Читать книгу When I was - Nataniël - Страница 7

When I was 10 years old, Mother’s sister came to live with us. She was a plump woman with dark eyes, enormous breasts and a voice like traffic. Aunt Pearl had lived in a small town twenty-five minutes from ours until the day her husband told her he was in love with a smaller woman. The night he left, Aunt Pearl ran after the car until she couldn’t see it any more. Then she threw her arms in the air and stood there like a strange tree.

As she stood there, thunder and lightning came from heaven and then it started raining. And the whole time Aunt Pearl did not move once because she couldn’t think of anywhere to go. Finally the storm was over. Aunt Pearl went home and slept for two days. Then she gave the house to a family with slow children and came to live with us.

Father had never been comfortable with having guests. We were living in a small house without a dining room and had to eat in the kitchen. Aunt Pearl had a huge mole next to her left eye. Father said it made her look like three people in a small aeroplane and told her not to sit opposite him because it felt like he was eating on a runway. Mother told her not to pay attention, that was the price they were paying for marrying beneath themselves. Then Father said something that made them both cry. Our house became an unhappy one.

Then one night we were having supper and Mother asked aunt Pearl to pass the peas. Aunt Pearl always leaned forward so her breasts could fit under the table. She looked up at Mother and told her she did not want to use her hands. We immediately realised that something memorable was about to happen and stopped eating.

Father slammed his fork into a large piece of meat and started pushing it around his plate. Mother got up from her chair and grabbed the peas.

I can feel things, whispered Aunt Pearl.

Father dropped his fork.

When I touch something, I feel things inside, said Aunt Pearl.

What things? asked Mother.

Things that are happening, said Aunt Pearl, No matter where, I can feel everything that happens.

Put your hand on the table, said Father.

No, said Aunt Pearl.

And where will you sleep tonight? screamed Father.

Aunt Pearl put her hand on the table. The next moment she was out of breath and tears were coming from her eyes.

What do you feel? asked Mother.

Like I’m under the ground, inside the earth, said Aunt Pearl, I can feel somebody looking for food, there are people running around, somebody’s being beaten. I can hear scratching, like somebody’s trying to hide. I can feel war, I feel people’s anguish and their guilt.

Father looked at us. Tonight you pray your aunt gets better, he said, And I will pray she finds accommodation.

Mother took Aunt Pearl’s hand and lifted it from the table. You need to lie down, she said.

The bed will kill me, said Aunt Pearl, It connects me to all the sadness in the world.

Mother looked at Father. That happens to most of us, she said.

The next day, when we came home from school, Aunt Pearl was missing.

What is wrong with her? we asked.

My sister has a very special talent, said Mother.

What? we asked.

The night she stood in the rain, when she thought she had nothing, she received a great gift, said Mother, She learned that she was part of something, that she was just one of a world of people with incredible needs.

Then why was she crying? we asked.

Knowledge is a huge burden, said Mother.

She opened the kitchen door. In the back yard stood a large port-a-pool. It was filled with water and on top Aunt Pearl was floating on a lilo.

The water disconnects her, said Mother, Too much feeling can kill you.

Our house became peaceful again. And when father was away, we opened the back door and listened to Aunt Pearl splash in the water. And on good days we could even hear her sing.