Overlooking the loch, she took her phone out. It did smell. It did smell.
She bent down and dunked it in the water. Would it get damaged beyond repair? It was unlike her not to care. But she did not want Moni’s perfume on her phone. And the other smell. It made her ashamed.
‘Evil is often frozen,’ the Hoopoe later said to Iman. ‘Paralysed by weakness. Many a crime hasn’t been committed not because of a lack of intention but because of a lack of means.’ Iman thought of Salma, safe from sin because Amir was far away. That night, the Hoopoe’s story was about the snake catcher who climbed the mountain. He climbed and climbed and the air around him grew colder. Near the summit, he found more than he had aspired to – a huge serpent frozen in the snow. It was a magnificent sight. The ice had trapped the movement of the snake’s tongue as it lashed out, his fangs were in full display; the lustre of his coat was dazzling. The snake catcher could not believe his luck. This would be the most spectacular public display ever; the whole town would be agog. He carried the frozen serpent back down the mountain and, before he reached the town, he hid it under woollen blankets and tied it up with a rope. On reaching the town he started to call out, ‘Come and gather to see the biggest serpent on earth, the longest and most amazing.’ Soon an excited crowd gathered in the town square. It was a sunny afternoon and the mood of the gathering was festive. The snake catcher stood in the middle of the crowd with a large basket in which the frozen serpent lay covered under a blanket. With a flourish, the snake catcher whisked away the blanket and the crowd drew in its breath. The serpent was certainly huge, certainly stunning. The combined effect of the sun and the blanket had made the ice around it thaw. A twitch, a shudder. Had it really moved or was that the ice cracking? A blink. The serpent was alive. It had only been dormant, kept still by the ice. Suddenly, the serpent lashed out. It broke the ropes and immediately attacked the snake catcher. Crushed by its strength, he lay dying. The last thing he saw was the serpent wreaking havoc on the crowd.
‘Did you understand the story?’ the Hoopoe asked.
Iman, still thinking of Salma, said, ‘It was the snake catcher’s fault. He should have thought maybe, just maybe, the serpent was still alive. Or it could be that moving the frozen serpent from one place to another caused the problem. Up in the cold mountains, it was harmless and would have stayed harmless. Under the blanket, under the hot sun of the town square, it became the greatest danger. The snake catcher was disillusioned. There he was, full of eagerness and anticipation, carrying the very thing that would be his doom. We are our own worst enemies.’ She was now thinking of civil wars, how they went on and on until there was little to win and more to fight over.
‘But what is the serpent?’ asked the Hoopoe.
It was lust and greed, all that lies frozen and dormant, that remains harmless until we warm it up and activate it, until we accidently bring it back to life.
The Hoopoe told her another story. ‘Three fishes were swimming in a stream. They were content with their life, eating as much as they wanted, unthreatened by bigger fishes or other predators. One day, they sensed the approach of fishermen, men whose intention was to draw their nets. The first fish said, “To save my life I will escape from here. I will make the difficult journey to the sea. And I must do it alone and in secret. My friends will surely weaken my resolve. Their love of their home waters will persuade them to stay.” Without saying goodbye, the first fish set out and was saved.
‘The second fish said, “I am by nature crafty. I will play a trick on the fishermen. I will float belly up in the water and they will think I am long dead and discard me.” This is exactly what happened. One fisherman caught it in his net but believing it dead, tossed it back in the water. The fish swam off and was saved.
‘The third fish made no preparations. When the fishermen arrived, it panicked. Darting here and there in the water, it leapt high and fell with a splash. With greater agitation, it jumped again even higher and flopped down in the fisherman’s net.’
Chapter Nine
On the morning that marked a week since their arrival, the rain kept them indoors, in each other’s company. From the window, the sky was a low uniform grey. To Moni it felt like being in an airplane that was passing through dense clouds. She was the one least put out. To her, the outdoor life was still not entirely comfortable. If it wasn’t for the boy, Adam, she would not have gone out at all. She spoke about him now to the others, how well behaved he was, how adorable and agile. If only he would talk to her.
Iman was wearing a warrior costume that none of them could recognise. It made her look bulky. ‘Aren’t you too warm?’ asked Salma. She was the one most restless. With weather like this, she would not be able to run. The ground would be muddy. Besides, her phone had been confiscated from her, or at least that’s how it felt. Moni insisted that it still stank and was not fit to have inside the cottage. The phone was now perched on the sill outside the kitchen window. Safe from the rain, but still exposed to dampness and out of earshot. Already since dunking it in the water, the screen was becoming blurred.
