Читать книгу The Other Half of Augusta Hope - Joanna Glen - Страница 18

When my mind clogged up with stuff, I used to go down to the lake, and I’d let the water wash it clean as I swam deep, like a dolphin, remembering that I was Parfait Nduwimana, and I was in God’s hands.

‘Come on then,’ I said to the rest of them. ‘Who wants to learn to swim? It’s a beautiful day.’

‘There are crocodiles in the lake!’ said Gloria. ‘You must be mad!’

‘Not in the part where I go,’ I said.

‘We’ll all get bilharzia,’ said Douce.

‘Or leeches on our legs,’ said Pierre.

‘How about if we come and watch you?’ said Gloria. ‘Come on, Wilfred, you can come too.’

Wilfred stared back at her, with no words.

‘Pierre?’

‘Maybe,’ he said, his brow creased up as if he had a war going on inside him, as usual.

‘Zion?’

‘If Parfait’s going, I’m going.’

It was quite a walk down the hill, but the lake was shimmering, and there were butterflies about, and we almost felt like a family again, walking along together in a line in the sunshine.

Gloria and Douce linked arms, but they didn’t sing together like they used to; Wilfred ambled along with the rope still round his ankle; Zion was wearing the red-and-white nylon football top that he liked to believe had once belonged to David Beckham; and Pierre walked some distance behind.

‘This is what it would be like if we walked to Spain,’ I said to them. ‘Except when we arrived, we’d be swimming in the turquoise sea. In the actual Atlantic Ocean. And we’d be getting out onto the yellow sandy beach and having a picnic together. Possibly with a bottle of Spanish wine.’

‘I’m not sure we’d make it all that way up Africa,’ said Douce. ‘Or I’m not sure I would.’

‘We could go a little at a time,’ I said. ‘I’d make sure you all had time to rest, I promise you. And if you were tired, we’d wait a day before moving on.’

‘We don’t need to decide now,’ said Gloria.

‘We have to go,’ said Zion with that determined look on his face. ‘I can’t believe you don’t want to. We can go to Europe and build a new life, with our own house on the beach, all of us together. And we can drink Spanish wine and go to festivals together. What on earth is stopping you? I just don’t understand.’

‘We don’t know what Europe’s like,’ said Douce quietly. ‘It could be worse than here.’

‘Nothing could be worse than here,’ said Zion. ‘And I’m going with Parfait for sure. If you don’t want to, don’t bother.’

‘It’s such a long journey,’ said Gloria.

‘God gave us legs,’ said Zion. ‘What do you suppose they’re for? Except walking.’

I put my arm around Zion and squeezed him.

‘Give them time, Little Bro,’ I said.

‘I’m serious,’ he said. ‘If I could choose, we’d set out for Spain tomorrow. I want us to be happy again.’