The Happiness of Kati by Jane Vejjajiva

Author:Jane Vejjajiva
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Published: 2011-06-10T20:50:47+00:00

Sandflies

At journey’s end.

Kati liked to sit at the edge of the water, making sandcastles with Uncle Kunn. What she didn’t like were the horrible sandflies that bit you when you weren’t aware of them. These tiny creatures had a powerful bite. They would hide in the sand waiting for their prey, and you wouldn’t even know you’d been bitten till you saw the angry red spots at bath time. The more you scratched them the itchier they became. Uncle Dong said the bites of the sandflies were like love, an itch you couldn’t scratch away, couldn’t forget and of which you were constantly aware.

Kati used both hands to dig a hole in the sand. When the waves came in it became a pool, but sand came tumbling in with the water. Soon her deep pool became a shallow pool and she had to dig it out all over again. But this was satisfying too, keeping Kati’s hands busy while her mind kept returning to the story Mother had told her that afternoon.

So the knight in shining armour who had saved little Kati’s life was none other than Tong of the Siamese smile. Mother said that Tong had been quite excited over the arrival of the four-year-old ‘city girl’. He would paddle his boat over to play with her often. That day he had come over to the house in search of his playmate and had followed them to the old walnut tree. His boat appeared just after an enormous lightning strike. Tong was as strong a rower as any of the children whose homes were by the water. So it was no great task for him to steer the boat in which Kati sat back to the pier and safety. He had picked Kati out of the boat and placed her right in Mother’s lap.

‘Like a mother cat with a kitten,’ said Mother, smiling through her tears at the picture they’d made – Tong, skinny and small for his age, bearing Kati who was round and chubby. Mother had hugged Kati close, and Tong too. She had been crying and laughing at the same time, there in the middle of the pouring rain, before they climbed the steps to take cover in the little shelter.

Before long Grandpa and other men from the community had braved the storm in their boats to come looking for them, calling for Mother and Kati. They brought blankets and umbrellas, but Mother, Tong and Kati were already soaked to the bone. That night Kati took ill with a fever. The family had to sit up with her all night, bathing her with damp cloths. It was nearly dawn before her fever abated. As the morning light broke, Mother packed her bags and left the little house on the water without saying goodbye, never to return.

Kati could imagine Grandma’s reaction – how distressed she must have been. Kati could also imagine Grandpa’s face as he said through set lips that Pat must’ve had her reasons to act in this way, and that some day she would tell them why.

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