A Distant Shore (15 page)

“Please, listen.” The man’s eyes dart around in his head as he speaks. “I take you to England, but you decide quickly. I can take only three.”

Gabriel sits up and looks at this man in disbelief. He assumes him to be French, for he speaks with the same accent as the man who led them into the camp, but there is a wild energy about this man’s speech and his gestures.

“I come for you tonight after dark. In this place we live for the night.”

Gabriel continues to look at the man and he wonders why he has chosen him.

“Of course, I need money from you.”

“I have no money.”

“I have money.” Amma’s voice is quiet but firm.

The man turns to look at her and he speaks quickly. “I need two hundred United States dollars from each person.”

Gabriel looks at the child.

“But nothing for the child.”

“The two of you and the child, four hundred dollars.”

Gabriel looks at Amma, and then he turns back to the man.

“Please, allow us a few minutes to talk.”

“It is a good price,” says the man. “You make a new life, new friends, and forget your stinking country. In England everything is given to you. Food, clothes, house. You live like a king.”

Gabriel repeats himself. “Please, a few minutes.”

The man shrugs his shoulders, then turns and walks reluctantly to the entrance of the tent. Amma speaks first.

“You are angry with this man, is that it?”

Gabriel shakes his head. “No, but I cannot accept any money from you. You must save it for yourself and your child. I will find my own way of getting to England and I will meet you there.”

“Are you sure?”

“I will come with you tonight and make sure that this man does not cheat you.”

The impatient man returns, as though on cue.

“Well?”

“Just the woman and the child.”

The man seems unconcerned, and he now squints at Amma as though he is having difficulty focusing his eyes.

“I come for you after dark. If you have identity papers, please lose them so they cannot send you back to where you are from. And wear many clothes, for sometimes it is cold.” With this said the man turns and walks quickly out of the tent.

As the light begins to fade fast from the sky, Gabriel and Amma follow the guide towards the entrance to the camp. Gabriel notices two men with short, cropped hair and stubbled faces standing by the makeshift wooden gates, and as they reach the gates the guide stops. In the evening gloom he speaks a few hurried words with the men, and then he points at Amma, and Gabriel understands that these men are being told that Amma is to be their travelling companion. On receiving this news, the men begin to gesticulate and they eye Gabriel and Amma with barely disguised disgust. The guide returns to Gabriel and Amma.

“Filthy gypsies. Now we go to the train, but I must have money.”

Amma reaches into her clothes and hands the man some crumpled twenty-dollar bills, which he carefully counts and then tucks into his pocket. Gabriel looks angrily at the bushy-haired guide, for he neither seems grateful, nor does he appear to understand what it has probably cost a woman like Amma to acquire such a sum of money. Amma, sensing Gabriel’s rising anger, simply puts her hand on Gabriel’s arm.

Gabriel and Amma follow the three men out of the camp and down a deserted narrow lane where the hedgerows have cut off any possibility of a view, which makes Gabriel feel as though they are walking through a long tunnel without a roof. Night is beginning to fall and Gabriel tries to memorise the route, for he knows that later tonight he will have to return to the camp.

They walk on in silence for what seems an age, until the guide steps into a cornfield to relieve himself. Having finished, he then produces a cellular phone from his back pocket and conducts a short, whispered conversation before folding the phone in half and once more tucking it into his pocket. Gabriel watches him carefully, as do the two other men, fearful that he may try to bolt with their money. Having completed his phone call, the guide now returns to the narrow roadway. He cleans his thick glasses on the sleeve of his jacket, and then he replaces them. He points to a glow in the sky just a short way off.

“It is the place for the train.”

As they move in the direction of the light, Gabriel reaches over to take the boy from Amma, and for the first time since she jumped from the train she allows him to feel the weight of her child. She walks on, unburdened, and Gabriel feasts his eyes upon the graceful lines of her body.

A few hundred yards beyond where the guide relieved himself, he stops and gathers them around. Although there is no need to whisper, the man speaks quietly.

“We cannot go the whole distance by this road, for there are guards and police between here and the train. However, beyond this turning there is a bridge. The train passes below the bridge and you will drop down onto the top of the train.”

Gabriel can hardly believe what he is hearing.

“Onto the top of the train?”

The two other men are equally animated in their disbelief, but their guide is indignant. He raises his voice now and begins to gesticulate.

“What did you expect? Did you expect to travel in the train?”

Gabriel speaks up. “Yes, in the train, please. In the train.”

The man simply laughs. “You people are stupid.”

Gabriel turns to Amma, who seems unperturbed by this news.

“We must demand the return of your money. This seems too dangerous.”

Amma shrugs her shoulders. “Let us wait and see the bridge. It may be possible.”

But Gabriel is adamant. “You have your child. You cannot jump from a bridge with your child!”

“We have come this far. Let us at least take a look at the bridge.” Gabriel stares at her, but Amma will not back down. The guide turns and walks off in the direction of the glow in the sky, and his charges have little choice but to hasten after him. A few hundred yards down the road he stops abruptly and again he points.

“Now we cross this field to the bridge.”

The man leads them up off the road, and they begin to make their way across a deeply rutted field that is thickly overgrown with thistles and brambles. Amma reaches for her child to relieve Gabriel of the burden, but Gabriel makes it clear that he is comfortable with the boy’s weight.

When they reach the far side of the field they see the bridge, which has a slight arch so that the middle part is higher than the rest. It is a narrow bridge, not broad enough for a car, but wide enough for two people to walk across, shoulder to shoulder. To reach the bridge the guide pulls back a piece of fencing that looks like it has already been cut. Lying discarded by this gap in the fence is an empty Coca-Cola can and a half-dozen chocolate wrappers. There are muddy footprints, which make the grass slick, but one after the other they all pass through the fence and then step onto the bridge. Gabriel looks over the edge to see how far the drop is, and he is relieved to discover that it is not nearly as far as he had feared. The two other men also look and then laugh, but theirs is a nervous laughter. The guide watches them, but he seems agitated, as though he is ready to leave. He looks first one way and then the other, but Gabriel is scrutinising this man who, for the first time, seems unsure of himself.

“The train will come from this direction.” The guide points towards the light. “You will jump from here as it emerges on the other side.” He stands now in the middle of the small bridge and glances at his watch. “The train will be here in one minute.”

Gabriel looks at Amma, but she seems calm. The guide continues.

“It is better to drop down onto the train. Better than to jump. And you must land on the wagons at the rear of the train, for these are for cargo. Nobody will hear you if you drop on top of these carriages. Now please, you must get ready.”

Amma busily ties her child securely into her bosom, wrapping yet another layer of cloth around him. The restless guide rubs the lenses of his thick glasses with his fingers.

“You must lie flat and still on top of the train. You will pass through a long tunnel, but do not be frightened. Then it will be England, but do not get up or show yourself until you reach London. You will know that it is London, for you will be in a big station with a roof. The train will stop and doors will open and you will hear people and announcements. If the train stops before this you must not get up, do you understand?”

The two men nod. Amma finishes binding her child to her bosom, and then they hear the noise of the train approaching. The guide jams his glasses back into place.

“Remember you must lie flat.”

Gabriel looks at the train as it comes into view, but he can immediately see that it is travelling too fast for Amma to jump. The two men are already hanging over the side of the bridge, and now the guide turns to Amma, but Gabriel moves to stand in front of her. The guide is flustered.

“Quick, you must hurry.”

Gabriel raises his voice over the noise of the approaching train. “It is going too quickly. She cannot do this.” Gabriel can see that Amma wants to speak, but he is adamant. He takes a step towards the guide and holds out his hand. “The money.”

The guide laughs and turns from Gabriel. The train is now passing underneath the bridge. Gabriel can feel Amma tugging at his sleeve, but without bothering to turn around he simply cries, “No.” Gabriel watches as the two men let go of the bridge and fall on top of the train. They roll onto their sides and then one man reaches out and grabs the other in order to prevent him from falling. And then suddenly they are gone from sight as the train speeds into the distance. The guide turns from the train and looks at Gabriel.

“What is the matter with you?” He holds his hands out wide. “The girl could have been on the train.”

“It was going too fast,” says Gabriel.

The guide laughs and begins to walk off, but Gabriel shouts.

“The money.”

The guide stops and turns around to face Gabriel.

“I have to pay the guards. If there are three people, then I pay for three. If only two jump, then it is not my problem.”

Amma takes Gabriel by the arm. “Please, the money is not important.”

Gabriel, however, is determined. “You have stolen our money.”

The guide walks back towards Gabriel. “Please do not call me a thief.”

Gabriel is adamant. “You have taken Amma’s money.”

The man now points towards Amma. “She decided not to jump. This is not my fault. If I am caught I will be imprisoned. But I take this risk.” He bangs his hand into his chest as he speaks. “I take the risk. You understand?”

Amma turns and moves away from the bridge. She passes back through the gap in the fence and then she begins to walk across the field. Gabriel wants to say something more to this man, but he cannot take his eyes from Amma. He turns and runs after her, but when he reaches Amma she ignores him.

“Are you angry with me?”

Amma continues to walk.

“I am trying to help you, yet you treat me as though I have done something that has offended you.” Amma stops in the middle of the thorny field, and for the first time Gabriel can see the tears in her eyes.

“Why,” she asks, “do you insist on arguing with this man? He is not going to give you the money and he may be dangerous. You put us in danger. You put my child in danger.”

Gabriel listens and he is shocked by how emotionally distraught Amma appears to be.

“I am sorry.” He speaks quietly, and as he does so he moves to hold her arm, but she pulls away. “I did not know that you were frightened.”

Amma’s eyes continue to blaze. “Of course I am frightened. The man can keep the money, I have a child to protect.”

“I am sorry.”

“Why are you sorry?” She looks contemptuously at Gabriel. “It is men like that man who raped me and made me sick.”

“Men like that?”

“Angry men. They killed my husband, and because of the rape his family did not want me any more. That is why I am here, just me and my child. We have nobody and we do not wish to make men angry.”

“But you have me, Amma.”

“I cannot have a man again, do you not understand? It is not possible. I am no use to you, no use at all.”

Gabriel stares at her, but Amma shakes her head and then she begins to walk back in the direction of the camp. Gabriel watches her for a few moments, and then he follows.

As they pass into the tent Gabriel notices that there are new people who look closely at both of them. However, in the far corner of the tent, he sees familiar faces. He imagines that it must be clear to them that this is not the right time to begin questioning either of their distraught-looking fellow travellers. Amma sits down and begins to free the child from the cloths which bind him to her body. Gabriel sits heavily on the cot next to hers and he stares at her. And then he whispers.

“So what will happen with us?”

Amma says nothing, and she will not meet Gabriel’s eyes. She lies on her side with her hands between her knees, as though she is praying, and she concentrates on her child. Knowing that he is effectively beaten, and that there is no way to make Amma talk against her will, Gabriel rolls over onto his cot and closes his eyes. He is tired, and he can feel sleep beginning to flood his body.

And then Gabriel sees his mother crawling on all fours like a dog. She is wailing, but without making any noise. Her head is craned back and she opens her mouth and reveals toothless gums. Her eyes bulge, but it is not immediately clear why she is in so much pain. And now she is surrounded by a group of men in khaki uniforms with red bandannas wrapped around their heads. They form a human circle inside of which Gabriel’s mother crawls, and as she does so they kick her. Gabriel watches at some distance, and then one of the men turns around and sees Gabriel. The man has on dark glasses, and then all of the men turn and look at Gabriel so that he can now see that they are all wearing dark glasses. Gabriel’s mother has collapsed into a heap and she is no longer able to crawl. But the men have finished with her and they stare now at Gabriel. And then Gabriel’s two sisters walk into view. They are still in their blue and white school uniforms, and they carry their satchels over one shoulder. The men notice these two girls, and the older sister stops and holds the arm of the younger sister, who screams, and the two girls turn on their heels and begin to flee. A satchel drops from a shoulder, but it is impossible to tell who it belongs to. The men take off in pursuit of the girls and leave Gabriel standing alone with his mother. He waits for a few moments, but his mother does not pick herself up from the dirt. Gabriel is not sure if he should approach her, but in the end he decides to try and help. His mother is curled in a ball with her back to him.