Breaking the Circle (27 page)

‘She will be all right, won’t she?’ she asked her mum.

‘Of course, darling. They didn’t seem to be unduly worried.’

‘I want to be there when she wakes up.’

‘You have to think about yourself, my love,’ Pam replied. ‘Don’t you need some rest?’

‘Yep, I’m tired but I’ll have a long sleep tonight.’

‘Come on,’ Pam said. ‘We need to get you checked over.’

Maya was following Pam out of the cubicle when she caught sight of a form lying on a chair. Curious as ever, she bent down to read it.

Maya’s heart thumped. Cuska, that was her village – the village where she’d lived as a child, the place where her family had been murdered, locked inside a
burning building. Could the girl who’d pulled her from the fire be Kay – Katrina Janovich, the little girl with the golden eyes?

‘Oh, excuse me, I forgot that,’ the nurse said, rushing in to pick up the form.

Maya stood aside, her head in a whirl, then she ran after the trolley which was heading for the lift.

‘Wait! Just a minute, please I have to ask Kay something.’

The porter turned. ‘They’re expecting her.’

‘Just one second.’

He stopped and Maya went to Kay’s side and bent her head close.

‘Was it you? Were you the little girl who pushed me into the ditch in Cuska?’

Sleepy from the pre-operation anaesthetic, Kay’s eyes were half closed and she mumbled words Maya couldn’t understand.

‘You must remember!’ Maya begged. ‘People were locked in the church – it was on fire – they couldn’t escape but you pulled me away, hid me in the
ditch.’

Kay smiled. ‘I will have an operation.’

‘We have to go,’ the porter said. ‘You can see her later. Anderson ward.’

And Kay was wheeled away.

‘What was all that about?’ Pam asked, as she joined Maya.

Staring down the corridor, Maya saw the lift arrive and Kay being pushed inside.

‘I know this sounds crazy. But I think Kay is the girl who saved my life.’

* * *

All the way through the hospital check-up, Maya’s thoughts were with Kay, hoping the operation was going smoothly. She patiently submitted to tests and examinations while
her mind played over her meetings with Kay and the dream about the little girl with golden eyes. The information she’d seen on the form made her heart race. Kay was Katrina Janovich – a
Serbian name – a girl from Cuska.

While they waited for the results of the tests, Maya filled Pam in on all the events of the past week.

Pam listened patiently, then looked off into the distance. When she turned back to Maya, her face was serious.

‘I’m staying home for a while,’ she said, ‘where I can keep an eye on you.’ She cupped Maya’s face in her hand. ‘Oh, Maya, you are wonderful and amazing
and . . . and . . . but you can’t change the world. You can’t take on gangs of criminals and drug dealers and whoever else crosses your path and seems to be immoral in some way.’
She let go of Maya’s face and sighed. ‘Part of me wants to shake you and part of me wants to give you a medal.’ She stood up. ‘Come on, let’s see what’s
happening. If we can’t get results of the tests, we’ll go home. What we both need is sleep.’

‘No. I have to wait to see Kay,’ Maya protested. ‘There are so many things I want to ask her. And the other girls, I want to find out what’s happened to them.’

‘All right,’ Pam said. ‘I can see I’m not going to get any sleep just yet.’

A hospital volunteer took them down to a room near A&E where the Chinese girls had been placed. Sitting silently, huddled beneath white blankets, the girls were like little ghosts, but when
they saw Maya and Pam, they stood up and started talking excitedly.

Amidst the cacophony of foreign words, Maya heard one girl speaking some English. It was the girl who’d given her name – Lily. The English she spoke was heavily-accented, but Maya
understood from her that she had no idea why she was at the hospital or what was going to happen to her and the other girls.

‘You are safe,’ Maya told her. ‘Nobody will hurt you. You are safe.’ Maya tried to convey the message by adding some gestures, but Lily just looked more confused. She
shook her head, tears in her eyes.

‘I don’t think she understands,’ Maya said to the nurse. ‘What’s going to happen to them? Are they sick?’

‘Malnourished and dehydrated,’ the nurse said. ‘They’ve taken some fluids but we really need the translator to show up before we give them more treatment. We’ll
keep them in overnight, give them a thorough check-up before we discharge them.’

‘What will happen to them after that?’

The nurse’s face wrinkled. ‘I don’t know. Poor things, they’re frightened.’

Maya turned to her mum. ‘Can you do anything for them?’

‘Not in my remit,’ Pam said. ‘I would guess they’ll be repatriated. I’ll do my best to see they’re treated kindly, though.’

Maya took Lily’s hand and tried again to communicate. ‘The nurse will help you,’ she said. ‘You are safe here, safe.’ She squeezed Lily’s hand gently as she
spoke and felt an answering pressure.

‘Thank you,’ Lily said, nodding her head. Then she frowned and she looked as if she was concentrating hard trying to find words. Finally she managed, ‘I go China. See
family?’

Maya smiled with relief. ‘I hope so.’

A ghost of a smile lit Lily’s face and she stepped forward, reached up and gave Maya a hug.

* * *

Pam agreed to let Maya stay at the hospital until Kay’s operation was over and she was taken up to a ward.

‘Call me and I’ll come and collect you,’ Pam told her. ‘Give Kay my love. And don’t go anywhere else.’

‘Mum, I’m fifteen.’

‘I know. And you’re more than capable of taking care of yourself. It’s your propensity to take care of everybody else that worries me.’

Maya smiled as her mum left. It was great to have her home. Sitting alone in the waiting room, her mind ran over the events of the past week and she felt suddenly very, very tired. Pulling her
feet up onto a chair, she rested her head against the wall and dropped off to sleep.

The next thing she knew was that she was being gently shaken awake by a young nurse.

‘Your friend is fine. The operation’s over and she’s comfortable. Would you like to see her? Just for a few minutes.’

It took Maya a moment to understand where she was. She sat up. Her neck was stiff and one arm was numb. ‘Thank you,’ she said, rubbing her arm and fingers. ‘That would be
great.’

Kay was alone in a side room, lying on her back, her white face shadowed by dark hollows under her eyes. A drip was feeding into the back of her hand and a drain ran from her chest into a thick
plastic bag that hung below the sheets. Maya sat down in a chair at the bedside.

Kay’s eyes flickered and opened. ‘Is it over?’ she asked.

‘Yes, the nurse said you’ll be fine. How do you feel?’

Kay’s face scrunched up. ‘Like I have dope. I am floating.’

‘Does it hurt?’

‘I cannot feel pain,’ Kay said. ‘But I need a drink.’

‘Here, have some water.’

Maya poured water from the jug into a beaker and put it to Kay’s lips. ‘Only a bit or you might feel sick.’ She let Kay take a couple of sips, then put the beaker back on the
bedside table. ‘I won’t stay long – you need to sleep. I just wanted to see you before I went home, make sure you were OK. Next time I come I’ll bring you some pyjamas and
things.’

‘Thank you.’

Kay’s eyes closed again and Maya stood up to go. She had lots of questions she wanted to ask, but they would have to wait.

* * *

The next evening, Maya returned to the hospital carrying a bag full of goodies donated by Pam and Helen. Kay was sitting up, looking much better, her eyes were bright and her
hair had been combed.

‘I get out of bed,’ she said. ‘The nurse say I am a warrior.’

Maya laughed. ‘You’ve been very brave. Does it hurt?’

’Only if I lift my arm.’

‘Good. Mum called the doctor and she said you should recover quickly. We didn’t know, but the bullet went straight through – missed the muscle and just grazed the bone. You
were lucky.’

Kay looked puzzled. ‘I did not have a bullet?’

‘No. It went in the front and out the back.’

Kay looked thoughtful, then she smiled. ‘I understand. I have a hole here and a hole here.’

‘Yes. It was good the bullet didn’t stay inside you.’

‘I am lucky.’ Kay said, settling back on the pillows. ‘The hospital is a very nice place. The bed is clean and the nurse is kind. Tomorrow she will wash my hair.’

‘Good. That’s great. I’m glad you’re OK.’

Maya put the heavy carrier bag on the bed. ‘Helen – my gran – went shopping. She got you lots of things. Look – cool pyjamas. What do you think?’ She opened the bag
and lifted out a pair of white pyjamas covered with pink lips and then a pair of blue ones dotted with cupcakes.

‘Beautiful,’ Kay said.

‘There’s a cake in there, too,’ Maya said. ‘Helen baked it. You can give some to the nurses if you want – it’s chocolate.’

‘Mm,’ Kay said, sniffing and taking out a foil-wrapped parcel. ‘This is a good package.’ She smiled at Maya and then lay back.

Maya pulled a chair out and sat down at the side of the bed.

‘Did you see Annika?’ Kay asked.

‘No, she’s going home with Tanya’s body. A sad time for her.’

‘Poor Annika,’ Kay said. She sighed and closed her eyes.

There were many questions Maya wanted to ask and she was trying to work out the best way to ask them when Kay spoke.

‘You ask me, before the operation,’ Kay said. ‘You ask me if I remember a fire?’

Maya leaned forward. ‘Yes. I didn’t think you’d heard me.’

‘I hear you.’

Kay closed her eyes again and Maya waited. She was full of impatience but she guessed if she pushed it, her important questions might never be answered. She studied the weave of the bedspread
and a picture of a giant flower on the wall.

After what seemed long minutes, Kay spoke. ‘I remember,’ she said. ‘I was there with my family. I see your people walking, pushed by men with guns. I was six years old, I do
not understand what was happening. When the flames start my mother take me home.’

‘Do you remember a little Muslim girl crying because she’d lost her mother?’ Maya asked. ‘Did you push her into the ditch to save her?’

‘I do not know about a ditch,’ Kay said.

Maya was swamped with disappointment. ‘But I saw you. In my dream I saw a girl with gold eyes, just like yours. She pushed me into the ditch so that I was hidden; she saved my
life.’

‘A dream is just a dream,’ Kay answered. She breathed heavily and licked her lips. ‘I am Serb. My people were your enemies.’ She closed her eyes and turned her head away.
‘Now you will hate me,’ she muttered.

She spoke so quietly that Maya only just caught what she said. She stared at Kay’s wounded shoulder, the bandages bulging under her hospital gown. Sounds and images stormed through her
head. Fragments of dreams fluttered like circling bats; her mother’s eyes, bright almonds like her own, a long black robe flapping as her mother let go of her hand, her hands like claws as
she pushed her away.

She grasped the bar at the side of the bed. A dizzy, nauseous feeling took hold of her. She put a hand to her throat and swallowed. Then she took in a deep breath and leaning down, she took
Kay’s hand.

‘I don’t hate you. The war is over – gone – it’s in the past. Whatever happened in Cuska, it’s finished. We must be friends.’

‘How, if there is bad blood?’ Kay asked, turning to gaze up at Maya.

‘Your family died, too.’

‘Yes,’ Kay whispered. ‘All dead.’

‘We are the same then,’ Maya said, softly. ‘Nobody wins in war.’

* * *

Three weeks later, Maya stood in her bedroom, looking in the mirror. Kay, who had been given permission to stay with them while she was recuperating, was sitting behind her on
the bed.

‘You look beautiful,’ Kay said, as she watched Maya spinning round, the tiny white pleats of her silk dress flying out.

‘Am I Marilyn?’

Kay looked down at the postcard picture and did a quick comparison. ‘I think you are taller.’

‘Not so much in the boobs department, either. Think I could do with some gels,’ Maya said, ruefully eyeing her chest.

‘You are OK. Some men like small.’

‘Not Marilyn’s admirers,’ Maya laughed. She picked up a comb and tidied the wig. ‘Not as good as the original, but it’ll do for tonight. Let’s go down, people
will be arriving soon.’

Kay stood up. She was wearing a white blouse and a flared pink skirt, clinched in by a wide patent leather belt. Maya had attached a false ponytail to the back of her blonde hair and, despite
the fact that her arm was still in a sling, she looked very like Sandy in
Grease
.

A big part of Kay’s recovery had been watching films and musicals. She liked
High School Musical
and
Fame
but the one she adored was
Grease
. She’d learnt many of
the songs and was in love with Danny Zuko.

It had been a difficult time for Kay as she’d withdrawn from drugs. The doctor had offered her substitutes, but she’d bravely refused and consequently suffered agonies of stomach
pains and aching joints. Maya had been at school most of the time and Pam back at work, so it was Helen who’d held Kay’s hand and had seen her through her nightmares. And it
wasn’t completely over – she still had flashbacks and panic attacks, but as she twirled around so that her skirt flew out she sang, ‘You’re the one that I want,’ and
she looked completely happy.

Downstairs, Helen and Pam were in the kitchen, finishing making food. Pam was dressed as Audrey Hepburn in
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
and Helen looked elegant in a long green silk
dress.

The first of the guests to arrive was Zac, who was dressed as an American gangster in pinstriped suit and trilby hat.

‘You look brilliant,’ Maya said.

‘Went down the Oxfam, didn’t I?” he said. Then he raised his gun. ‘Didn’t know if this would be all right? I’ll ditch it if you like.’