The Woman in the Dunes - Machi Abe [19]
“Maybe. But it would make trouble if they knew outside about things here.”
“And do you people think you’re safe with me? Indeed you’re not! You’ve made a real mistake if you think you are. I’m no tramp—unfortunately for you. I pay my taxes, and I’m a registered resident. There’ll soon be a request out for an investigation, and then you’ll see. Don’t you people even understand that? Just how do you expect to justify yourselves? Now, go and call whoever’s responsible. I’ll tell him exactly what I think about this whole stupid situation.”
She lowered her eyes and sighed faintly. Her shoulders drooped, but she made no further attempt to move; she was like a dejected, unjustly abused puppy. Yet her attitude made him even more angry.
“What are you hesitating for? Come on, I’m not the only one concerned. You’re as much the victim as I am, aren’t you? Well, aren’t you? You said yourself that if they knew on the outside about life here, there’d be trouble. That shows you yourself recognize how unreasonable this life of yours is. Stop being a mouthpiece; stop being treated like a slave. Nobody has the right to keep you shut up here. Go on and call somebody now. We’re going to get out of here.… Ah, so that’s it. You’re afraid, aren’t you? But that’s foolish! What’s there to be afraid of? I’m here. And I’ve got friends who work for a newspaper. We’ll give the story a social angle. What’s wrong? Why don’t you say something? I tell you there’s nothing to be afraid of!”
After a moment the woman suddenly spoke, as if to console him.
“Shall I start fixing dinner?”
10
OUT of the corner of his eye, he followed her figure as she began silently to peel some potatoes. Should he docilely accept the food she was preparing or not? His thoughts were completely taken up by the problem.
Now was the time to be calm and cool. Since her intentions were clear, it would be better to face the facts instead of shilly-shallying—better to lay some concrete plans for escape. He could call them to account for their unlawful treatment later. But his empty stomach weakened his will. He could not concentrate his faculties. But if he didn’t want to recognize, officially, the predicament he was in, then he should probably refuse all food too. It would be ludicrous to eat the meal when he disapproved. Even a bristling dog will drop its tail as soon as it gets a bone.
But best not jump to conclusions. As long as he did not know just how far the woman would go, there was no need to be so passive. It was not a question of her doing something for nothing. He would certainly pay for his food. If he paid his money there would be no reason to feel indebted to her—not a bit. The announcers of boxing matches on television were always saying that attack was the best defense.
With this inspiration, he was relieved to have found a good excuse for not refusing the food. Suddenly his mind cleared and he saw everything. Only the sand was his enemy. Yes, that was it. There was no particular need to pose unreasonable problems, to be broken through like iron bars. They had taken away the rope ladder—very well, he would make a ladder of wood. If the sand wall were too steep, then he would make the incline more gentle by scraping away the sand. If he would only use his head a little, it would all be easy. The plan seemed overly simple, but as long as it fitted his purpose, the simpler it was the better. The best solution—take Columbus and his egg—is often ridiculously simple. If he did not mind the trouble, if he really would fight, well, the game was not over yet.
The woman had finished peeling the potatoes; she diced them and put them into a big iron pot over the hearth, along with a large sliced radish, leaves and all. She carefully took a match out of a plastic bag, and after using it she wrapped up the bag tightly again and fastened it with a rubber band. She put rice in a sieve and poured