Turbinio

Nettle and Alamanda

''I know exactly what we need.'' Said you, while petting your mule. ''Music!''

The mule shook its head in response to your petting, and you gently backed away when you saw a bush of pink geranium flowers by the side of the path, going to pick some without hesitation.

''Well... I might even be a great singer.'' You said in a sarcastic tone. ''But do you remember Tortuga? The old man who gave us some weird records. Those are gramophone records, that's pure music! I heard that there are some rich stores in Canon City, I'm sure they sell something like that. Can you imagine? Traveling with the Romanticos de Cuba? Aquellos ojos verdes... I love that song! As soon as I've some money, I'm going to buy a gramophone.''

You hum and bend down to pick the flowers and put one in your hair.

''Don't you think it's weird, Cadichon? All this mess I got into with these runners... I wasn't with a flower. They say it brings luck, but I don't know if that luck is just to attract men. In my case, I'd have to keep men away from me!'' You laughed. ''I once put a nettle flower in my hair without realizing it, because I thought they were alamandas.''

You got up and walked toward Cadichon. The mule pricked up her ears and listened to your words, just as Diego had said. You put a flower on her bridle.

''The nettles didn't itch me, no... I wish! Some kids saw me and told to everyone I was Comadre Fulozinha. Then a dozen children and bearded men were afraid to see me at night!''

The scent of the plants and the freshly turned earth enveloped you as the lake breeze freshened, strong as incense. Moths came to the open blossoms, soft shapes that flew out of the woods in shades of white, gray and black. Moths and other insects in the south were more colorful, you thought. Clouds of mosquitoes also appeared, attracted by your sweat, and then gave way to large, fierce flies buzzing through the bushes.

A huge cecropia moth landed on his shoulder for a split second and flew to your wagon. You watched it land in an old box that sat on one of your shelves. The moth's brown wings were larger than your hand, surreal in its quiet beauty.

''I belong to my beloved, and my beloved belongs to me...'' You could read that on the carved wood of the box Reverend Innes had given you. Song of Solomon. It was an ironic item for the Reverend to have since he was a lone wolf who had no one to have and belong to. And you're pretty sure he's still a classic bachelor after all these years.

There was a great silence that was quickly interrupted by Cadichon's neighing. You watched her stomp her front legs on the ground, swing her neck to the left, and flatten her ears. Just as Diego had noticed, you thought again. He was really good at this.

But soon you remember why Cadichon is making these gestures, and you look around, startled. Observing the water of the lake churn and some stones bounce. You look over the shore to see who is throwing the stones.

There were two unmistakable figures. Gyro and Johnny. The little blue dot sitting on the shore of the river seemed to be calling out to you, waving his arms briskly for you to see. You laughed and waved back, impressed by Cadichon's perceptive ability to notice Johnny from that distance.

It took you only a few minutes to reach their camp and deftly dismount from your wagon. Gyro stroked his horse while Johnny held a fishing rod. You blinked and brushed back a shiny strand of hair tousled by the wind.

''What a pleasant surprise.'' You said, looking at Johnny.

''Surprise...'' Murmured Gyro in a sarcastic tone. ''You already knew you were going to catch up with us, didn't you?''

''Actually, I already knew that it would pass you two. But encounters like this are never out of the question.''

''We were fishing, but Gyro didn't remember to buy any fish bait. We were wondering if you sell anything like that.''

''Didn't remember buying fish bait? Go look for some worms in the dirt, Johnny!''

''Why me? You were the one who insisted we go fishing!''

''Calm down, boys!'' You interrupted. ''Do you want some bait? I might have some. What are you using?''

''Cheese.'' Johnny replied. ''But it doesn't seem to be working.''

''Cheese... Can I take a look?''

''Sure.''

You walked over to Johnny and sat down next to him, thoughtful and mysterious. He handed you the fishing rod, and you pulled the line out of the water to examine the bait Johnny had used, considering the imperceptible bite marks the sly fish had left on the cheese. You looked at Johnny and nodded to a larger piece of cheese lying next to him as if asking him to give it to you, which he promptly did.

''Cheese is a great bait for cajaros. But I don't know if there's that kind of fish around here.'' You explain, exchanging the old bait for a smaller, stinkier piece of cheese.

''I don't know what a cajaro is, but there seems to have some catfish here.''

''Cajaro is a kind of catfish, I think. But they have a red tail and they're huge. I've seen one, it's pretty ugly.''

You finished hooking it and deftly cast the line out a good distance to let it drift in the water. The fishing rod didn't look like it had been used much because there was still a considerable amount of oil on the line spool. You handed the rod to Johnny, who immediately took it.

''Presta atención.'' You said, standing up and walking behind him to point it over his shoulder. ''The bait doesn't go very deep, so there will be some fish nibbling before our catfish come to the surface. Ignore the small fish. Only pull the line when you feel something heavy.''

Johnny nodded and you walked away, still watching him. You swore you heard a snort from behind and thought it was Gyro finding the situation funny for some reason. You turned and looked at him while his looking into the embers of the fire.

You remembered Diego and the corpse's eyes without realizing it as you looked at Gyro for too long, searching for the golden glimpse you had seen on Dio. The wagon was positioned to form a pleasant shadow around the fire where Gyro had settled.

It was hard to ignore the unmistakable figure of a woman like you standing there staring at someone as if in a trance. So you decided to say something before Gyro sealed an imminent embarrassing situation.

''The left eye...'' Was the only thing you could think of. ''Are you still with it?''

He didn't answer right away but looked at you with an icy gaze.

''I thought you weren't interested in that.''

''I wasn't. You got the left eye and Johnny got the arm, right?''

''I'm sorry, but I don't know when that became any of your business.''

''The moment I came across a legion of dinosaurs because of you and Diego. Like it or not, I got caught up in that shit when I took those eyes and gave them to you.''

Gyro didn't answer, as if the sudden memory of the events triggered a deep-seated gratitude. He stood up, walked toward you, and stopped just a few feet from your face. You remained motionless, but Gyro could smell how afraid you are.

''What is this corpse, anyway? I thought everyone had just joined the race for the fifty million prize. Why do you want this?''

He looked straight into your eyes. Aquellos ojos verdes. There was something almost dreamlike about Gyro's gaze for you. Aquellos ojos verdes, serenos como un lago en cuyas quietas aguas. For a moment you let him unsettle you and you took a step back when he gave you a small smile. He used it to shut your mouth. He looked at you that way because he knew you had thousands of questions, and he didn't want to hear any of them.

''Hey, (Y/N)! I think I got one!'' You heard a voice behind you.

''We better talk about that after lunch.'' Gyro said. ''Look, Johnny caught a fish.''