Read Online And All the Stars by Andrea K Höst - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Andrea K Höst
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was a girl in a dark purple gown and
violet hijab, and a tall, hollow-cheeked man with a neatly trimmed beard, both
of them loaded down with shopping bags. It was such an everyday, ordinary sight that Madeleine had a moment's
dislocation, and told herself that there was no chance at all that they'd found
an open supermarket.
"Yes!" Noi called. "Glad to see you! We've just
been going door to door checking on people."
The man said something to the girl, who nodded, and called:
"Good idea! Wait a sec and we'll
come across!"
"I think our luck's turned," Noi murmured, as the
pair took their bags into a nearby apartment – greeted by a weary,
green-stained woman – and then made their way over.
"I'm Faliha Jabbour , and this is my Dad," the girl said, when they
arrived. She was about fifteen,
round-cheeked and blue-palmed. "What's the plan?"
Noi introduced herself and Madeleine, and explained their
progress so far.
"So few?" Mr Jabbour asked, his English slow and heavily accented but understandable. "We must hope for better."
"We should do our floor first," Faliha said. "Check on Penny and Tesh ."
Her father shook his head. "For the sake of safety, it is perhaps best to remain within quick
reach of each other." He gave
Madeleine and Noi a grave glance, clearly not wanting his daughter to face the
apartment of friends.
"We can leap-frog," Noi said. "There's only one bolt cutter
anyway."
Leap-frogging worked well, vastly speeding up their
progress. Faliha knocked, called out, and unlocked the doors, but waited outside while her
father checked the apartments. And soon
they were joined by Carl, then Asha and Annie, Mr Lassiter, and Sang-Kyu: all
the Blues in three hundred apartments and a hotel. There were also twenty-four Greens, most of
them barely able to shuffle to their doors. Asha and Annie brought back to their apartment a Green boy only eleven
or so – the youngest survivor Madeleine had seen so far – while Mr Lassiter,
supplementing rusty high school French with a translation app, took in a very
ill tourist who could barely speak English. The baggage cart was called into use again and again.
Once every room had been checked, all the Blues went down to
the restaurants and sorted through them while Noi and Sang-Kyu cooked up a
couple of massive vats of curry – one chicken, one vegetarian – discussing what
constituted Halal with Faliha and what was vegan with
Asha. And what their food prospects
would be in a few weeks.
Madeleine helped clean up, watching their faces. Everyone red-eyed, smiles fragile. The sun was setting by the time they broke up
to deliver curry and head to their respective homes. A gorgeous autumn evening, with a ribbon of
smoke smudging the northern sky, and a mute tower of black watching, and
waiting.
ooOoo
"What's your cousin like?" Noi asked, as Madeleine
unlocked the apartment door. "Worth
the hero-worship?"
"I guess. I don't
know anyone else who is so resolutely…his own self, which is an odd thing to
say about an actor. He says he only ever
plays himself, though, just in very strange situations."
"An actor? Anyone
I'd have heard of?" Noi parked the
trolley of food, glanced around Tyler's spacious apartment, and fixed on the
portrait. She gave Madeleine an
incredulous glance, looked back, then said: "Okay, I so should have
realised that. You've the same colour
eyes. Why didn't you say anything when
we were talking about him before?"
"Habit? Once
people know I'm Tyler's cousin, that's all they see me as. My parents moved to Sydney so I could get
away from people trying to be my friend or picking fights with me because of
Tyler."
"Did you actually paint this?" Noi asked, picking up a brush.
"Yeah." Madeleine tried to sound casual, to not show how closely she was
watching Noi's face.
"Shit, why would you need to worry about being thought
of as just someone's cousin?"
"I think I'd have to do something pretty spectacular to
overcome Tyler," Madeleine said, and laughed
violet hijab, and a tall, hollow-cheeked man with a neatly trimmed beard, both
of them loaded down with shopping bags. It was such an everyday, ordinary sight that Madeleine had a moment's
dislocation, and told herself that there was no chance at all that they'd found
an open supermarket.
"Yes!" Noi called. "Glad to see you! We've just
been going door to door checking on people."
The man said something to the girl, who nodded, and called:
"Good idea! Wait a sec and we'll
come across!"
"I think our luck's turned," Noi murmured, as the
pair took their bags into a nearby apartment – greeted by a weary,
green-stained woman – and then made their way over.
"I'm Faliha Jabbour , and this is my Dad," the girl said, when they
arrived. She was about fifteen,
round-cheeked and blue-palmed. "What's the plan?"
Noi introduced herself and Madeleine, and explained their
progress so far.
"So few?" Mr Jabbour asked, his English slow and heavily accented but understandable. "We must hope for better."
"We should do our floor first," Faliha said. "Check on Penny and Tesh ."
Her father shook his head. "For the sake of safety, it is perhaps best to remain within quick
reach of each other." He gave
Madeleine and Noi a grave glance, clearly not wanting his daughter to face the
apartment of friends.
"We can leap-frog," Noi said. "There's only one bolt cutter
anyway."
Leap-frogging worked well, vastly speeding up their
progress. Faliha knocked, called out, and unlocked the doors, but waited outside while her
father checked the apartments. And soon
they were joined by Carl, then Asha and Annie, Mr Lassiter, and Sang-Kyu: all
the Blues in three hundred apartments and a hotel. There were also twenty-four Greens, most of
them barely able to shuffle to their doors. Asha and Annie brought back to their apartment a Green boy only eleven
or so – the youngest survivor Madeleine had seen so far – while Mr Lassiter,
supplementing rusty high school French with a translation app, took in a very
ill tourist who could barely speak English. The baggage cart was called into use again and again.
Once every room had been checked, all the Blues went down to
the restaurants and sorted through them while Noi and Sang-Kyu cooked up a
couple of massive vats of curry – one chicken, one vegetarian – discussing what
constituted Halal with Faliha and what was vegan with
Asha. And what their food prospects
would be in a few weeks.
Madeleine helped clean up, watching their faces. Everyone red-eyed, smiles fragile. The sun was setting by the time they broke up
to deliver curry and head to their respective homes. A gorgeous autumn evening, with a ribbon of
smoke smudging the northern sky, and a mute tower of black watching, and
waiting.
ooOoo
"What's your cousin like?" Noi asked, as Madeleine
unlocked the apartment door. "Worth
the hero-worship?"
"I guess. I don't
know anyone else who is so resolutely…his own self, which is an odd thing to
say about an actor. He says he only ever
plays himself, though, just in very strange situations."
"An actor? Anyone
I'd have heard of?" Noi parked the
trolley of food, glanced around Tyler's spacious apartment, and fixed on the
portrait. She gave Madeleine an
incredulous glance, looked back, then said: "Okay, I so should have
realised that. You've the same colour
eyes. Why didn't you say anything when
we were talking about him before?"
"Habit? Once
people know I'm Tyler's cousin, that's all they see me as. My parents moved to Sydney so I could get
away from people trying to be my friend or picking fights with me because of
Tyler."
"Did you actually paint this?" Noi asked, picking up a brush.
"Yeah." Madeleine tried to sound casual, to not show how closely she was
watching Noi's face.
"Shit, why would you need to worry about being thought
of as just someone's cousin?"
"I think I'd have to do something pretty spectacular to
overcome Tyler," Madeleine said, and laughed
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