The Desire Read Online Free

“No problem. The village is only about fifteen minutes from here.”
    â€œGreat,” Ray said. “Then that’s our plan. How much time before you’re ready to go, Allan?”
    â€œI’m ready now.” Technically, that was true. He was ready on the outside. What he wanted to do was suggest Ray let him and Ed switch places.
    â€œThen let’s go.”
    The rest of the men stood, and each one, in turn, shook Henok’s hand. Allan noticed he was actually smiling by the time they finished. But Henok’s smile faded as they madetheir way through the tables and out to the street, where their car and driver awaited.
    Allan’s smile had faded well before that.

    Allan had grown used to driving through the streets of Addis Ababa by now. Parts of the city were quite modern. Large commercial buildings were beginning to appear. More of them with each trip. Lots of construction was under way. Plenty of paved roads. There were still far more people walking to their destinations than you’d ever see in a US city, and far more merchants selling fruits and vegetables along the curb. But Addis Ababa definitely gave the appearance of a city trying to find its way into the mainstream.
    Still, unmistakable poverty abounded. Even more so the farther they drove from the center of town. After five minutes, the paved roads disappeared, and things became very bumpy.
    The driver did his best to follow in the ruts created by a large garbage truck ahead. Ray sat up front with the driver; Henok and Allan sat in the back. Henok sat on the edge of the seat, leaning forward, answering Ray’s questions. “So the village is named Korah?”
    â€œYes,” Henok said. “Korah.”
    Ray asked the driver, “Have you ever heard of this place?”
    â€œYes. It is a terrible place. People from the city never go there. It is where we dump our garbage.”
    â€œIt’s the city dump?” Allan asked.
    â€œYes. You will begin to smell it long before we arrive.”
    â€œAfter you are there awhile,” Henok said, “you get used to the bad smells.”
    â€œI don’t agree,” the driver said. “The smell stays in your nose for days, and on your clothes. It is a town of lepers. Itis where they have always sent the lepers, for many years. Many with AIDS are there too.”
    Allan looked at Henok. “Didn’t you say last night that you grew up there . . . in Korah?”
    The driver shot Henok a look through the rearview mirror. A sad look came over Henok’s face, and he slid back in his seat. Allan realized he had asked the wrong question. Henok was clearly embarrassed.
    Henok looked out the window. “Yes, I grew up there. But that is not who I am anymore. I escaped.”
    â€œDo any of your family members still live there?” Ray asked.
    â€œYes.” Then a long pause. “Some do.”

5
    A s they got closer to Korah, the driver began to get visibly nervous. Allan noticed Henok was sitting fully back in the seat now, mostly looking out the window. He wore a distant expression on his face, as though seeing different things than what everyone else saw.
    â€œIs there another way in?” the driver asked Henok. “I don’t believe the guards will let us in the front gate with these Americans.”
    â€œYes,” Henok said. “Take a right up here, just past that cluster of bushes. It’s a narrow dirt road.”
    â€œMore narrow than this?” the driver asked.
    â€œYes. And you must drive slow, even slower than we’ve been driving on this road. With the rain we’ve had these past few days, there will be many ruts and mud puddles. Follow the road around the big mountains of garbage you see out the window. It will lead to the back way. We can sneak these men in there, no problem.”
    â€œWhy do we have to sneak in?” Ray asked. “All the people we’ve met in Addis Ababa have been