Lakes
by Colm Keegan
(from Caught in Amber)
Chi-Hing walked along the main road which was bordered by interweaving oak and sycamore trees, dense with leaves that were moved by a wind he could barely feel on his face. He reached the top of a lane and looked around. Heavy clouds filled the sky, through the trees on either side the Blessington reservoir could be seen, dark and silent with orange light from houses sprinkling colour on its edges.
He carried his last three, most important sculptures with him, keeping each in a separate pocket to protect their polished surfaces. Two of the flat stones had been carved to look like boys, one like a small girl. When he arrived at the lake he planned to skim them across the water, bouncing the carved discs over the surface until the energy he’d flicked into them disappeared and they’d sink, making sweeping slow arcs all the way down to join the other stones he had thrown into the depths.
At the bottom of the lane a souped-up black car lay idle in the car park, its engine purring out exhaust fumes that crept towards the water. Inside the car Sarah sat between two young men in the back seat. She knew the man on her right, Aidan, well enough and had spent the night by the lake with him last week. But his friend was a stranger and was starting to worry her. Especially since she caught him glancing at Aidan as he swigged from his can, frowning and nodding urgently towards her skirt when he thought she wasn’t looking. No words had been said since they’d arrived, the men glugged alcohol and danced in their seats to the dance track on the radio. Sarah rooted in her handbag for a cigarette. She looked in surprise at Aidan getting out of the car.
‘Where are you going?’
‘The jacks. I’ll be back in a sec,’ he said.
As soon as Aidan left his friend moved closer.
‘Jaysus you’re a good lookin’ bird Sarah.’
She faked a laugh and a smile that fell quickly from her face. She felt relief when Aidan came back but he got into the front seat. The friend trailed his little finger along Sarah’s goose pimpled thigh and snickered. Sarah crossed her arms. She saw the men make eye contact in the rear-view mirror. A palm wrapped around her knee and she batted it off.
'Ah c’mon Sarah you didn’t mind last week. Aidan said you’re a right goer'
She knew where this was going. She put the unlit smoke back in her bag and reached over to grab the door handle. Her way was blocked.
‘Let me out’
‘You’re not going yet are ya?’ said Aidan. ‘Sure it’s miles from anywhere.’ There was a pleading tone worked into his voice.
Then his friend spoke. ‘The party’s only starting, gorgeous.’
‘Fuck you.’
Through a leathery smirk he answered. ‘Don’t talk to me like that. Slut.’
The too familiar word stung. She punched him. He lunged and grabbed her arms, the noise of their scuffle mixed with the beat of the radio. Sarah tried to hit him with a beer can but it was open and spilled all over the car. Aidan laughed. Sarah fought as hard as she could, and prevented him from pushing her arms over her head. His hands clawed at her dress, a button popped. She gave a small scream of outrage before her face was scrunched into the seat.
Chi reached the bottom of the lane and saw the car parked by the lake. There had never been anyone here when he’d done this before. It felt inappropriate to him. He checked his watch. It was five to four. Back home it would be almost midday. He took the figure of the young girl out of his pocket and gently rubbed his thumb across her tiny stone brow. He tucked her safely into his bomber jacket pocket and walked by the car.
Closer to the vehicle, he frowned when he saw that it was rocking. He bent and searched the tarmac until he found a pebble, which he threw at the passenger door. Through the steamed-up windows he made out two shadows. The car stopped shaking. A hand rubbed fog from the window and a man peered out. Content that he had stopped their activity Chi started towards the lake. Then Sarah flung open the passenger door and tumbled out of the car.
Chi watched her get up, expecting someone to come out to her. No one did. Not even when she began to beat the car with one of her shoes, screaming words Chi had never heard as she smashed a headlight. The car revved loudly and he ran towards it, thinking it was going to run the girl over. But it reversed, wheel-spun across the car park and tore up the lane, leaving clouds of dust and the leaves on the trees shaking in its wake.
Chi thought she hadn’t noticed him and walked towards her to ask her if she was okay, one concerned hand out as if to touch her elbow. When she turned to him he said nothing. Her eyes were black with wet mascara, and her lipstick was smeared, but her face wore a certain clutched dignity. She saw his arm reaching and flinched.
‘What the fuck’s your problem?’ was all she could say. Chi raised his eyebrows in bemusement and stuffed his hands in his pockets. Sarah smoothed her dress and straightened her hair.
‘Do you live nearby?’ He asked, even though he knew by her accent that she was from the city.
‘None of your business,’ she stood on one leg to put her shoe on.
As she forced her heel into the shoe she went off balance a bit and was forced to grab Chi’s coat. He moved closer to support her. Realising what she was doing she let go of him and straightened up. Taking a bobbin from her wrist she tied her upset hair in a ponytail, flicking it from her neck when she was finished. Chi realised he was gazing at her. He checked his watch again and headed for the shore.
‘Nice to have met you.’ He said ‘Goodbye.’ and then he waved, and cringed.
‘Wait’ she said. He started back towards her.
‘Where can I get a taxi?’
He mimed making a phone call. She shook her head
‘I’ve no phone’
‘Walk that way’ He pointed up the lane and swept his arm to the side in a grand motion ‘Then round the lake over the bridge and left.’ The way he said round sounded long and tedious. He began to leave again.
‘Is it far?’
‘One hour’s walk.’
‘Are you going that way?’
‘Yes, but not yet. After’
‘After what?’
He walked on quickly. She looked at him becoming a shadow as he neared the shore, heard his feet crunching lightly on the coarse sand. She followed him.
Chi sat near the water and took the figures from his pocket. He scrunched his knees up close and held the stones together in both hands and closed his eyes. The dull knock of them off each other brought enquiry from Sarah who’d stopped nearby.
‘What’s in your hand?’ she said, as low as the lap of the water.
‘Little villagers’ He held out the figure of the eldest boy. She noticed Chi wore no socks.
‘Take it’
The stone was warm from his touch. The workmanship made it feel vibrant in Sarah’s hand.
‘Did you do this?'
Eyes still closed he nodded and placed the other two stones by her on the sand. A little awe crept into her eyes as she knelt and looked from the stones to Chi.
'They're gorgeous,' she said. 'Who are they?’ He didn't answer. He didn’t really know, and didn’t want to say.
The breeze tickled ripples across the lake towards them and gently tugged at their clothes. She put the carving with the others and drew a circle around all three in the sand. Chi considered telling her the reason for the sculptures. Without knowing he chewed at his cheek as he sank into his memories.
He had had been standing on the side of a fertile mountain that tumbled into the churning waters of the Yangtze River. It had just stopped raining, and the memory of the downpour filled the air. Little streams formed to gurgle along the trail under Chi’s feet and the leaves of the trees and ferns all around drooped and dripped water. He stood amongst a row of about fifteen men, all wearing grubby working clothes, some carrying heavy sticks. They stared impatiently at their employer, a local official, who was reading from a document. In front of them stood a group of four farmers and their wives, some grandparents and teenage children. Over their shoulders Chi could see the bamboo huts they’d built, with young children peeping from within.
Across the river Chi could see a sign reading 175M in large black letters. Further down the mountain the ruins of a village lay near the riverbank, torn down by government bulldozers, and then smashed to small pieces by migrant workers. Just like hundreds of others, from small villages to bustling towns up and down the river, it was emptied and destroyed to make way for the reservoir swelling up behind the Three Gorges Dam, the most audacious building project in the world. Anyone below the future water line marked by the sign - almost two million people - were being encouraged to relocate. But these few families, disgusted by the quality of their new land, had returned.
The official finished by asking the locals to leave without protest. When no answer came he dropped his head and waved his hand. The workers walked towards the huts, the line of residents broke and ran at them. A crazed woman attacked Chi, scratching his face in her frenzy. Adrenaline surged through him when he pushed her to the ground as if she wasn’t there. He reached her home and took out a knife to cut at the ropes holding it together. She ran towards him again and he braced himself. But she ignored him and pulled her children from their home, the youngest wearing only his underpants. All around was chaos. Workers trampled over a small vegetable patch, an ancient woman wailed and threw stones at them. Goats bleated and were kicked. A farmer started to cry. Pots spilt and vases smashed. Three teenage boys wrestled a stick from a worker and beat him to the ground. But despite all resistance the huts came down easily, rickety walls crumpled and their plastic roofs ruffled in the air. It was almost over in less than ten minutes.
Everyone heard the howl soar up from somewhere near the river. The workers followed when Chi descended towards the sound. Near the village rubble he spotted the woman he had pushed over. She was soaked through and had her empty eyes on a muddy brown pond. Beside her stood her husband, looking at his children. The three of them floated face down in the water. An old couple took the woman away. As people spilled onto the scene it started to rain again. The drops fell like stones that made the trees shudder.
Silent faces watched the father take his children from the water. The official did not wait to proclaim they could not be buried here. The father slumped to the ground beside the bodies, his dignified face marred by mud and loss. No one went near him, too afraid of his grief. Some stared at Chi and his eyes dropped to his hands. He picked up some rubble that was splattered with red; stone broken from a wall that had stood for generations, until marked with a large red ‘Chai’, the symbol for tear down. He took out his knife, and started chipping at the ink. Within a couple of days he would leave China forever.
He opened his eyes and looked at Sarah. He silently watched her curl a strand of hair behind her ear.
On the horizon the night-time gloom was being chased out of the sky. Sarah took the girl and cradled her in her palm. Chi picked up the boys and rose to his feet. He cast them across the water to meet the others he’d created as company. They sank slowly. He watched the ripples from each skip expand into the other, as if they sought to be one. When he did this he always aimed for the same area of water, hoping the stones would settle close together, imagining little groupings of them on the lakes bed. He pictured the old couple, on whose faces he’d etched tiny wrinkles, resting together, or his few well-sculpted mothers sitting close enough to gossip in the depths. The vision had nothing to do with the reality of their lives. But he had decided to honour them and this was his way.
‘There are houses under there, sometimes a church steeple emerges from the water’ Chi said, pointing out to the centre of the lake. Sarah was looking at the statue of the little girl in her hands. A child’s innocence had been skilfully worked into the stone. Despite the difference in features it was as if she was looking at herself at that age and cradling the girl made her remember her father, when he used to swing her around and the world had felt so big. So much bigger than the back of Aidans’ car, she thought.
Sarah looked up as if she had forgotten he was there.
‘What happened earlier?’ he asked.
‘You don’t want to know.’
He nodded his head.
The crackle of gravel made them look towards the lane. Two cars turned into the car park, the second one with only one headlight. Both stopped, three men got out of the front car and walked towards Chi and Sarah. She closed her fist over the sculpture as the first man, a gruff frowning redhead, stopped in front of her.
‘You’re wanted’ he said to Sarah. After gesturing towards the cars he nodded towards Chi. ‘You’d be better off waiting here, bud.’
Chi looked over the lake. In the glare of the headlights mist danced like ghosts on the water. He assumed Sarah would make up with whoever was in the car and leave. She was an attractive girl and he was looking forward to walking with her, but if she was to leave it was okay, he thought. Then he remembered the final sculpture and started after her. The big redhead stepped in his way.
‘I said stay here. Leave them to it’ Chi heard the engine start as Sarah reached the car.
Sarah stopped beside the driver door. Aidan smiled out the window at her.
‘You calmed down now?’
‘What do you think you’re doing back here? You’re lucky I didn’t call the police’
Aidan looked around the secluded spot and laughed.
‘Yeah they’d be here in a flash. Sure we both know you wouldn’t call the police anyway Sarah. You’re not that type. Listen I’ve ditched my mate. He was only messin’ but I let it go too far. Come back to town with me’.
‘Not in a million years.’
‘Here look’ He reached into the glove box and took out Sarah’s mobile phone. She snapped it from him.
‘And here take this as well’
His hand held out a bag of cocaine.
‘I can’t take that.’
‘Go on, it’s cool,’ said Aidan, shaking the bag.
‘I already owe you too much.’
‘Look it’s okay. That’s a freebie. My way of sayin’ sorry. I really enjoyed our time last week up here Sarah. I really like you. We can work something out with your debt. C’mon back with me.’
Sarah looked at the bag dangling in his hand and felt a flutter of want. Her eyes dropped to the sculpture in her hand.
‘No thanks.’ She said. ‘I’ll find my own way and pay what I owe you.’
He let her see his face sink into disappointment, and looked at her for a long moment before closing up the window. ‘Fuckin' right you’ll pay. And you owe me for the headlight as well. You’re lucky I like you so much.’
She went to say something but Aidan started beeping the horn.
The men left Chi and returned to the car park. They got into the second car and followed as Aidan drove up the lane. Before the second car disappeared Sarah saw Aidans' friend from earlier rise up in the back seat.
‘Bastard,’ she said and walked back to Chi.
‘I take it you are waiting for this.’ She said showing him the stone. Something about the way she held it made Chi not want to take it. He thought for a second, and then nodded at the lake.
‘I would like for you to throw it in.’
She walked so close to the water that it licked at her toes. She looked at Chi.
‘What’s your name anyway?’
‘Chi’
‘I’m Sarah,’ she said, and sent the stone across the surface.
He wasn’t surprised when she threw it as well as he could have. It bounced along the surface three times, scattering drops as it skipped before disappearing in a silvery glimmer. Chi told himself that sometimes, maybe, if the water moved right, the stones would be stirred into life and the children might move together, floating along the scar of the river that lay at the heart of the reservoir, skirting around the parents and other statues as if at play.