Chapter 2
Peto took Amelia to sleep with some other children under the coconut trees. All the children were ragged and looked like little dishevelled mice. They made boasts that were disturbing to Amelia: one had found s big lump of bubble gum only just spat out by a tourist, bright pink, did she want to share it? Another had found a smelly fish bone that would scare off spiders; another had found a dead rat he could give to a dog to stop it biting him. Amelia felt sad. Was this going to happen to her too? She started to cry and Peto told her to come to him and he gave her a cuddle on his rough grey blanket and told her not to worry, one day they would all be rich and buy ice-cream. The other children gave her little gifts of water or sea-polished stones and at first that made her cry more; they were so sweet, how could the world abandon them? One boy, Jasper, had a bucket of seaweed and some raw shell fish that they ate to keep off the hunger. Amelia tried a piece of seaweed, but it made her gag, and there was no way she was eating a live snail. She saw the toughness in some of the girls that were smaller than her but had stronger more determined spirits. She didn’t want Peto to think she was fearful as all his friends put on a strong front. She gave one of the little girls her last two coins to buy real bubble gum from the kiosk. She thought maybe if she was kind to them, some kindness would happen to her. Peto was still cuddling her and a boy walked over and said,
‘Hey, abandoned brother! Remember the code. No friends. You don’t want people to find you have a weak spot.’
‘You are right my friend. I thought nobody was watching.’
‘They are always watching like gulls to peck what you have,’ said the boy and walked off.
Peto got up and walked away.
‘What did he mean?’ asked Amelia. ‘Why can’t we be friends?’
‘You can’t have friends because of what the ragged men are like. Say I make money and a ragged man sees he can come up to you and say,
‘Give me all your money or my friend will throw your friend in the sea. That’s him watching her.’ Or ‘give me all your money, or I will tell the policeman your friend is begging, and he will hit them with his stick.’ It used to happen all the time with my sister. I’m so glad the nuns took her. Maybe she will learn to sew, and when she is older she will have a shop and come and look for me, Peto. We have a sign, all of us it’s like this.’ He touched his two index fingers together in the shape of a triangle. ‘It means it’s time to camp down, no more talking; no friends.’
Amelia felt sad sitting by herself. The boys made the camp sign to each other. The little girl came back carrying some bread in a bag.
‘I didn’t get gum. I’m hungry. I got bread. Nobody bought me any bread today.’
‘Nor me,’ said another
‘Nor me. Give me bread sister, ‘chanted the other small ones. She broke them pieces of her bread and started crying.
‘There is not enough for me. I am hungry, ‘she said. She cried herself to sleep after half an hour of crying. One of the older boys spoke harshly to her to shut up: she would bring the dogs over, or the ragged men. One day you were hungry, the next day a tourist will buy you a burger; life was not so bad, look at the stars it would make your eyes beautiful, he reasoned in a whisper. He made the camp down sign to her.
Amelia felt a little afraid. People on the beach made strange wailing sounds and angry shouts. The moonlight made everything look dark, and haunted; and the lapping of the sea seemed unreal, and ghostly. Maybe things would get better. Maybe her people were coming for all of these children not just her, and they would all skip and sing together.
In the morning Peto woke her up with a kiss on her cheek.
‘Bye bye Amelia. Today I have to go. There is a ragged man after me. Do you remember yesterday when we were talking and some men asked me for water? I told them I had a bad leg. They saw me later playing football with George and Beno, and they started to get angry, and said I was rude and they were going to hit me? I had to run. They said if they saw me tomorrow they would get me. So I am going on the fishing boat with George and Beno.’
‘But what will I do? Can I come?’
‘Sorry no girls.’
‘But what will I do?’
‘Don’t worry I will bring you back some shells from the bottom of the ocean. For your shop. You will meet someone else. Don’t talk to ragged men or tourists if they can’t walk in a straight line. You sell your shells and tomorrow I will find you.’
‘Tomorrow? But what about tonight?’
‘Amelia don’t be like a nagging old woman. I am a free boy. I don’t answer to any friend. You shush and be happy.’
He walked off quickly. She was jealous of the straightness of his spine and the glow of his face. He looked as proud as one of the tourist children in brilliant white clothes and expensive sneakers, but all he had were his stained old shorts and holey shoes. Maybe, she thought, he was a prince in disguise, and they would just be lucky friends. She was glad because he had a lovely face, but all his front teeth were rotted down, and she had wanted her prince to have perfect white teeth.
Feeling thirsty, she went for the long walk to the tap. All the other children were still asleep. On one end of the beach the fishermen gathered. There were sleeping ragged people dotted across the beach. Flies swarmed round them, they all had un-combed hair and those that were sleeping with their mouths open, displayed yellow rotting teeth.
‘Are you going to the tap?’ asked an old woman in a husky voice. Her head was covered by a flowery ragged cloth. Amelia walked on ignoring her remembering what Peto had said, not to talk to ragged people.
‘Get me some water queen,’ said the old lady.
Amelia looked at her and then saw that she had a lovely twinkly face. Her skin was red brown like the rocks and she had on large gold coloured hooped earrings. Amelia remembered that she liked helping people and slowed down.
‘Do you have a bottle?’
‘Here queen here.’ She gave her a bottle. Amelia noticed another one lying nearby and picked it up for herself. She walked on. When she got to the tap she stood underneath it with all her clothes on. It had been dusty under the trees and the rat had made her feel unclean. Her clothes would dry, she thought. She filled up the bottles and walked back to the old lady. It took about twenty minutes and she felt tired walking across the sand. Peto really worked hard, she thought. She found the old lady and gave her the water.
‘Queen I thought you weren’t coming back. Thank you Queen.’ Amelia laughed and gave her the water that she drank thirstily.
‘Here. I will help you too’ she said and then shouted, ‘Melons! Melons!’ A man answered from across the beach and approached.
‘This is my son, Melons. When you need to he will give you melon. Melons, this is my friend Queen.’
‘Is that your real name?’ asked Melons, a fat cheerful bare backed man
‘No my name is Amelia. I got your mother some water. Why don’t you bring her water?’
‘I never know where she is. She like to party and dance on the beach late at night. She is supposed to stay with me at my tent. I have a can of water. She likes to meet new friends. You are good. You didn’t ignore her.’
Amelia sat down and ate a piece of melon she thought maybe she could stay with the old lady, and get melon for all her friends every day. The old lady started to shout and stand up and dance and wake up other ragged people and they were all shouting at each other so raucously that Amelia didn’t feel she belonged with them and walked off. The old lady didn’t even acknowledge her saying goodbye; she had her skirt hoiked up to her thighs and was dancing with a man with long beard. Amelia walked down to the sea. It calmed her dipping in her feet. She didn’t feel like meeting anyone else but she heard another old lady moaning. Amelia felt sorry for her and asked her if she wanted any of her water.
‘I can’t take from a child,’ said the lady who was dressed in a long cotton woven dress with an embroidered symbol on the front. Amelia was shocked that her eyes were pier
cingly beautiful as though she had looked at the stars every night.
‘Please take it. I am strong.’ The woman took the water, her arm shaking.
‘I have no coins. I have nothing to give you. How can I help you do you have a mother?
‘No. I have no one. I am waiting for my people.’
‘Oh you poor child. Are you abandoned?’
‘No. I am fine, and today I will start my shop selling sea shells. If you like you can find some shells for me and I will sell them.’
‘That is a good idea. All I am doing is watching the sea and feeling sad. I will help you.’
‘I will come back in a while and find you. I have to go and see my friends.’
Amelia wanted to go back to the camp. They must all be looking for her.
‘Come back soon Amelia. I am a good woman and I will help you, ‘called the woman.
Amelia walked on back to the camp under the trees. Maybe the woman would be lucky. She didn’t seem like a ragged woman, she was calm and well mannered. Amelia felt excited about seeing the little girls and playing with them. She would make them feel happy. She hadn’t told the boys all about her shop. Maybe they would help her.
When she got to the camp, there was no one there and cars parked across where they had slept. She looked all about for the children feeling sad. She walked back to the beach and walked up and down searching, there was no trace of any of the children. Maybe the nuns had taken them, she thought. Then, as she was about to give up, she saw the boy who had warned Peto to have no friends.
‘Have you seen the other children?’ she asked
‘No.’ he answered
‘Oh. I want to find them.’
‘Why?’
‘I need friends.’
‘You are stupid. You can’t have no friends here on the beach. It is everyone for themselves. Go away from me you are too weak. You are not a rich girl to have friends. You are just an abandoned.’
Amelia walked off trying not to cry. She wasn’t an abandoned she was, she was… she suddenly felt petrified that she was an abandoned and her destiny was to become a ragged person on the beach. It might have been shock, it might have been hunger but she fell down flat in a faint onto the sand and everything went black.