Tall Story - Candy Gourlay [8]
‘Look, Sister, I’m sorry,’ I mumbled. ‘I’m sorry for everything.’ I wished now that Auntie would suddenly appear. Nena, what are you doing? she would say. Shoo! Shoo!
I could easily have called for Auntie over my shoulder.
But I didn’t.
It was after Gabriela died that Nena started wandering the streets. She wore the same clothes until they melted into rags. At the oddest times, and for no obvious reason, she would yell and weep. Then she would begin to sing her strange, wordless songs. Her most treasured possession was a laminated card that someone had given her at Gabriela’s funeral. She wore it around her neck on a red ribbon. It had Saint Gertrude’s prayer on it, the one that released a thousand souls from Purgatory every time it was prayed.
Whenever I saw Nena on the street, I crossed to the other side. ‘She’s harmless, Nardo,’ Auntie chided. ‘She can’t do anything to you now.’
But tonight the eyes gazing at me through the matted hair were clear.
‘I’m sorry,’ I said again, reaching to shut the casement. ‘I think you should go.’
‘I forgive you,’ she whispered.
I stopped.
‘S-sorry?’
‘No hard feelings.’
‘What … what do you want from me?’
Behind the tangle of hair, the eyes glowed like embers of coal.
‘I want nothing from you. I bring you a gift, Hero. A gift.’
She reached up and pulled my hand from the sill, pushing something firmly into my palm.
It was the wishing stone.
For a moment I could see Gabriela again, dark eyes flashing, long hair black and silky as a stream … and the wishing stone, nestled in the cleft bared by her lavishly unbuttoned blouse.
It felt solid and heavy in my hand.
‘No,’ I whispered. ‘I can’t take this.’
‘This is yours. Gabriela wanted me to give it to you. That much she told me before she died.’
It looked like any stone one would find on a beach. A stone for skipping in the sea. A stone for loading in a slingshot to dislodge ripe fruit from the tops of the mango trees. But I knew its power. I knew what it could do.
‘It will grant you one wish. One wish. What is your heart’s desire?’
Longing swelled in my chest so suddenly, I almost winced. My heart’s desire? Wasn’t it obvious? Everyone knew what I wanted more than anything else.
‘I can’t accept this …’ I said faintly. But inside my head there was a clamour. Take it! Take it!…
‘She wanted you to have it. It was her dying wish.’
‘But …’
‘It’s yours, Hero.’
And then she quickly jumped down from her perch and ran to the yawning gate of our house.
‘Nardo?’
I stared at her dazedly.
‘Be careful what you wish for.’
She laughed a silent laugh, her shoulders shaking, her mouth open wide. She slapped her knee and waved, then stepped out into the muddy darkness.
6
Andi
‘You’ll love it at Saint Sim’s,’ Dad said. ‘They’ve got a new gym.’
We were driving across town in our Toyota, which would have been another good surprise for our oily estate agent because it was a teacup on wheels.
Lucky Dad. The most comfortable seat was the driver’s: Mum didn’t want to drive and of course I couldn’t.
Mum sat under a large wheelie bag in the front passenger seat. And I was in the back, buried under an avalanche of duvets. Which was probably the safest thing in case of an accident, as long as I didn’t suffocate first.
The moving lorry was to follow later in the afternoon. It was ten times the size of our flat but we didn’t have any trouble filling it up.
‘Yes!’ Mum said. ‘They offer so many sports! You can easily pick one where height is not an advantage. Table tennis. Bowling. Ukulele.’
‘Ukulele is not a sport, Mum!’
‘But it’s small – it’s perfect for you.’
‘MUM!’
Maybe she was trying to be funny.
‘Here we are!’ Dad said.
We pulled over but it took ages for Mum to liberate herself from the suitcase and me from the bedding. Dad tried to help but ended up getting Mum’s heel on his big toe. When we were finally free, we all turned to stare at our new home.
It was even bigger than I remembered. Three floors of living space. Three bedrooms. With steps