Chembe Moja ya Chumvi

Asubuhi yake ya mwisho, Polly aliruka hadi mwisho wa mji. Mnara mdogo mweupe wa taa umesimama pale karibu na bahari, kando ya kanisa la duara. Kutoka hapa, mji ulionekana tena kama meli.

On her last morning, Polly flew to the end of the town. A small white lighthouse stands there by the sea, next to a round church. From here, the town looked like a ship again.

Mashua za uvuvi ziliondoka bandarini moja baada ya nyingine. Kengele ya mnara ililia juu ya paa. Uwanjani, mtu mwenye fidla alisimama peke yake katika mwanga wa kwanza.

The fishing boats left the harbour one by one. The bell in the tower rang over the roofs. On the square, the man with the violin stood alone in the first light.

Polly bado alionja chembe moja ya chumvi. Bahari, jua na mikono yenye subira viliitengeneza, kwa njia ile ile kwa zaidi ya miaka mia saba. Chumvi ndiyo iliyojenga mji huu mweupe.

Polly still tasted one grain of salt. Sea, sun and patient hands made it, the same way for more than seven hundred years. Salt built this white town.

Aliuzunguka mji mara moja. Kisha akapaa juu ya upepo wa asubuhi. Meli ya mawe ikawa ndogo nyuma yake. Bahari mbele yake ilikuwa pana na angavu.

She flew once around the town. Then she rose on the morning wind. The stone ship grew small behind her. The sea in front of her was wide and bright.