bump in the night

A sample of things I’ve woken to in the night:

- A woman giving birth right outside of my house. I ended up strapping my headlamp onto Mariam Ba’s head and giving the baby its first bath.
- People crying and walking to the house of a recently dead villager
- Drums for my friend Atcha’s wedding. I roused myself out of bed at midnight to stand amid the dust and the dancing, holding babies while their mothers danced under the moon in the circle.
- The newest member of my host family’s first cries in the room next to mine, about five feet from my head.
- Countless people seeking medical help from Mariam Ba.
- Cars, donkeys, dogs barking roosters crowing and the ever-dependable pre-dawn prayer call.