concur. ‘It’s an omen.’
‘Please don’t send Nardo away, Sister Sofia,’ Salim said. ‘San Andres needs him.’
‘The boy should be with his mother.’ Auntie’s voice was defiant, but her eyes were downcast.
‘And what about us?’ Old Tibo’s voice quavered with anger. ‘Did you think about what would happen to our barrio, our homes?’
‘Superstition!’ The screen door to the back bangedopen as Uncle burst in. He had been getting the jeepney ready out the back. ‘He’s just an ordinary boy.’
‘There’s nothing ordinary about Bernardo,’ Salim said quietly.
Everyone looked up at me.
Old Tibo shook his head. ‘Brother Victor, you know the curse as well as I do. If Bernardo leaves the barrio, San Andres will be destroyed.’
I kneaded my forehead as the first pinpricks of a headache began. They were right. I was letting everyone down. San Andres needed me. ‘Look, Auntie … Uncle,’ I said softly. ‘Maybe I should …’
‘No.’
I thought at first it was Uncle who spoke because the voice was deep and dark, a man’s voice. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t any of the grown men in the room. It was Jabby.
‘Nardo, don’t listen to them.’ His eyes were bright.
All the mixed-up feelings of the past days welled up in me and I wanted to look away, but he held me in his laser gaze. ‘You know you want to be with your mother. You must go. It’s wrong for them to stop you.’
‘Henry!’ Sister Len-Len glared at him.
‘I’m …’
Sorry
, I wanted to say.
I’m so sorry
.
Everyone began talking at the same time, Auntie and Uncle angry and indignant. Old Tibo and the others in furious counterpoint. Jabby saying,
No, no, no, Nardo, you must go, go, go
. The throbbing in my head turned into a deep drum-roll. I raised a hand to massage my forehead, my eyes watering. A bolt of pain slashed, lightning-sharp, into my eyes, and the faces around me whirled into a spinning blur.
And then I was conscious of a great weight.
‘Nardo!’ Auntie’s voice was a hundred miles away.
It was in my arms again. The Earth, so wet, so heavy – and slippery despite the rough gristle of forests and mountains.
It weighed a ton. No, a million billion zillion tons. Too heavy, too heavy. I couldn’t … It slipped and I struggled not to let go.
Then someone flicked a switch and turned off the sun.
5
Andi
E verywhere we went, eyeballs tracked Bernardo like he was an alien from outer space. But the way he behaved, you would think that
he
was the one who’d stumbled upon an alien landscape.
He hesitated at the top of the escalators for so long that a queue formed behind us. I glanced over at Mum. Didn’t they have escalators in the Philippines?
But apparently he was just savouring the moment. Bernardo grinned over his shoulder. ‘I cannot believe. Yesterday only, I have be in Manila.’
Mum laughed, startling a bunch of people who were coming up the escalator on the other side. ‘Believe, believe!’ she cried, like a mad person.
Ay kennat bileeb
. His vowels were hard as stones.
His English is very good
, Ma had said the other day. Not.
I stepped past Bernardo and got on the escalator. Obviously someone had to get things moving.
Dad had taken the lift with Bernardo’s trolley. He met us at the bottom of the escalator.
‘All right?’ he said, slapping Bernardo on the shoulder – except he missed and caught him on the elbow.
‘All right.’ Bernardo took a deep breath, like he was about to dive deep into the ocean. ‘It have very nice smell here. Everything have air-conditioned!’
Mum thought that was funny too, braying so loudly that I’m sure I saw the airport sniffer dog check her out.
I led the way without looking over my shoulder, trying to ignore the double-takes and whispers as people caught sight of Bernardo.
‘ANDI! Slow down!’ Mum yelled. She handed Bernardo a ticket to feed the entry barrier but the guard opened a gate and waved him through. ‘Health and safety!’ he
‘Please don’t send Nardo away, Sister Sofia,’ Salim said. ‘San Andres needs him.’
‘The boy should be with his mother.’ Auntie’s voice was defiant, but her eyes were downcast.
‘And what about us?’ Old Tibo’s voice quavered with anger. ‘Did you think about what would happen to our barrio, our homes?’
‘Superstition!’ The screen door to the back bangedopen as Uncle burst in. He had been getting the jeepney ready out the back. ‘He’s just an ordinary boy.’
‘There’s nothing ordinary about Bernardo,’ Salim said quietly.
Everyone looked up at me.
Old Tibo shook his head. ‘Brother Victor, you know the curse as well as I do. If Bernardo leaves the barrio, San Andres will be destroyed.’
I kneaded my forehead as the first pinpricks of a headache began. They were right. I was letting everyone down. San Andres needed me. ‘Look, Auntie … Uncle,’ I said softly. ‘Maybe I should …’
‘No.’
I thought at first it was Uncle who spoke because the voice was deep and dark, a man’s voice. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t any of the grown men in the room. It was Jabby.
‘Nardo, don’t listen to them.’ His eyes were bright.
All the mixed-up feelings of the past days welled up in me and I wanted to look away, but he held me in his laser gaze. ‘You know you want to be with your mother. You must go. It’s wrong for them to stop you.’
‘Henry!’ Sister Len-Len glared at him.
‘I’m …’
Sorry
, I wanted to say.
I’m so sorry
.
Everyone began talking at the same time, Auntie and Uncle angry and indignant. Old Tibo and the others in furious counterpoint. Jabby saying,
No, no, no, Nardo, you must go, go, go
. The throbbing in my head turned into a deep drum-roll. I raised a hand to massage my forehead, my eyes watering. A bolt of pain slashed, lightning-sharp, into my eyes, and the faces around me whirled into a spinning blur.
And then I was conscious of a great weight.
‘Nardo!’ Auntie’s voice was a hundred miles away.
It was in my arms again. The Earth, so wet, so heavy – and slippery despite the rough gristle of forests and mountains.
It weighed a ton. No, a million billion zillion tons. Too heavy, too heavy. I couldn’t … It slipped and I struggled not to let go.
Then someone flicked a switch and turned off the sun.
5
Andi
E verywhere we went, eyeballs tracked Bernardo like he was an alien from outer space. But the way he behaved, you would think that
he
was the one who’d stumbled upon an alien landscape.
He hesitated at the top of the escalators for so long that a queue formed behind us. I glanced over at Mum. Didn’t they have escalators in the Philippines?
But apparently he was just savouring the moment. Bernardo grinned over his shoulder. ‘I cannot believe. Yesterday only, I have be in Manila.’
Mum laughed, startling a bunch of people who were coming up the escalator on the other side. ‘Believe, believe!’ she cried, like a mad person.
Ay kennat bileeb
. His vowels were hard as stones.
His English is very good
, Ma had said the other day. Not.
I stepped past Bernardo and got on the escalator. Obviously someone had to get things moving.
Dad had taken the lift with Bernardo’s trolley. He met us at the bottom of the escalator.
‘All right?’ he said, slapping Bernardo on the shoulder – except he missed and caught him on the elbow.
‘All right.’ Bernardo took a deep breath, like he was about to dive deep into the ocean. ‘It have very nice smell here. Everything have air-conditioned!’
Mum thought that was funny too, braying so loudly that I’m sure I saw the airport sniffer dog check her out.
I led the way without looking over my shoulder, trying to ignore the double-takes and whispers as people caught sight of Bernardo.
‘ANDI! Slow down!’ Mum yelled. She handed Bernardo a ticket to feed the entry barrier but the guard opened a gate and waved him through. ‘Health and safety!’ he
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