A Boy Is Not a Ghost by Edeet Ravel

Author:Edeet Ravel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Groundwood Books Ltd
Published: 2021-08-18T16:36:42+00:00

6

A Change of Plan

It’s my last morning in Bakchar. I’m leaving, probably forever.

Yesterday I said goodbye to Igor and Dedushka.

Igor slapped me on the back, wished me bon voyage and gave me a tiny airplane he’d carved out of wood. I made him promise not to forget about Gabi.

Dedushka looked shocked when I told him I was leaving. Then he nodded and gave me a bear hug, nearly suffocating me. He had tears in his eyes and he made me promise to write.

“Wait a minute, umnitsa,” he said. That’s what he calls me sometimes — umnitsa. Meaning good, clever boy. He disappeared into the cellar and came out with a small jar of strawberry jam and a bigger jar of sauerkraut.

“Be good to life, and life will be good to you,” he said.

I didn’t tell Mr. and Mrs. Mindru that I’m leaving. It’s best if they don’t know anything. But this morning I wrote them a note thanking them for their kindness. I forgive Mr. Mindru. He has a hard life, and even when he hated me, he didn’t throw me out.

Now it’s time to say goodbye to Gabi.

I give her the jacks and ball, the cards and rule book, the sliding puzzle, my stardust marble and my musketeer moustache.

“Here are the onions,” she says, rummaging under her blankets and producing a jar of pickled chives. “I’ve been saving them for you. Have a good trip and thanks for the presents. And for helping me with my Russian . . . and for explaining the difference between dinosaurs and dragons,” she adds, giggling.

“I wish you were coming with me,” I say, and I mean it.

Gabi flings her arms around my shoulders and gives me a big sloppy kiss that lands on my ear. “You’d better go. You don’t want to keep Mr. Wilmer waiting.”

I try not to think about when and if I’ll ever see Gabi again.

I walk to the outskirts of the town, the travel pass in my shirt picket, Felicia’s emerald earrings in the seam of my coat, Max’s life-saving hat on my head, and the sack of bread and jars of food on my back.

I also have the 500 rubles Sima sent me, which I’ve divided up and tucked away in my boots, under my hat, inside my coat, in my shirt pocket, and in my trouser pockets. I’ll need the money for inns and for extra food if it’s available. Mr. Wilmer has also asked me to contribute 50 rubles at the end of the trip to help pay for the wood chips for the truck’s furnace. He’s the only one who knows about the money.

I don’t want to draw attention to myself, so I’ve left behind my down quilt. It’s so tattered and moldy at this point that it’s not much use anyhow. All I have, apart from the clothes on my back and the potato sack, is Max’s school bag. It’s nearly empty, but I can’t bear to part with it.

I turned fourteen a week ago on April Fool’s Day.

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