The End of the World and Beyond by Avi

Author:Avi
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Algonquin Books
Published: 2018-10-31T22:43:23+00:00

Chapter Thirty-Eight

In Which I Receive a Spark of Hope.

Full dawn bloomed in reds, purples, and pinks. Feeling ill, I remained sitting against the house until Bara opened the door and came out. The sound made me start, but my relief was great. I looked up at him, knowing all my sadness and shame must have been revealed in my imploring eyes.

He gazed at me, but said nothing. Though I could not read his face, I had no doubt he knew I had tried to escape. After a moment, still not speaking, he took up the other hoe and started off to the fields.

I got up and followed him.

“What about the hogs?” I said.

“For once, they can wait.”

It was only when we’d gone some ways from the house—out of Fitzhugh’s hearing distance—that Bara halted, placed a hand on my shoulder, looked me straight in the face, and said, “What made you come back?”

“I . . . I fell into a grave.”

That took him by surprise.

I said, “I think . . . I think it’s that Clark.”

“Show me.”

I led him to where I’d been.

Bara gazed into the pit. He was breathing hard.

I whispered, “Is it him?”

Bara continued to stare down. His face was tight, as if he were clenching his teeth. Abruptly, he turned from me and covered his face with his hands. His shoulders jerked. He dropped to his knees and crossed his hands over his chest, as if hugging himself. His body rocked slightly.

I wanted to comfort him. “Bara . . .” I said.

He shook his head, letting me know he did not want me to say a word.

After some while he stood up.

“I’m sorry,” I said.

“You could cover the world with ten feet of sorry, wouldn’t make a difference.” Then he said, “We’d better put it the way it was. Don’t want the old man to know we found it. No telling what he’d do.”

In silence, we filled the grave.

Afterward, still not talking, we went to where we were meant to be weeding the tobacco field and set to with our hoes. Bara still said nothing but when I glanced at him I saw tears run down his face.

I said, “He was your friend, wasn’t he?”

Bara nodded. He seemed to be struggling for words. Only after some while did he say, “Fitzhugh beat him the way he did me, and you. One time when it was worse than ever, Clark screamed at him, ‘I won’t stay. I won’t stay.’

“Next day he was gone. I guessed, but didn’t know what happened. I’d warned him. He wouldn’t listen. I was hoping he got away.”

I waited for Bara to speak again. It took some moments, during which he wiped more tears away.

“Hope you’ve learned something,” he finally said. “You can try going, but it’s near impossible going off by yourself. Too many dangers for one. If we’re going to go, it has to be both of us.”

“Do you want to leave?”

“You think I want to be here?” he said. There was contempt in his voice.

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