Steel Notes Magazine
January 2017
She looked at the forested hills surrounding the lake . Snow draped the high passes . The small branches on the trees waited for leaves to grow and fall and grow again . Women beat laundry against the rocks at the lake ’ s edge , singing songs full of the strange blend of sorrow and gratitude sung by slaves .
Nikki was startled by Feydor ’ s hand on her ass . Turning , she looked at him as he walked past . His beard bristled gray and black in the murky light ; his breath smelled of smoke , whiskey and spice . Nikki ’ s green eyes shot anger like machine-gun bullets , but what Feydor saw was her fear . He laughed .
“ Goodbye , handsome ,” she snarled , as he walked away , balancing on the narrow planks connecting to the landlord ’ s boat . Feydor made the air stiffen . It felt as though a storm were about to strike .
Nikki ’ s dreams were scattered like debris after a hurricane . All she had wanted to make of her life now seemed out of reach . She ’ d made too many wrong turns . Could she ever get back on the path ? Did Anatol know the way ?
Maybe Anatol was manipulating Feydor . Maybe he was just being a good salesman . She had tried sales . Nikki had sold clothes , jewelry , insurance , stocks and bonds . She was good at it , especially the insurance and equities . She ’ d made quite a bit of money , which had all gone up in smoke , or up her nose . That had ended in hell , and that ’ s when grandma had sent her to Israel .
Her eyes followed the burly Russian ’ s footsteps on the wooden boards . She looked at the Kashmiris , who , with the addition of a watch here and a calculator there , wore the same clothes , beards and jewelry their ancestors had worn for generations , then her gaze melted into the color of the earth along the shore , the green hills and snow-clad Himalayas , the centuries of time and space and matter , settled into this moment in a corner of Asia .
People haven ’ t been long on earth , she thought . Before the rocks , plants , water , animals , there was nothing . No world . Yet other people-less planets revolved according to mathematical certainty , with spinning heavenly bodies , explosions of gas fireballs and black holes sucking solar systems into little dark boxes . Nobody watching .
Nikki was watching Fedor as he reached the shore . The heavy Russian climbed the bank towards the road . Nikki caught sight of a Kingfisher , iridescent as a polished bright blue jewel ; it plunged , striking the water with an ungainly plop as it snared a silver fish in its sharp beak .
A sudden , blinding flash lit the periphery of her vision . The roar of the explosion and her screams pulsed through her like shock waves . Tossed like a rag doll through a torrent of smoke and shrapnel , her body plunged into the lake . Her head pounded . Water rushed into her mouth and nose . Breaking the surface she could feel the heat . The boat was aflame . No sign of Anatol . The Kashmiris were shouting and running , trying to extinguish the fire . Nikki saw one of the children , a little nine-year-old boy named Samid , lying on the deck , a piece of wood piercing his neck .
Staring at the boy ’ s blood-covered face , Nikki felt her own flesh starting to burn with pain . Her arms were weak ; she could barely tread water . Cold weeds clutched at her legs . The black smoke obliterated everything . She heard Anatol ’ s voice . It sounded like it was coming from the bottom of the lake . Or was she on the bottom ? Was that the murky surface above her ? Everything was going dim .
Thoughts that had been soaring through her mind at the speed of light slowed and stopped . She heard Anatol ’ s voice again . But she couldn ’ t recognize the man looking down at her .
Doctor Singh could have been a wingless angel with bushy eyebrows . He was dressed completely in white , including his large turban and the mask netting his overflowing beard . Nikki could hear his voice , but the words were unclear . She couldn ’ t tell where she was but assumed it was a hospital . There were bright lights and medical equipment ; she could hear
96
Steel Notes Magazine www . steelnotesmagazine . com