One of Us by Åsne Seierstad

Author:Åsne Seierstad [Seierstad, Åsne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780374710200
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Published: 2015-04-21T05:00:00+00:00

Summer Fever

It was the sort of weather for lying at home under a warm blanket drinking tea. Lara made some thyme-leaf tea and brought it to Bano.

‘Are you feeling any better?’ she asked.

‘Maybe a little bit,’ answered Bano.

Lara had plied her elder sister with grapes, apples, honey, hot milky cocoa and cod liver oil. Now she was following her mother’s tip that thyme was good for your throat. But she was also trying to cool down Bano’s face, hand and feet with a damp cloth.

At eleven o’clock the previous evening Lara had rung her mother, who had gone with Ali and Mustafa to the Football Cup in Gothenburg. While father and son were at the championship, she was visiting relatives in nearby Borås.

‘Have you got Lana’s number?’ asked Lara.

Lana was Bayan’s sister. She lived in Erbil and was a doctor, a paediatric specialist.

‘What do you want to talk to her for?’ asked Bayan.

‘You know Bano and I are supposed to be going to Utøya tomorrow, but Bano’s almost lost her voice and her temperature isn’t coming down. What can I do to make her better by tomorrow?’

‘Lara, it’s past midnight in Kurdistan, you can’t ring Lana now! I’m coming home tomorrow. And anyway, you mustn’t ring my sister and tell her you two are alone at home! What sort of mother will she think I am? I’m coming home.’

‘No, Mum, you don’t have to do that.’

‘Yes I do!’

Bayan told Mustafa she would be going back the next day, whether Ali’s team went through to the next round or not. The two of them had never got used to the relaxed attitude in Norway. They were anxious when they were not supervising in person and always feared the worst if the children were out and did not answer their mobiles. Bano was at home with a fever in the middle of summer; it must be something serious.

Bano grumbled to her sister.

‘I don’t think God wants me to go.’

‘Stop talking rubbish. Of course you’re going to be well enough!’ Lara retorted. Bano had been so looking forward to Utøya. They had wanted to go the previous year, in fact, but then they had to go with the family to Kurdistan, a place where they could only bear to stay for a fortnight at a time. All the restrictions, all the looks, all the rules; no, they preferred life in Norway.

Lara massaged her elder sister’s feet and neck. She had bought crisps and sweets, and tried to tempt her with all the exciting things that would be happening on Utøya. Bano could hardly stand up, so Lara packed for her: warm clothes, a sleeping bag, a ground pad.

They dozed off on the sofa, both of them.

‘You’re bound to be well enough to go tomorrow,’ said Lara before she fell asleep.

* * *

First thing on Wednesday morning, Bayan caught the train from Gothenburg. Four hours later she took the tram from the railway station to Aker Brygge, then the ferry over to Nesoddtangen and the bus home to Oksvalkrysset, and by noon she was ready to take over the role of nurse.

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