The Bitter Side of Sweet

Amadou wakes in the truck and finds that it’s late afternoon. He realizes they are going southeast, away from Mali and his home village. He wants to exit the truck before the pisteur stops and sees them, but Seydou is burning with fever. Khadija finds the medical kit she stole from the bosses and gives Seydou two pills: an antibiotic, and something for the pain. She knows a little about medicine because she wants to be a doctor someday. Amadou is surprised at her lofty aspirations and feels foolish for his lack of knowledge about what to do for Seydou. In addition to giving him pills, they also change Seydou’s bandage over his stump, finding that the wound has been cauterized. Angry and in pain, Seydou blames Khadija for his injury at first, but after she apologizes, he backs off. Neither he nor Amadou know whom to blame for Seydou’s injury because Seydou was talking to Yussuf behind him, and he never saw who swung the machete that cut him.

Khadija is surprised to see a layer of papaya covering Seydou’s stump under the bandage, but now it’s Amadou’s turn to share medical knowledge; the papaya keeps the bandage from sticking and keeps the burn from getting dry.