Read Online The Orange Grove by Larry Tremblay - Free Book Online

brother.
    â€œYou don’t want to keep it?”
    â€œDidn’t you hear Soulayed? I’m going to leave in two days. I won’t have any more chances to come back to the shed.”
    Aziz then looked at his brother with such intensity that Amed turned away and started to run for no reason, disappearing into the fields of orange trees.
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    Sadness reigned in the house. The air was heavy in spite of the breeze from the open windows. The house gave off a silence, as the orange trees gave off light. It was as if the walls, the floor, and the furniture all knew that Soulayed would be returning the next day.
    All day Aziz whispered to his brother that he was happy, that all would go well.
    Amed wanted to fold his brother in his arms and make Aziz disappear in his embrace, so that no one could take him away. Aziz was going to die like Halim. Amed would never see him again on earth. Aziz had promised that he would wait for Amed at the gates to Paradise. He would even wait if Amed grew as old as their uncle Bhoudir, who had died at the age of ninety-seven. And then they would be together again.
    When night came, Zahed brought them all together in the house. He’d invited some neighbors and the two employees who helped him in the orange grove. With ardent pride, he explained that his young son Amed would soon be a martyr. All saw this invitation as an honor being bestowed on them.
    Tamara had prepared a meal worthy of a great celebration. She’d hung from the ceiling a garland of bulbs that washed the room in multicolored light. She now regretted having done so. This joyous light struck her as a sacrilege, a miserable lie. She served Amed, seated next to his father, first. He was ashamed. He didn’t dare look at his brother, who ought to have received the honor. Before starting to eat, Zahed thanked God for having given him such a courageous son. He could no longer hide his tears. Amed rose as if he wanted to speak out and admit everything. Tamara saw this. She came and held him to her. She murmured in his ear that he should say nothing: “Do it for your brother, I beg you.” Amed looked at his brother. Aziz was already another person.
    The meal over, the plates put away, the guestscame one by one to greet Amed, touching him, embracing him, weeping. Then they left in silence, their heads lowered as if there were nothing more to say or do. Tamara doused the garland of little lights, and the yellowish glow of candles reasserted itself in the house that seemed, suddenly, to lack air.
    The two brothers climbed up to their room earlier than usual. Aziz stood before the window for a long time, studying the stars in the sky.
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    It was just before noon when the noise of the jeep tore the day in half. Zahed had not gone to work in the fields, and had given his two employees the day off. He, Tamara, and the two boys fixed their eyes on the horizon, incapable of doing anything else. All four waited in silence, sitting on the threshold of their house. As soon as the jeep braked in a cloud of dust, they all rose, but without taking a single step toward Soulayed. He walked toward them slowly. He was not alone. A man dragged his feet behind Soulayed, neither young nor old. He carried an old leather bag over his shoulder. Soulayed didn’t give them the man’s name. He just declared that the man was the “expert.” He had glassy eyes and gave off a sour odor of sweat. Zahed asked Tamara and Aziz to go and wait in the house. They obeyed,reluctantly. The expert approached Amed with a smile.
    â€œIs everything good?”
    â€œI’m good.”
    â€œYou’re not very big. How old are you?”
    â€œI’m nine.”
    The two men moved toward the toolshed, accompanied by Amed and his father. Amed gave the key to Zahed, who opened the padlock. Then he propped the door wide open with a plank of wood. The day projected a tunnel of light that formed a golden rectangle at the back of the