CHAPTER THIRTEEN
SOMBRILLO
When you go to sleep thinking of something, that something is often the first thought when you awake the next morning. So it happened to me on my third morning on Mars. My first thought was about Michu. My next thought was that Manu had said nothing more about getting in touch with my parents. I sat up and looked towards his bed but it was empty. I sprang out of bed, thinking I may have overslept. As I did so, Manu came out of the toilet.
‘Don’t worry, we’re not late,’ he said cheerfully, taking hold of his blanket and folding it. ‘And I know you’re still concerned about your parents. Don’t worry about that either. I have spoken to one of the elders and she has a plan for you. When you meet with the elders they will explain to you what you need to do. Until then there really is no need to concern yourself. It will come out better than you expect.’
‘That sounds funny! How do they know what I expect?’
Manu looked at me and I understood immediately. It seemed that nothing I thought escaped the notice of these Martians.
‘Thoughts don’t stay in the head, Bill,’ said Manu. ‘They zoom off into the Universe, to be intercepted by anyone able to do so. Think of thoughts as being the same as light or radio waves. You should not see your mind as a closed box, available to you only. There is really only one universal mind, yours only being a small part. Do you understand?’
‘I can understand what you are saying but it is such a crazy idea, I don’t think I can believe it, not just yet, anyway.’
‘Believe it, Bill. It’s true,’ said Manu. ‘In time, you will understand.’
I was not to see Michu that morning. Manu and I bathed in the pool and breakfasted. Later he took me to see the caves where the mushrooms were grown. We descended much further underground. The more we dropped down, the warmer and more humid it became. My main impression of the trip was the strong smell, which after a time became unbearable and we had to return to the comfort of the main cavern. But I was glad that I had seen them. I was impressed with the ingenuity of the Similarians.
On the way back from the caves I reminded Manu that he had promised to tell me about his trip to Earth.
‘Well, it was an official visit, so there was not much time for sightseeing,’ he began. ‘My job was to accompany school inspectors around schools to assess to what extent environmental issues were built into the syllabus in European Union countries. I posed as a senior schoolboy from Spain. I speak Spanish fluently, as well as English and French and Russian. It was interesting. The EU has become very conscious of the importance of developing environmental awareness at an early age. I think I made an important contribution.’
‘What did you think of Europe?’
‘Stimulating! I loved it!’
‘Did you visit England?’
‘No time, unfortunately. Maybe the chance will come.’
The Sombrillo practice was to take place in the afternoon in the Grand Hall. Today it was the men’s turn. We were to wear our normal costume but with a coloured headband. Manu had brought one for me.
Manu was one of the brightest hopes among the youngsters of the clan. I learnt that he had already played for Similaria against some of the neighbouring clans, even though he was still young and inexperienced.
As we made our way towards the Grand Hall, Manu explained the game to me.
‘Sombrillo is a team game. We use a small bubble, called a sombro, about four times the size of your football. It is weighted so that it does not float away too far. The players are only allowed to touch the ball with their heads. The goals are rings made out of the branches of fruit trees, about a metre across suspended about ten metres above the floor at each end of the pitch and the team that scores the most goals wins the match. There are eighteen players on each team. No player should barge another.’
‘Cool! Michu told me it needs a lot of skill to judge the path of the ball and not to hit another player. I can’t wait to see it!’
Manu laughed. ‘We have a lot of good players here, men and women. There are not enough boys to make up a full team of eighteen players but boys are allowed to play in the practice sessions and they sometimes play in informal games of nine or twelve players. It’s a great honour to play for your clan. I have played several times.’
‘I know, I was told. I hear you are a budding superstar! A Martian Ronaldo!’
‘Well, I don’t know,’ he said, humbly.
We had reached the Grand Hall. Many Martians had gathered for the entertainment and were standing around expectantly. Some of those who were to take part in the practice were standing in a group and they greeted us as we approached. One of the players was holding the sombro. He tossed it to me and I caught it with two hands. It was much bigger than a football, slightly soft and I could see through it. But what was most interesting was its luminous turquoise colour. I threw it into the air. It sailed up several metres and I was afraid I would lose control. The others had a good laugh as I ran to catch it. There was clapping of hands and I felt a bit embarrassed. I was no David Beckham with a football and a sombro was much more difficult to control.
The coach, an elderly man, but still looking amazingly fit, came over to speak to me. ‘Don’t fret if you’re not too involved at the start,’ he said. ‘Just watch the others and you’ll soon get the feel of the game. Remember, heads only.’
He divided the men into two roughly equal teams, so that no-one was left out. One team wore red headbands and the other, blue. I adjusted my red headband and grinned at Manu, who was poised ready for the signal.
My heart beat faster with excitement as we waited for the coach to start the game. He stood still and it was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Then he suddenly dropped his hand and from then on it was all movement. Players darted here and there. Sometimes a player would nod the sombro too hard and it would sail high towards the dome of the hall and the coach would tell him that was not the way to play, that the sombro should be kept close to the head and controlled. Then one player from each team would position himself to head it to another player on his team. It was not often that players collided with one another.
At one point Manu got hold of the sombro and I got the impression that it was somehow stuck to his head, he controlled it so well. He beat two opposing players and with the slightest flick of his head, he sent it sailing up above the goal and down it came, into the cloth basket. There was applause from all around, Reds, Blues and the spectators. I could see why Manu was in the team, young though he was.
But goals were difficult to score and by the end of the game the Reds had scored two goals and the Blues only one.
The sombro was passed to me only twice during the game. The first time I misjudged it completely and ended up in a heap on the floor. Manu picked me up and gave me a word of encouragement. The second time I managed to position my head neatly to give the sombro a push towards another player, who was, unfortunately, wearing a blue headband. So much for my first Sombrillo practice!
All in all it was wonderful fun and I was thankful for the opportunity of playing. I doubted if I would be picked to play in a proper match. I could hardly have played more hopelessly.
As we left the hall, I saw Michu approaching.
‘How did you enjoy your first game?’ she asked, as she came up to me.
‘First and last, I should think, judging by the way I played!’ was my reply.
Michu threw back her pretty curly head and laughed. ‘You should see me play!’
‘I’d love to,’ I said. I pictured her playing. When I saw her frown, I blushed.
Michu held my arm and took me aside. ‘Bill, the elders will take me off the job of being your guide if they see you getting too attached to me.’ She looked me straight in the eyes. I thought at that moment how beautiful she looked.
‘I can’t help the way I feel, Michu,’ I said. ‘But I promise to behave. I would not want another guide.’
‘Good! Now, about the programme for the next two
days. Tomorrow we are going to visit the greatest volcano in the solar system and the Valles Marineris, you know, the canyon I told you about. It is also the largest in the solar system. The following day we shall go to see the Monuments of Cydonia.’
‘You mean the famous face and the ancient city?
‘Exactly!’
‘Cool! There is a lot of argument back home about them. Some say they are made by beings from outer space and some say they are natural. What is the truth, Michu?’
‘Wait till you see them and you can make up your own mind.’
No amount of questioning would make her tell me more. I couldn’t wait to see them with my own eyes!