The Second Life of Lilly Kimmel: A Historical Fiction Novel by Isidoro B. Holcberg

Author:Isidoro B. Holcberg [B. Holcberg, Isidoro]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-08-26T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 23

PERU

The Bernardo O’Higgins has crossed Zero Latitude two days ago, a passage pregnant with meaning for Lilly. Now it leaves Guayaquil behind and, several nautical miles beyond, Ecuador’s littoral gives way to Peruvian waters. Here the coast completes the rounded hump of the continent’s western edge, stretches down to the Chilean border, the Pacific Rim extending to Tierra del Fuego; with the Andes as its backbone, it is aptly named South America’s spine.

They next lay anchor in Lima’s port, El Callao.

Lilly is standing in the corridor outside her room, positioned sideways to the map, her back towards the Atlantic. Through the open door a beam of light projects her silhouette, superimposing it on the wall map. She traces a finger over both images and realizes that her distended abdomen, protruding belly button included, uncannily resembles the shoreline contours along which the ship is now sailing. Even the shadow of her legs runs parallel to Chile’s coast.

Her burden shows. The new life inside her begins to charge a heavy toll. Lilly’s back aches, her feet are swollen, varicose veins have sprung along her calves, her hair is thinning and her heart beats faster at each kick inside her womb.

She is mildly nauseated which can hardly be attributed to

the ship’s movement, as it is firmly docked at the pier. Lilly is grateful when the Captain invites her to step out on terra firma to visit Lima.

On their way to town he gives her a brief lecture on the region’s physical oceanography:

“Peru’s waters teem with an unparalleled menagerie courtesy of the trade winds, the primary drivers of the Humboldt Current. This oceanic system washing South America’s western flank creates an upwelling of cold water that nurtures and supports a cascading food chain. The result is a fish population of astounding numbers, mainly schools of sardines, anchovies, mackerel

and hake.”

“With such bounty at their doorstep, they must have a huge fishing fleet.”

“Indeed they do. This extraordinary biological productivity enriches Peru’s cuisine, adding animal protein to its starchy staples - potatoes and maize - which surpass the marine catch in variety, durability and dependability. You’ll have a field day in the market.”

Lima is dry and dusty and Lilly is thirsty and choking as if the air were filled with thin talcum powder, each speck intent on lining her lungs with a white, constricting coating.

Lilly asks to stop at a nearby coffee house. She tries to hide from the captain that she is feeling poorly and excuses herself to find the lady’s bathroom. Alone in front of a mirror, she loosens her blouse and douses some water on her face.

And then it happens. Her head starts to spin and her stomach heaves and churns. Lilly thinks she is going to faint, when she realizes it is the room that is moving and the floor under her feet that is shaking. The tremor lasts no more than a few seconds but hair-thin cracks spread on the walls’ plaster and several floor tiles cringe and split, like parted lips in a jagged grin, as if ready to swallow her.

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