The Mountain Shadow

‘He’s a talkative guy, your husband.’

‘What did he talk about?’

‘What would he talk to me about?’

‘Don’t play games with me!’

She was speaking softly, but it was still like a trapped animal’s cry. She calmed down.

‘What, exactly, did he tell you?’

‘Lemme guess,’ I murmured. ‘You and Ranjit do this to people for kicks, right?’

She smiled.

‘Ranjit and I do have an understanding, but not about everything.’

I smiled.

‘You know what,’ I said. ‘To hell with Ranjit.’

‘I’d agree with you,’ she said, ‘if I didn’t think I might have to join him there one day.’

She looked away at the clouds, churning over the distant city, and the first rain showers simmering and frothing at the edges of the forest.

I was confused, but I was mostly confused when I talked to Karla. I didn’t know if she was telling me something intimate about her and Ranjit, or talking about us. If she was talking about Ranjit, I didn’t want to know.

‘Big storm,’ I said.

She looked back at me quickly.

‘It was because of me, wasn’t it?’

‘What was because of you?’

She shook her head, and then stared at me again, her green eyes the only bright things left in the grey-sky world.

‘What Ranjit talked to you about,’ she said, suddenly determined and clear. ‘He’s worried about me, I know. But the fact is, he’s the one who needs help, not me. He’s the one in danger.’

She stared into my eyes, trying to read my thoughts. I was reading what looked like pure and honest concern for her husband. It hurt more, somehow, than Concannon’s club.

‘What do you want, Karla?’

She frowned, let her eyes fall from mine, and then raised them to stare at me again.

‘I want you to help him,’ she said, almost as if it were an admission of guilt. ‘I’d like him to stay alive, for a few more months, and that’s not a sure thing.’

‘A few months?’

‘Years would be acceptable, but a few months are essential.’

‘Essential for what?’

She looked at me, trying out emotional responses, before relaxing in a smile.

‘My peace of mind,’ she said, not telling me anything.

‘He’s a big boy, Karla, with a big bank account.’

‘I’m serious.’

I stared back at her for a moment, and then smiled my way into a soft laugh.

‘You’re something, Karla. You’re really something.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘All that stuff, this morning, asking me if I came up here because of you, just to throw me off the track, because you came up here to ask me to help Ranjit.’

‘Do you think I’m lying to you?’

‘Talking about keeping Ranjit alive for a few months, is the same as talking about him being dead in a few months. It’s pretty cute, Karla.’

‘You think I’m manipulating you?’

‘It wouldn’t be the first time.’

‘That’s not –’

‘It doesn’t matter,’ I said, not smiling. ‘It never did. I love you.’

She tried to speak, but I put my fingers across her lips.

‘I’ll ask around, about Ranjit.’

Thunder silenced her reply: thunder rumbling into blasts, shaking the forest trees.

‘I gotta go,’ I said, ‘if I’m gonna beat that storm back to the city. I have to make sure that Lisa’s okay.’

I turned to leave, but she held my wrist. It was the tattooed hand: the hand covered with a tracery of words.

‘Let me ride with you,’ she said.

I hesitated. Instinct flinched.

‘Just that,’ she said. ‘Let me ride back to town with you.’

‘Okay. Okay.’

We collected our things and made the rounds of the students, saying our goodbyes.

The students liked Karla. Everyone liked Karla, even when they didn’t want to understand her.

At the edge of the mesa, Idriss and Silvano came to say goodbye. Silvano still had the rifle slung over his shoulder.

‘No hard feelings, Silvano,’ I said, offering my hand.

He spat on the ground.

Nice, I thought. Okay, rise above.

‘Your name, Silvano, means forest.’

‘And what if it does?’ he demanded, his jaw jutting on the words.

‘I know it,’ I smiled, ‘because an Italian friend of mine changed his name from Silvano, to Forest. Forest Marconi. And I remember thinking that it’s a beautiful name, in both languages.’

‘What?’ Silvano frowned.

‘I’m just saying, I have a friend, whose name is Silvano, and I like him very much. I’m sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I hope you’ll accept my apology.’

‘Well, yes, of course,’ Silvano agreed quickly, reaching out to accept my hand.

There was no contest in it, and the young Italian smiled at me for the first time.

‘You speak Italian?’ he asked.

‘I can swear, if it’s required.’

Idriss laughed.

‘You must come back, Lin!’ he demanded. ‘You must hear my little talk on the animal nature, and the human nature. You’ll get a kick out of it. Maybe two kicks!’

Lightning forked a cobra-strike through the black clouds. The teacher’s face and body were illuminated for an instant with blue-silver light.

‘I’d like that,’ I replied, when the flashes of lightning had passed. ‘I’ll make sure to bring my animal nature along.’

‘You’re always most welcome.’

Abdullah, Karla and I made our way down the slopes, clinging to one another from time to time on slippery paths.