The Mountain Shadow

Fire, I was thinking. It’s gone. All of it. Nazeer, Nazeer, Nazeer, they shot you, and burned you, my brother.

‘He’s dead, the boy?’ Karla asked, grabbing a rope of detail, and pulling me from the fire.

‘Yes. I saw him. He was dead, but untouched by the fire. Nazeer shielded his body. Abdullah brought Tariq’s body out of the building, but he had to leave Nazeer inside.’

‘May the universe comfort this young, returning soul,’ she said.

‘Comfort both their souls.’

‘Both their souls,’ she repeated.

‘They were shot, Karla, and their guards have disappeared.’

‘Are you sure?’

For a moment I looked at her as Abdullah had looked at me on the burning street, an extinct legacy in his arms.

‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Okay.’

A biker boy approached us. I moved around the bike.

‘Are you okay, Karla?’ the biker boy asked. ‘Is this guy bothering you?’

‘No, Jack,’ I said, unamiably. ‘You’re bothering me. Back off.’

He was a nice kid, probably, but it was the wrong moment on the wrong night. And besides, I was talking to my girl.

‘Who the fuck are you?’

‘I’m the guy who’s telling you to back off, Jack, while you can.’

‘Go and sit down, Abhay,’ Karla said, her back turned.

‘Anything for you, Karla,’ Abhay said, his shiny jacket creaking like stairs as he bowed. ‘If you need me, I’m just over here.’

He backed away, glaring at me until he rejoined his friends.

‘Nice kid,’ I said.

‘They’re all nice kids,’ she said. ‘And they’re all going to the party tonight.’

‘What party?’

‘The party that I uninvited you to.’

‘Uninvited me?’

‘You were invited, but I uninvited you.’

‘Who invited me, before you uninvited me?’

She turned her head a little to the side.

‘The hostess, if you must know.’

‘What party are we talking about, again?’

‘A special party, and believe it or not, I had to pull strings to cut you from the list. You should feel okay about that.’

‘I don’t feel okay about anything, right now.’

Another biker boy approached us behind Karla’s back, staring at me. The new biker boy was upset about something. I put my hand up, with a hard face behind it, and he stopped.

‘Don’t.’

He backed away again.

‘Take it easy, Lin,’ Karla said, close enough to kiss.

‘This is as easy as it gets, tonight.’

‘They’re friends. Not good friends, and not close friends, but useful friends.’

‘Come with me, Karla.’

‘I can’t –’ she began.

‘You can.’

‘I can’t.’

‘I won, Lin!’ Naveen said, running up to hug me. ‘What a race. That girl is phenomenal, but I won. Did you see it?’

‘Great, Naveen,’ I said. ‘Tell your biker boys to calm down.’

‘Oh, them?’ He laughed. ‘They’re hot-headed, but they just like to ride, man.’

‘Speaking of riding,’ Karla said, ‘I’m two-up with Benicia tonight.’

‘You’re . . . what?’

‘Naveen is bringing Kavita to the costume party, and I’m on Benicia’s back. I hope you’re good with that?’

I was so bad with it, I wanted to pick up motorcycles and throw them at God.

‘You know what,’ Naveen said, watching Karla and me. ‘I’ll just be over there, when we’re ready to roll.’

He backed away a few steps, and then jogged to meet his friends.

‘If I have to get burned or beat up to talk to you, Karla,’ I said, when we were alone, ‘we probably need counselling.’

‘Speak for yourself,’ she said, leaning away from me. ‘Counselling is for people too bored to tell the truth.’

‘That’s funny, coming from someone who won’t tell me the truth right now.’

‘I can’t tell you all of the truth. I thought you understood that?’

‘I don’t understand anything. Are you really going with those people tonight?’

She glanced over her shoulder, and turned back to me again.

‘This party is something different. Do you believe me, that I’m going to this party, and I uninvited you, because I love you?’

‘What I mean is, you’re going to a party, any party, no matter how important it is, after what happened tonight?’

She flared her lips for a second, showing her teeth, locked together. Her eyes opened wide. I knew the look. It wasn’t threatening: it was biting back something that would hurt me. I didn’t care.

‘You knew them, Karla. We’re talking about Nazeer. I don’t know about you, but all I want to do right now is be with you.’

‘It’s hard, what happened to the boy –’

‘And to Nazeer.’

‘And to Nazeer. Sweet Nazeer.’

She stopped, memories of the burly Afghan rubbing at the edges of her resolution. Karla and I both lit the same lamp when we saw Nazeer’s deeply lined face and his fierce, scowling smile, as he opened the door of the mansion.

She took a deep breath, smiled at me, and took my hand in hers.

‘This party really is important, Lin. It will open a lot of secret doors, and it’s gonna let me close a door that I probably shouldn’t have opened in the first place.’

‘What door?’

‘It’s too soon. Please, trust me. Please. Just trust me when I say that this party could give me a chance to walk away from all of this, and live with it, for a long time afterwards, without looking back.’

‘Why is the party so important?’