Tall Story - Candy Gourlay [51]
‘Mad Nena, she pray and pray so that Gabriela can go to Heaven,’ Bernardo explained. ‘Sometimes I pray too. I be very sad for her.’
I was tempted to say Gabriela did not sound like the Purgatory type. Wasn’t Purgatory a way-station for sinners who could still be saved? I had no doubt that she went straight to Hell.
But the earnest expression on Bernardo’s face made me hold my tongue.
On the day Gabriela finally died, Bernardo – who had grown to six and a half foot tall – took the bus to the nearest church in the next village, San Isidro. He went to Confession and begged forgiveness for his part in her decline.
Confession is supposed to be the secret sacrament, right? The priest, as God’s stand-in, is sworn never to reveal the confessions of his people. That’s how the slate can be wiped clean, and everyone can start from scratch and all that. Well. San Isidro had not been immune from the brutal bullying of the witch and her daughter. The priest could barely contain himself when he heard that Gabriela was dead and that the witch had lost her mind. He leaped out of the confessional and shook Bernardo’s hand.
Soon villages up and down the hills of Montalban were buzzing with the news.
Everybody knew.
And that’s how Bernardo became a hero.
He had freed the people of Montalban from the tyranny of Nena and Gabriela.
Turning into a giant was actually a sideshow to the whole thing.
The fact that the earthquakes stopped was a bonus.
That night, I watched Bernardo sleep his silent sleep.
His hand lay across his chest and his head was thrown back, his Adam’s apple bobbing gently as he breathed.
My brother.
Home at last.
Things were going to be better from now on, I swore to myself. Bernardo didn’t deserve to be treated like a freak. He didn’t deserve to be treated like a stranger either. And I was going to be a great sister. At the game tomorrow, I would cheer for him until my tonsils fell out. And he was going to shock the Colts into a stupor and the Souls would play themselves to victory and it would be all because of Bernardo.
The door opened.
Mum’s face appeared in the crack.
Our eyes met and she quickly shut the door.
There was something in her expression that made me jump out of bed and follow her out.
‘Mum? What is it?’
I could hear the drone of the news on TV downstairs.
Mum turned away but not before I saw her flick tears from her eyes. My heart began to boom in my ears.
‘Mum! Something’s wrong? Is it Bernardo? Did you get more results back from the hospital?’
‘No! No, it’s not that.’
I pulled her shoulder round to face me. Her eyes were smudged from weeping.
‘Then what is it?’
Her mouth trembled. ‘It’s not Bernardo – there has been an earthquake in the Philippines. A massive earthquake.’
I stood there, my bare feet suddenly rooted to the carpet. I had never felt so small and so helpless, the blood rushing about in my head like a wild river. ‘An earthquake?’ I had stopped breathing.
Mum’s eyes were black holes.
‘Montalban was at the epicentre. San Andres … it’s been destroyed.’
Part Three
Wish Fulfilment
1
Bernardo
‘Slam dunk!’
Jabby looked resplendent in a brand-new red, white and blue Mountain Men kit.
I laughed. ‘You’re not tall enough!’ And he wasn’t. Only players over six foot ever managed dunks.
Jabby looked hurt. ‘Do you know the Americans banned dunking in the nineteen seventies?’
‘So you’ve told me a million times.’
‘And you know why they banned it?’
‘Yes I do. You told me.’
‘They banned it because Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, my namesake, was just too good! They banned it so other players could catch up!’
‘Whatever. You can’t do it, Jabby.’
‘Watch me.’
And with that, he jumped, jumped from standing, without even a running leap, up and up and up, up beyond the ring, up to the rafters of the dome, up to the big round glass light, up like a shooting star, so fast that I thought he was going to crash right through and shower me with broken glass; but no, inches away, he peaked and then down he went, the ball raised