to eat granola bars and daydream. After a few months of dealing
with Helen?s uncharacteristic disobedience, Jerry finally caved and
gave her permission, as long as she didn?t lean out over the railing.
He?d even built her a waterproof chest to store things in.
She opened the chest and dug out the sleeping bag she kept in
there, spreading it out along the wood planks of the walk. There
were boats far out on the water, boats she shouldn?t be able to hear
or see from such a distance, but she could. Helen closed her eyes
and allowed herself the pleasure of hearing one little skiff as its
canvas sails flapped and its teak planks creaked, way out on the
gently lapping swells. Alone and unwatched, she could be herself
for a moment and truly let go. When her head finally started to nod
she went down to bed to give sleep another shot.
35/395
She was standing on rocky, hilly terrain, blasted so hard by the
sun that the bone-dry air wriggled and shook in streaks, as if
parts of the sky were melting. The rocks were pale yellow and
sharp, and here and there were angry little bushes, low to the
ground and lousy with thorns. A single twisted tree grew out of
the next slope.
Helen was alone. And then she wasn?t.
Under the stunted tree?s crippled limbs three figures appeared.
They were so slender and small Helen thought at first they must
be little girls, but there was something about the way the muscles
in their gaunt forearms wove around their bones like rope that
made Helen realize that they were also very old. All three of them
had their heads bent, and their faces were completely covered by
sheets of long, matted, black hair. They wore tattered white slips,
and they were covered in gray-white dust down to their lower
legs. From the knees down, their skin grew dark with streaks of