The Last Quarter of the Moon by Chi Zijian

Author:Chi Zijian [Chi Zijian]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2012-10-15T04:00:00+00:00

For here burns a fire

To illuminate your pathway.

Pine not for those close to you

You whose soul has gone far away.

Upon your arrival there shall sing

The moon, stars, clouds and Milky Way.

The light of the fire grew faint and died. The wizened tree and Jindele were reduced to ashes, and the night turned its head and returned. We made our way back to the camp. The bonfire for the marriage ceremony was a wilted blossom, and an air of sadness wafted through the campground.

Yveline wept, Maria wept, and I didn’t know whom to console. Dashi was walking next to me and I quietly asked him: ‘Will you really marry Zefirina?’

‘I intend to do what I said.’

‘Do you really love Zefirina?’

‘Jindele didn’t want her but she has married into our urireng, so she’s one of us now. She’s a widow, and a crooked-mouthed one at that. If I don’t marry her, who will? I can’t bear to see her tears. She’s so pitiful.’

Dashi’s words made my eyes moist too, but he couldn’t see my tears. There was no moon that evening, and the stars were dim. In a night as dark as that, you become the night’s darkness.

Our shirangju was closest to Jindele’s, and the night he died wave after wave of Yveline’s cries radiated from there. At first I thought that Kunde blamed Yveline for Jindele’s death and was teaching her a lesson. I threw a coat over my shoulder and prepared to dissuade him. But as I approached, I heard Yveline shouting: ‘Kunde, I don’t want to. It hurts! It hurts! I don’t want to!’

Kunde said nothing, but I could hear his heavy, hurried breathing and a wind-sound like someone being lashed. It seemed as if he were firing bullets – Da! Da! Da! – at Yveline’s body. I understood what means Kunde was using to chastise Yveline.

I returned to my shirangju and found Viktor, who had been sleeping, now awake and adding kindling to the fire. ‘Eni,’ he said, ‘it seems like there are wolves howling. We’d better make the fire fiercer to scare them away. Otherwise, if the wolves come in and snatch Andaur, what’ll we do?’

The next morning, Ivan told everyone to pack their things and prepare to transfer to our autumn campsite. I understood. He wanted to leave this campsite that had broken our hearts as soon as possible.

In just one night, Yveline had visibly lost weight. The rims of her eyes were red and puffy, and she walked with a bit of a limp. We all looked at her sympathetically except Maria who cast a hateful gaze at her. This was understandable, for deep in her heart, she blamed Yveline. If she hadn’t forced Jindele to take a maiden he didn’t love as his wife, Jindele wouldn’t have died; if Jindele hadn’t died, Dashi wouldn’t have pitied Zefirina and the idea of marrying her wouldn’t have entered his head. Trying to get Maria to accept Zefirina was like forcing her to cross a frozen river barefoot.

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