No Pain Like This Body (14 page)

Balraj and Sunaree listened. Balraj scratched his ears as he looked at the sky; the clouds were fighting with each other. Then he said, “Let we go and catch some more crappo fish. Wen dat rain come down, we cant catch none.”

It was a good idea. They walked southward on the high land until they reached the long mango tree at the southern end of the riceland. There were many mangoes on the ground, but blue flies were sitting on them and singing hm hm hm hm. Sunaree and Panday picked up a few mangoes and washed them in a drain. They peeled the mangoes with their teeth as they followed Balraj into the riceland. They entered the rice-land and started walking northward to meet the other colas. There were thick bamboo and basmatia grass in the southern section of the riceland. The last three colas were not cutlassed and forked up. This year Pa didn't plant any rice in the last three colas. Last year rice was planted in the southern section, but it was of no use. Last year Pa didn't want to plant any rice in the last three colas. But Ma quarrelled with him; quarrelled with him day and night; just quarrelled and quarrelled with him, because she wanted enough rice in the house; enough to sell and enough to give to beggars and enough for the children to eat as well. Pa didn't like the idea, so he remained home for many days without doing anything. But Ma was determined. She tied up her head with an old floursack, took the brushing
cutlass and the crookstick and started to cut the grass. The bamboo grass were tall tall, taller than Ma in some places. The blade went through the grass:

swipe swipe swiping!

swipe swipe swiping!

swipe swipe swiping!

Ma only took a few days to cutlass the three colas last year. Balraj, Sunaree, Rama and Panday helped her clean out the colas. They threw the cut grass far away on the high land. Pa came one day and looked. The colas were clean. He tied the leather belt around his waist and forked up the land, then he levelled it with the white bull. Then Ma and the children planted the rice. But it was no use. The bamboo and basmatia grass grew faster than the rice. So when rice-cutting time came, there was no rice in the last three colas.

They walked until they came into the other colas. There were plenty tadpoles. The tadpoles were running and running; they were trying to hide from Balraj. Balraj was dragging his hands inside the water. There were hundreds of tadpoles in lit­tle groups; they were jumping and dancing in the water. Then Balraj heard
eh eh eh.

Panday was crying; he was crying hard hard as if Balraj was killing him or something. But nobody was doing Panday any­thing. Balraj and Sunaree were scared. Pa was at home. If he heard Panday getting on like this, he was going to come in the water and beat them with the leather belt.

The rain was falling far away; falling on the high hills in Gran Couva. They saw the rain; it was like white smoke over the mountains.

Balraj found a way to keep Panday quiet. “Let we go by de coconut tree and see dem crappo fish in dat hole.”

Balraj dug the hole the week before he went to the hospi­tal. It was about time to see the hole. The hole wasn't deep deep. Balraj always had to hide and dig the hole. He took the old fork and hid it in the banana patch. Then he waited until Pa went into the village to drink rum. As Pa left, Balraj would run away from home. Sunaree, Rama and Panday didn't know he was digging a hole to put the tadpoles. But Rama found out about the hole; he couldn't keep his mouth shut, so he went and told Ma about it. Then one day Ma walked easy easy through the banana patch, then she passed behind the out­house and went by the coconut tree. She looked. Balraj was digging the hole like a crazy man. Ma called. Balraj jumped up as if he was bitten by a snake. When he saw Ma he laughed and said that he was just digging a hole to put some tadpoles. Ma knew that Balraj loved the crappo fish, so she told him to go right on digging. It took him about three days to dig the hole. Rain fell almost every day, but the ground under the coconut tree was very hard. The coconut roots were red red; red like a centipede belly. Balraj had plenty trouble digging the hole. The coconut roots held on to the earth as eyes hold on to a cow's head. Balraj sweated and farted but he wanted the hole on the high land. He knew the heavy rains were going to come down soon; he wanted the hole away from the rice-land. When the hole was ready Sunaree, Rama and Panday helped Balraj to fill up the hole with riceland water. But the hole was greedy as a quenck and thirsty as a cow; the more they poured riceland water into it, the hole went
fivtfivt
and drank up the water. But after a day or two the hole wasn't thirsty any more. The rain came down heavy heavy in the night and the hole had enough to drink. Then they caught the tadpoles and threw them in the water.

A dry coconut branch was covering the hole. Balraj pulled the branch away and peeped into the hole. Thousands of
tadpoles were dancing in the water. Balraj laughed. “Dem crappo fish glad nuh ass to see me. I is like dey fadder, because I mindin dem in dis hole.”

“Dey glad to see me too,” Sunaree said.

Balraj and Sunaree laughed and felt good. But Panday was sad sad.

“Tot happen Panday?” Balraj asked.

“Maybe Rama in dat hole. He still hidin in de mud. I goin in dat hole and tell Rama to come out.”

“But you goin to kill dem crappo fish if you do dal.”

“I still goin in de hole.”

“You cant do dat.”

Panday started to cry and get on.

“Oright,” Balraj said, “I goin to ask dem crappo fish in dat

wadder if Rama in dat wadder.”

“Oright.”

And Balraj sang.

crappo fish crappo fish in dat wadder

crappo fish crappo fish in dat wadder

crappo fish crappo fish in dat wadder

tell me tell me if Rama in dat wadder

Balraj held his right ear and leaned over the hole. The tad­poles danced and danced. He turned to Panday and said, “Dem crappo fish say dat Rama not in de hole. Dey say Rama in de riceland.”

They remained a while by the hole. Balraj said that he wanted to see the tadpoles, because when the rain came again all the tadpoles were going to die in the riceland; they were going to live only if they were in the hole by the coconut tree. So they left the hole and went into the riceland water. Some­thing went
splash!

“Dat is a snake make dat noise,” Balraj said.

They moved on again in the water; Balraj walked in front. There were a few tadpoles in the water but they were too small to put in the ricebag. Sunaree and Panday dragged their feet
pluck pluck pluck
in the water.

Sunaree and Panday obeyed Balraj. He knew the riceland much better than they did. They moved slowly. Sometimes they looked at the sky; the clouds were jumping up and down, fighting and threatening the earth.

They were near the deep holes. All the tadpoles were near the deep holes. They couldn't follow the tadpoles any more. They were afraid to go into the holes; afraid of the long water snakes.

Suddenly Panday began to cry again. Balraj pushed his fin­gers up to Panday. “How much time I tell you dat Rama not in dis wadder!”

Balraj wanted to beat Panday but he had no time to do it.

There was a loud bawling coming from the house. Ma was bawling. Then there was a noise
par par
as if dogs were run­ning in the banana patch. Pa was running behind Ma; she was running like a horse and he was running like a big bull. Ma was getting crazy like; grabbing the banana trunks with her hands and running and laughing like a crazy woman. Pa was trying to hold her; he was trying real hard, but she was strong.

“Dis modderass woman mad!” Pa shouted.

Ma was saying all kind of things; talking out of her head like.

The black spider in the sky was coming closer to the earth. Clouds were running and piling up in a rage. The sky God was doing his work; doing it real good; just sending the clouds to choke Tola.

Ma ran out of the banana patch. She came by the riceland. She jumped into the water
ploojung!
Ma was stupid like; she
ran in the mud
plaps plaps plaps.
Pa got vex. He took out the leather belt and began to beat her in the water. Then she pushed Pa; he fell down
plaps.1
in the mud. Ma had a good chance to run away; instead of running away, she sat down in the water and laughed and laughed. She was playing and bathing in the nasty water. Then Pa got up and stared at her.

“You kill me son! You run him in de rain!!!” Ma shouted.

And he: “Woman you mad!”

Then Ma stood up. She pushed Pa again. He fell down
splash!
Then she bent down and started to eat a handful of mud.

“O God Ma eatin mud!” Sunaree screamed.

Balraj tried to hold her back, but Sunaree pulled her hands away. She ran through the water
splash splash splash!
to meet Ma. She ran straight to Ma and grabbed her. Ma jumped back as if Sunaree was a snake.

Hundreds of white birds were feeding on the eastern side of the riceland; they were water birds; they went
pits pits pits pits ploward ploward pits pits pits.
Doves went
tootoohoops
as they flew over the barahar tree. Small red crabs walked over the riceland bank. Where the water crossed over the meri, hundreds of black conches clung to the bamboo grass; clung like beads around a Pandit's neck.

“Ma go eat Rama in dat wadder,” Panday said to Balraj. “Shut you kiss me ass mout!” Balraj yelled. “Come on. Let we walk and go in dat riceland bank.”

Balraj and Panday went and stood on the riceland bank.

Sunaree didn't move; she didn't talk or anything; she just stood there like a blacksage tree and allowed Ma to rub mud all over her. Then Ma left Sunaree and started to run toward the riceland bank.

“All you run! All you modder go bite all you!” Pa shouted. Balraj and Panday started to run on the riceland bank; running just to get away from Ma. But it was hard to run on the bank; it was very slippery. Ma was running in the water; they were running on the bank. Ma was running fast fast; run­ning fast and going
splash! splash!
Then she got out of the water. She ran on the riceland bank behind Balraj and Panday. Then she grabbed Panday.

“O God! O God! Dont eat me!” Panday shouted.

Balraj didn't even look back. He knew that Ma was going to eat Panday, but he didn't even look back.

Ma just held Panday's head. She didn't say anything or do anything. She held his head for a few minutes, then she left him alone and ran behind Balraj.

Balraj was near the doodoose mango tree. He was tired like, so he looked back. Ma was running and running; run­ning like a mule runs. When Balraj saw her he jumped up like a horse and started running
beegeedip! beegeedip! just
as a horse runs in mud. He ran until he reached Cocoa River, then he turned back and began running westward to the barahar tree. Balraj ran through the riceland and came by the banana patch. Pa, Sunaree and Panday were waiting for him.

Pa said: “All you run down Rajput Road and call all you Nanna and Nanny! Tell dem to come fast! Tell dem all you modder mad. Run! All you run!”

IX

HEAVY CLOUDS DRIFTED
across the face of the sky. The whole of Tola was getting dark, but night was far away. Balraj was in front, Sunaree and Panday were just behind him. They were hungry; their bellies were going
gru gru
because they didn't eat anything all day. They walked along Tola Trace until they reached the river.

“Stop cryin and come on Panday!” Balraj shouted.

Panday was afraid because Nanna once said that there was a jables living under the bamboo crossing. The jables never interfered with little children; she never ate the children or anything. But she used to tell the duennes in Tola Forest about the children. Nanna had said that one time a jables saw a little boy walking by the river. The jables ran inside the for­est and called the duennes. When the duennes came out of the silkcotton tree, the jables told them about the little boy. So the duennes came by the river and carried the little boy away.

“Boy look shut you ass and cross dat bridge!”

Balraj held on to Panday's hands and dragged him to the bamboo crossing. When they reached the middle of the cross­ing they saw the water underneath them. The river was deep; deep enough to cover a grass house.

“I fraid I fall!” Panday said.

“But I holdin you.”

“I still fraid.”

But Balraj dragged him over the bridge to the other side. When they crossed the river, Balraj stopped to look at the sky. He was watching the clouds how they were jumping up and down in the sky; he didn't want the rain to fall; the rain was wicked like Pa; it was going to kill the tadpoles in the water just how Pa killed Rama.

They moved on. They didn't run; they just walked because they were hungry and tired. When they reached the corner of Tola Trace and Rajput Road, they heard Nanna coughing.

“Nanna!” Balraj called.

“Who is dat?”

“We Nanna,” Sunaree said.

“Come nuh chirens.”

Nanna sat on a potato crate. He had a white floursack tied around his head.

“Wot happen chirens?”

Nanny came out of the bedroom.

“Ma eatin mud in de riceland,” Sunaree declared.

“Wot?”

“Ma get mad. She eatin mud in de cola.”

Nanny remained quiet as a bandicoot, but Nanna stood up. His lips moved as if they were dying; dying as a butterfly beats its wings and dies. Nanna wanted to talk but he couldn't talk. It was as if a jumbie was upon him. Then the evil spirit left Nanna, and he said, “O God me dorta! One chile I have in dis world God . . . “

While Nanna was getting on, Nanny sat on the earthen floor; she sat like a ripe plantain or a jumbie moko. With her head in her hand she called the sky God. The sky God was rolling in blackness, but she was still calling God; calling him hard hard and telling him about her troubles. She was getting on, getting on hard hard; crying and getting on as if the sky God had any time with her. Nanny didn't know that the sky God was just a lump of blackness; she didn't know that he was dead and rotten in the sky.