That Savage Water

Author:Matthew R. Loney [Loney, Matthew R.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Exile Editions

THE VAGRANT BORDERS OF KASHMIR

Diesel fumes spin from exhaust pipes, vaporous tails in the hot morning air. Autos weave past on the street below already lifting sharp odours of cabbage, market peels, baskets woven from wet grasses. Blistering sun pulls sweat to my forehead, that feeling of being lost I always tried for as a kid and only finally succeeded at. Veneer of sand blown from the beach spread over asphalt. Through the palm trees the ocean rolls, spraying salt into the whole nostril mix of things.

Panaji Hotel rooftop waiting for breakfast with Ari.

Goa.

Ari leans over the concrete railing, peers down at the growling traffic. Shoulders brown as the milk coffee at my lips, tan still glistening with edges of red from yesterday’s hike to the hill temple. Climbed together in the heat of the day with one water bottle to share until the top, sweat that dripped from his upper lip onto the plastic opening, handing it to me. Now standing beside a nest of electrical wires pinned to the corner of the building, he says – An army truck down there’s unloading bags of onions – turns to the table – What are your plans after this?

Probably head to some smaller beaches for a while. Couple of months maybe. Then Mumbai, Jodhpur, Agra, Kathmandu. Tibet, if money doesn’t run out.

And Alexis?

Don’t know. I’ll stay with her most likely. At least until she’s better. You really have to go? Bonderam festival starts in a week. Shame not to go all together, we’d have fun for sure…

No, Cam. Can’t do that. Manobhava is only initiating disciples for another three days. If I leave tonight, I can just make it to Jaipur in time. A train from here to Mumbai, Mumbai to Bhopal, and should be a few hours to spare when I get to Jaipur.

And if anything goes wrong?

I’ve got to try, Cam. You know this is important to me.

Alexis’ room smells rusty like sick. Daylight filters between cracks in the orange curtains, dusty air-con sitting broken on the window ledge, her in a dirty white tank top sprawled on the mattress, breathing at least. Wooden door to the bathroom is open so walk across the cool tile, check if her water bucket is empty.

Whisper – I’m going to the end of the hall to fill your bucket. Do you want me to bring you anything? – thinking, damn this is bad timing, and her so afraid to drink the sadhu’s water in the first place, believing it was full of parasites. Had said – This is a really shit idea, Cam. Look at the water. I don’t care if he’s holy or not – then the sadhu dipping his cup into the basin, holding it out first to Ari, then me, then a family of Indians as we waited for Alexis to decide. The sadhu’s dark eyes and beard, loincloth, painted red forehead and Ari looking at him like he was really incarnate, with that full open stare like

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