Follow the Elephant (13 page)

He heard Gran say something and the nurse pulled the curtain, shutting him out. Ben stood limply outside the curtain. When would he learn? He shouldn’t have mentioned snakes.

The nurse hurried away and came back with a cold cloth and a glass of water. Ben waited until she left, and Gran called to him.

Her face was puffy. “Sorry for the outburst, Ben. I’m ashamed I made such a fuss. I’ve just been so worried about you and then to find out you’ve been with cobras —” She pointed to the chair beside her bed and Ben sat down.

Now it was his turn. Ben could feel the tears pushing against his eyes. Don’t cry, he told himself. It had all been too much: worrying about being late, then Rani’s accident and now being yelled at. Gran handed him a tissue.

“Don’t be upset, Ben. They’ve taken good care of me here. Dr. Dhaliwal is wonderful. He’s coming by this afternoon to unhook me from this contraption.” She pointed to the needle in her hand. “If all’s well, he says I can go back to our bungalow tonight.”

She patted his arm. “How’s Rani?”

“She’s in the infirmary.”

“What’s the matter?” Gran said, alarmed.

“A bike accident on our way here. I was rushing to see you and she crashed her bike. I’m worried her arm is broken.”

“Oh, my heavens. Poor Rani.”

Just then Dr. Dhaliwal arrived. “Your grandmother’s done well, Ben. You can pick her up tonight at seven, but she’ll need to rest the next few days.”

“Thanks. It’s a great hospital you’ve got here, Dr. Dhaliwal.”

“We’re proud of our Indian hospitals,” said the doctor. “Please come with me, Ben, to get medicine for your grandmother.”

Ben told Gran he’d be back before seven and waited outside the pharmacy until Dr. Dhaliwal came back with some pills. “These will balance your grandmother’s system and get her back to normal.”

Ben took the pills. This was his chance. “Dr. Dhaliwal, do you remember you told me that you went to medical school with a man called Dr. Mukherjee? We heard that Shanti’s brother went to medical school.”

“Could be the same man. He was a nice fellow. Let me look him up in the medical registry to see if I have an address for you.”

“That would be great,” Ben said.

“My advice is not to tell your grandmother about this yet. She doesn’t need another disappointment while she’s getting her strength back.”

“I agree. I already scared her talking about snakes,” Ben said. “I hope you find the man’s address. It could be a good lead, Dr. Dhaliwal.” Ben didn’t say it but there weren’t any other leads. If this one failed, the game would be over. No camel hair in the desert. No pen pal.

Dr. Dhaliwal turned to go. “I’ll let you know when I come by the resort tomorrow.”

The nurse in the infirmary had just finished wrapping Rani’s wrist in an elastic bandage. Rani smiled at him. “It’s just a sprain, Ben. Don’t be so alarmed.”

The nurse helped her up. “You’ll be fine in a few days, young lady. Take it easy on that bike.”

“Does it hurt?” Ben asked Rani on the way out of the hospital.

“A little bit.”

“I wish I hadn’t made you rush.”

“Now you’ll have to help with my morning chores,” Rani laughed, and Ben knew she was all right.

Rani was able to push her bike beside him through town. She stopped at a statue of Ganesh outside a small temple. Ben saw that again, the elephant’s large head was festooned with a ring of marigolds. There was a bowl of candy at his feet.

“I wanted to show you this. See how children put sweets beside Ganesh? They’re asking him to help with a problem.”

“Let’s try it,” Ben said.

On their way to the shop, Ben realized that Rani hadn’t mentioned the fanny pack and thought he should explain. He pointed at it. “I know this makes me look geeky, but I promised my grandmother I’d take care of our money.”

Rani nodded. “Oh, the money belt. Lots of people wear one.”

“You’ve seen teenage boys wearing a pack like this?” Ben asked.

“All the time. Makes good sense.”

Well, if he could call it a money belt, maybe it wasn’t so bad. Ben pulled the wallet out of his pocket. “Think I should use my own money to buy the sweets.” He bought lemon candy for Ganesh and roasted cashew nuts for his grandmother.

After he’d placed the candy at Ganesh’s feet, Ben looked into the statue’s eyes and sent a silent message: You helped me find a way out of the temple, Ganesh. Please help me again. Let Dr. Dhaliwal find an address for Shanti’s brother.

To Rani he said out loud, “We’re running out of time. I sure hope this stuff about Ganesh works.”

By eight o’clock, Gran was back in the bungalow and tucked up in bed with a bowl of cashew nuts on the table beside her, and the room filled with the peppery-sweet smell of the yellow jasmine that Mrs. Gurin had placed on the table.

“I’ll be fine here. I just want to sleep,” Gran said. “Why don’t you go and see how Rani’s feeling?”

“I won’t be late,” Ben said. He knocked on the Gurin’s door and asked Rani if she felt well enough for another game of chess.

“I’m there,” she said, and they both laughed. “But if I lose, I’ll have my injury as an excuse!”

Chess was a bit like computer battles. You moved the players around and tried to knock out your opponents. After an hour, Ben paused, thought for a long moment, then moved his rook to threaten Rani’s king. “Check,” he said, trying to hold back a smile. Rani studied the board and looked up at Ben.

“Mate,” said Ben. “Checkmate!”

“Quick learner,” Rani said.

“Good teacher,” Ben answered.

As Ben returned to his bungalow, the familiar pounding of the breaking waves rolled across the grass toward him. Rani would be okay and his grandmother was well again. For the first time in a long time, all seemed right with the world.

“THE RESORT WILL SOON
be filled with tourists,” Rani said. “Our busy season is coming up.”

Ben put the last folded towel on top of the pile. Even with her sprained wrist Rani’s pile was neater, but he’d seen her wince again when she started to lift the towels. “Let me carry those,” he said as he followed her out of the laundry room. “Does your wrist hurt much today?”

“It hurt last night, but it’s better now.”

“You and Prem sure help your mother a lot, Rani.”

“Oh, yes,” Rani said. “It would be too much for her to manage the resort alone. Prem does the office work, and I help the two women from the village when I’m on school holidays.”

Ben thought of his mother in their kitchen at home in Vancouver. He could see her rushing to put in laundry and empty the dishwasher, her ponytail flipping out behind her. And this was after she’d had a full day at the office. Ben felt ashamed. When she’d asked for help, he hadn’t done much. Being here and watching Rani had made him think. Ben made himself a promise: he would load and unload the dishwasher every day when he got home. And he’d do it without being asked.

Rani interrupted Ben’s thoughts. “I’d like to take you to see something special when we finish here. That is, if you want to.”

“What is it?” Ben asked as he finished piling the towels in the storage cupboard.

“There’s an interesting cave up the beach.”

“A cave. Epic!”

Rani led the way past rolling sand dunes and along the hard sand. About a kilometre up the beach they arrived at a small stone cave close to the water’s edge.

“The cave floods at high tide,” Rani said. “Low tide is the only time to see the carvings inside.”

Ben followed her down wet stone steps into the shadowy cave. The smell of rotting seaweed crept up from the clammy floor, and the dank air made his head feel thick. The only light in the cave came down in a narrow shaft from a hole in the roof. Ben waited for his eyes to adjust. Slowly, he began to see that three large elephants had been carved around the walls. He traced the rough trunk of the first elephant with his hand. He noticed the elephant’s front leg was raised, bent at the knee. Underneath the raised foot, something else had been carved. The crouching figure with its back exposed was hard to see in the half-light. It looked like a child. Surely the carver hadn’t meant to show the elephant about to crush a child.

Ben turned to ask Rani and realized they’d become separated. The cave was so dark he couldn’t see across it. He called, “Rani?”

Rani … Rani … Rani
. His call echoed around the damp walls and back to meet him. He called again, “Are you there, Rani?”

Then, out of the dim light, she came up beside him. “I’m here, Ben.”

“I couldn’t see you.”

“I know, we were together at the entrance and then you were gone.”

“There’s something strange about this carving. Look under the elephant’s raised foot? It’s hard to see properly, but I think it’s a child.”

Rani bent down beside Ben. “It
is
a child. See the small face hidden by the hand?”

“He seems alone.” Somehow Ben knew it was a boy.

“No one has been able to understand the drawings in this cave. Look at the next carving,” Rani said. “The child is sitting in the curve of the elephant’s trunk.”

Ben thought that looked like fun. He moved along to the last carving. “Now the boy is on the elephant’s back.”

Rani nodded. “Elephants do use their trunks to lift people onto their backs.”

“The boy’s different up there. Excited. Happy.”

“I see that too,” Rani said.

“I think these carvings are telling a story,” Ben said. But what was it? Someone had found this cave and come back with a chisel to carve the boy and the elephants. The carvings were hundreds of years old; they had nothing to do with him. Why did seeing them make him feel so uncomfortable?

On the way back, Ben was lost in his own thoughts. Rani was quiet too until they reached the top of the sand dunes when she said, “Let me show you something special,” and led him along the cliff where they could get closer to the lighthouse.

“A priest lives there,” she said. “Sometimes people see two eagles circling over the lighthouse. It is said the eagles come all the way from Varanasi. If you are lucky enough to see the eagles coming down to take the food the priest puts out for them, you are promised good fortune.”

“Have you seen them?” asked Ben.

Rani smiled. “I’ll tell you a strange thing. I always come up here to look for them, but never had I seen them until last week. It was just before you and your grandmother arrived that I saw them for the first time. They were magnificent.” Rani looked down. “Perhaps your arrival was good fortune for me.”

“And me,” said Ben. He could feel himself blushing.

At the resort, Gran was dressed and strolling in the garden with Rani’s mother.

“You must be better, Gran!” Ben said. He told her about the elephant caves, but not, for some reason, about the small boy. And he didn’t tell her about the eagles who were known to appear at the lighthouse.

That afternoon, Dr. Dhaliwal came by and pronounced Gran well. Ben waited to talk to the doctor alone and went with him to his car. “Dr. Dhaliwal, did you find out about Shanti’s brother?”

“Yes, Ben. I did locate him.” He handed Ben a piece of paper from his pocket. “I suggest you try contacting my old student friend by email. There’s a possibility that Dr. Vivek Mukherjee is Shanti’s brother. Please say hello from me.”

At last, a real lead for finding Shanti. As the doctor opened his car door, Ben said, “Thanks, and thanks for taking such good care of my grandmother.”

“You are most welcome, Ben. I like your grandmother.”

Ben looked at the doctor’s kind face. “I’ve never met a Sikh before. Rani told me you wear a turban because you’re a Sikh.”

“Indeed, it is our tradition to grow our hair long and to keep it covered. Here, you see, we also wear this bracelet called a
kara
.” He pulled up his shirt cuff to show Ben the metal bracelet on his wrist.

“Do Sikhs believe in reincarnation?”

“Indeed, like Hindus, we believe in the immortality of the soul. We believe souls have many lives.”

“I’ve been thinking a lot about death. I mean, since my dad died. I just have a hard time understanding how the souls of dead people can come back to earth.” Ben wondered why he was talking so much to a man he hardly knew.

“I’m sorry about your father, Ben. What happens after death is a big question and it is good that you are thinking about it.” He got into the car, leaned out the window and ran his hand through his long beard. “Perhaps you will find the answer here in India.”

“Thanks, Dr. Dhaliwal.” Ben said. He looked at the paper and rushed to find Rani.

In the office, they quickly keyed in the doctor’s email address. Leaning over the keyboard, Rani helped Ben compose a message.

“I’ll check the school site once more,” Ben said.

“Last chance,” Rani said.

The site came up, but there were no messages about Shanti. Ben clicked off the computer and stared at the blank screen. How many times had he rushed to the computer, sure that someone would be contacting him about Shanti? He was sick of hoping.

“It’s time to give up on that idea,” Rani said. “I’m sure Dr. Mukherjee will answer your email.”

“Ganesh had better hurry up and make it happen. We’ve only got six more days in India.”

Ben and Rani went swimming every day, and Gran took longer and longer walks around the garden. Sitting on the veranda at either side of a small wicker table, Gran and Ben were having lunch made by Rani and her mother. Ben looked across at his grandmother. She was different since she’d been sick. She never mentioned Shanti, and she seemed to have forgotten all about finding her. Now, he was the one who was obsessed with the search.

Maybe he should tell her he’d emailed Dr. Mukherjee, but there was a chance the doctor might not be Shanti’s brother, and he didn’t want to get Gran’s hopes up. Besides it would be cool to surprise her.

Gran’s appetite was back and she looked like she was enjoying the lunch of rice and dhal. “I’m glad you’re feeling better, Gran. I was scared you were going to die.”

“For a few hours there I wouldn’t have minded!” she laughed. “But thanks to you, Ben, I got the help I needed.”

Gran was thanking
him
for helping her. He was the grandson who’d abandoned her in the hospital and then scared her so much by talking about cobras.

Gran put down her glass of lemonade. “I’m sorry I panicked when you told me about the snakes. It’s an irrational fear that I’m not proud of.”

“I feel awful that I was late coming to see you in the hospital. I got so involved in what we were seeing, I forgot about the time.” That didn’t sound very good. “I don’t mean I forgot about you, Gran.”

“I know what you mean, Ben,” Gran said. “It was so hard being stuck in that hospital bed, thinking something might have happened to you. I feel responsible for you here in India.”

“We’re responsible for each other, Gran.”

“I’m proud of you, Ben. How you took care of yourself when I was in the hospital.” Gran finished the meal and smiled at him.

She had the same strong face as his father. “My dad worried about me too. You and Dad are a lot alike.”

“You make me think of your dad, Ben.”

Ben shifted in his seat. “I wish I hadn’t been so mean, blaming you for his smoking. It wasn’t your fault.”

Gran nodded her head. “When something sad happens we’d all like to have someone to blame.”

Now seemed like a good time. “I have something for you, Gran.” He went to a drawer in his room and came back with the baseball cap that said DELHI DEVILS. He’d decided not to confess that he’d left her hat behind in the taxi. It wasn’t exactly lying, and he
had
bought her a new one.

“Well, well. Thank you. I looked for my hat, but I couldn’t find it. This will do nicely.” She tried it on and admired herself in the mirror. Ben had to admit that, for an old lady, she looked good.

That afternoon, after playing chess with Rani, Ben checked the computer again. His heart was beating fast as he logged in, but there was no message from Dr. Mukherjee. He’d been right not to mention anything to Gran.

There was a message from Lauren and his mother. They were relieved that Gran was doing well, and they were busy shovelling more snow.

When Ben got out of bed the following morning, there was no sign of Gran in their bungalow. He dressed and searched for her over by the Gurins’ bungalow. Rani hadn’t seen Gran either, but by the time they’d looked all over the grounds, Gran was coming up from the beach toward them.

Her face was glowing. “I went for an early morning walk to the lighthouse and saw the most interesting thing.”

“Tell us,” Rani and Ben said together.

“There were two white-headed eagles circling the tower. Huge ones like our bald eagles, Ben.” She stopped to catch her breath. “The priest came out and put food on a rock for them. They swooped right down and grabbed the food. I’ve never seen eagles so close!”

Rani was almost jumping up and down. “Oh, Mrs. Leeson, that means you will have good fortune!”

“I wish.” Gran’s smile faded. “I’m afraid the good fortune I need most in India is not going to happen.”

“But it will, Mrs. Leeson,” Rani said. “Now that you have seen the eagles at the lighthouse, it will.”

“I’m afraid we’re out of time. Our trip is almost over.” Gran sighed.

“Did you check for an email this morning?” Rani whispered to Ben.

“Yep.”

“Any luck?”

“Nope.”

That afternoon, they went in Prem’s car to see a famous temple not far from town. “Such a handsome hat, Mrs. Leeson,” Mrs. Gurin said.

“Ben chose it for me,” Gran answered.

The massive grey stone temple sat in the middle of a field of grass. Ben and Gran were amazed to see the outside was completely covered in carvings. A group of schoolgirls in white blouses and navy skirts sat cross-legged in front of it, drawing the figures while their teachers wandered among them, their bright saris blowing in the wind.

“The carvings on this temple are very old,” Prem explained. “They show a Hindu legend that tells us that all gods, animals and humans sprang from the source of the Ganges River.”

The carvings were of men and women harvesting and winnowing rice, washing clothes, cooking on open fires and playing with their children.

“Look at the tigers and elephants!” said Gran.

“All the Hindu gods are there too,” said Mrs. Gurin.

“Ben, there’s Ganesh!” Rani pointed to a carving of the elephant god high on the temple. “See, on either side are his parents, Shiva and Parvati.”