Vaquita and Other Stories by Edith Pearlman

Author:Edith Pearlman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Wednesday

This morning our slow-witted servant said that we are the miracle. She tramps down the mountain once a week to scrub our floors and wash our clothing and beat the single rug. Today as always she touched my hump for luck, and she smiled shyly at Pavel's face—such a thin, intelligent face. In any line-up you would pick out Pavel as the former graduate student in philosophy. Neo-Platonic ecstasy was his special field. “Salvador,” said the servant.

Pavel said only, “Gracias.” But tonight he expanded on her premise. We have rescued the children, he told me. The major's patrol—barrel-shaped men: Big Bellies, we call them—do the preliminary work, crashing into the cellar dugouts or the sewer squats, choosing this boy or that girl. But we are the heart of the process.

“Stomach,” I modified. I like to call organs by their rightful names.

He waved an impatient hand. “We rescue them from prostitution and snuff films. From cholera and typhoid. From starvation. We convert them to a rude health. We give them time.”

I said nothing. The children were sleeping upstairs, recklessly using up their time. The hacienda was dark except for the single bulb swaying from the ceiling in my kitchen as if it had been hanged.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.