. I'm trying to help you earn your stay here. You find a way to get our crops to stretch out, how to get us to grow more from the same plot, that'll shut them all up. You find a way to help feed all of us, ain't nobody gonna run you out. All right?"
"Um, yes, that would be true, yes, but, again, that will take some time to happen."
"Think beyond your job, Doctor. You gotta make your case and sell yourself like you got a new tonic. Make something up. I don't know what. New seed, new soil food, something, anything. Prove your worth. And do it as soon as possible. Do it and buy yourself some time, and earn your stay."
Doctor Kufo stood silent for a moment, with his gaze cast to the darkened ground in contemplation. The request did make sense, but he didn't understand how this situation had already come to conspire in this fashion. Why was it his task to give this instruction? Why did this accuser not face him or the other Doctor directly? Why was his mere hearsay enough to cause this all to occur? How soon would be soon enough to make some kind of new discovery be presented? What would be an acceptable justification? He quickly deduced that the most important variable to determine was the allowance of time.
"Sir, how much time will I have for this?"
The question was asked to nobody. Daron had slipped away from the barn while the Doctor was lost in thought.