Meher sneered. Just one more thing to hate about this place, but Anthony could tell that Lal had just fallen in love. She saw the potential â¦
Then, as if time was surging forward, Anthony saw the garden changing. First it was cut down and tidied, then Lal and Meher planted. The seeds grew and the garden transformed into a truly magical place, where narrow pathways traversed bushes and rockeries from which a pantheon of statues of Hindu gods gazed out into the light â¦
Seasons came and went. Meher and Lal grew old together, until Anthony didnât see Meher any longer and he understood that he had died and Lal was alone. She was an old lady now.
He saw her standing in her living room, gazing at aframed photograph of her wedding day all those decades before. She kissed the face of her husband and put the photo down. She took off the cobra bangle and laid it down on the arm of her chair. She rubbed her plump aching wrist. Then she turned off the light and headed up to bed.
Anthony stood in the darkness. Everything was quiet. Then a beam of light shone in through the window. It bounced off the TV screen and the stereo. It flitted around the room like some crazed firefly until it brushed over the bangle on the chair. It came back and the bangle glittered in the glare of the torch beam. Anthony turned and saw the face of a young boy at the window. Goose. He jimmied the lock with ease and came in to snatch up the bangle. He examined it in the light of his torch. Anthony watched him. He could see he was captivated by it. Then there was a noise from upstairs and Goose hurried away, leaving the way he came â¦
Lal shook loose of Anthonyâs hand and severed the link. Only a few seconds had passed and understandably the overload of information took its toll on Anthony. His knees buckled beneath him and he slumped to the ground, falling on all fours, breathing heavily. His head was pounding. The tendons at the base of his skull felt as if they were twisted tight like an old dishcloth. Flashes of light peppered theperiphery of his vision. Lal and the young woman looked down at him with concern.
âAre you all right?â asked Lal.
It took several long moments for Anthony to catch his breath. The throbbing in his skull eased slowly. He tried to make sense of what he had seen.
âYour husband,â Anthony panted. âHe gave you the bangle.â
âYes.â Lal sounded more than a little surprised.
âOn your wedding day.â
Now Lal was starting to feel alarmed. âHow could you know that?â
Anthony shook his head. He had no idea. He didnât know this woman. Heâd never seen her before in his life.
âI donât know,â he wheezed. âI saw ⦠your garden ⦠India ⦠A boy.â
âBoy? What boy?â asked Lal.
âHe was at the window. He broke in. He took the bangle.â
The two women both looked distressed, but Anthony was even more so. He scrambled to his feet.
âIâve got to go,â he said. There wasnât anywhere he wanted to go, but he knew he had to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.
âWait,â pleaded Lal as Anthony hurried away, but he didnât hear her. He was scared. His head was buzzingnow the pain had subsided. What was happening to him? First he couldnât remember how he got here. Now he was seeing crazy elaborate visions. That wasnât normal. He wasnât normal. He didnât know what
normal
was, but he knew he wasnât it. Was he going insane? Maybe he already was insane. Was he even here? Maybe he was walled up in an asylum somewhere and this was all a drug-induced hallucination. If it was, he wished he could hallucinate somewhere warmer. He hated being cold.
8
HIPPOPOTOMONSTROSES- QUIPPEDALIOPHOBIA IS THE FEAR OF LONG WORDS
Goose was running as fast as he could, faster than he should. He kept hitting patches of ice hidden under the snow and his feet would skid out from under
Then, as if time was surging forward, Anthony saw the garden changing. First it was cut down and tidied, then Lal and Meher planted. The seeds grew and the garden transformed into a truly magical place, where narrow pathways traversed bushes and rockeries from which a pantheon of statues of Hindu gods gazed out into the light â¦
Seasons came and went. Meher and Lal grew old together, until Anthony didnât see Meher any longer and he understood that he had died and Lal was alone. She was an old lady now.
He saw her standing in her living room, gazing at aframed photograph of her wedding day all those decades before. She kissed the face of her husband and put the photo down. She took off the cobra bangle and laid it down on the arm of her chair. She rubbed her plump aching wrist. Then she turned off the light and headed up to bed.
Anthony stood in the darkness. Everything was quiet. Then a beam of light shone in through the window. It bounced off the TV screen and the stereo. It flitted around the room like some crazed firefly until it brushed over the bangle on the chair. It came back and the bangle glittered in the glare of the torch beam. Anthony turned and saw the face of a young boy at the window. Goose. He jimmied the lock with ease and came in to snatch up the bangle. He examined it in the light of his torch. Anthony watched him. He could see he was captivated by it. Then there was a noise from upstairs and Goose hurried away, leaving the way he came â¦
Lal shook loose of Anthonyâs hand and severed the link. Only a few seconds had passed and understandably the overload of information took its toll on Anthony. His knees buckled beneath him and he slumped to the ground, falling on all fours, breathing heavily. His head was pounding. The tendons at the base of his skull felt as if they were twisted tight like an old dishcloth. Flashes of light peppered theperiphery of his vision. Lal and the young woman looked down at him with concern.
âAre you all right?â asked Lal.
It took several long moments for Anthony to catch his breath. The throbbing in his skull eased slowly. He tried to make sense of what he had seen.
âYour husband,â Anthony panted. âHe gave you the bangle.â
âYes.â Lal sounded more than a little surprised.
âOn your wedding day.â
Now Lal was starting to feel alarmed. âHow could you know that?â
Anthony shook his head. He had no idea. He didnât know this woman. Heâd never seen her before in his life.
âI donât know,â he wheezed. âI saw ⦠your garden ⦠India ⦠A boy.â
âBoy? What boy?â asked Lal.
âHe was at the window. He broke in. He took the bangle.â
The two women both looked distressed, but Anthony was even more so. He scrambled to his feet.
âIâve got to go,â he said. There wasnât anywhere he wanted to go, but he knew he had to be somewhere else. Anywhere else.
âWait,â pleaded Lal as Anthony hurried away, but he didnât hear her. He was scared. His head was buzzingnow the pain had subsided. What was happening to him? First he couldnât remember how he got here. Now he was seeing crazy elaborate visions. That wasnât normal. He wasnât normal. He didnât know what
normal
was, but he knew he wasnât it. Was he going insane? Maybe he already was insane. Was he even here? Maybe he was walled up in an asylum somewhere and this was all a drug-induced hallucination. If it was, he wished he could hallucinate somewhere warmer. He hated being cold.
8
HIPPOPOTOMONSTROSES- QUIPPEDALIOPHOBIA IS THE FEAR OF LONG WORDS
Goose was running as fast as he could, faster than he should. He kept hitting patches of ice hidden under the snow and his feet would skid out from under
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