The Testimony of Taliesin Jones (21 page)

'
Did y
ou ge
t
w
hat
yo
u
as
ked for?'

'
It d
epends
h
ow y
ou l
ook a
t
it
.
Th
ere's a
lways
th
e c
hance that it w
as
g
oing to happ
en a
nyway
.
It d
oesn't a
lways
wo
rk. I'm n
ot s
ure
a
bout it an
ymore.
It
ge
t's tr
icky.
I h
ave
my
o
wn
beli
ef.
Th
at g
ets
m
e
by
.
Anywa
y,
wh
y a
re
yo
u
s
o int
erested
in th
ese
thin
gs?
You don
't
w
ant
t
o
b
e
w
orrying a
bout
a
ll
of
th
at.'

Hi
s
f
ather
i
s agi
tated
.
It m
ay
b
e
th
at
h
e's
t
ired
and find
ing i
t hard to think ju
st
n
ow.
Or it m
ay j
ust b
e t
hat h
e
d
oesn't
l
ike
thi
s
topi
c o
f
c
onversation
.
He mu
st
f
eel
l
et
d
own;
pun
ished
f
or so
mething h
e
hasn't done. It w
asn't
him wh
o
to
ok
th
e a
pple. N
o wo
nder h
e
i
sn't s
ure if h
e
beli
eves a
nymore
.

T
aliesin ca
n't und
erstand
wh
y G
od
is
s
uch
a g
rey ar
ea
o
f un
certainty.
Wh
y
so
me
see
God
as
cl
ear as
li
ght
a
nd
o
thers
see
n
othing
but th
e
dark
.
F
or
so
me, it
see
ms,
G
od
i
s
m
ade
up
,
H
e ca
n't b
e
l
ocated,
no on
e
s
eems
t
o
h
ave see
n Him
,
H
e
h
asn't
f
eatured
in th
e
n
ews
.
For
o
thers H
e is as
r
eal
as a
n apple
;
H
e
ca
n be f
ound
in
eve
rything,
eve
n in
side
of
u
s
.
I
s
th
ere a
ri
ght o
r wr
ong
an
swer,
or do
es
i
t ju
st
d
epend?
I
s
th
ere
a co
mpletely utt
erly c
ategorical
yes
, or
a
n
a
bsolutely tot
ally
d
efinite
n
o?
H
e
n
eeds
to kn
ow
but it
see
ms that n
o o
ne h
as
th
e a
nswer.

CHAPTER SIX

T
HINGS A
RE O
N HI
S
M
IND
as
h
e
wa
lks to hi
s
p
iano
l
esson,
h
oldin
g
his score to
h
is
c
hest. H
e's
b
een
tr
ying
t
o
ste
p
to
th
e
3
/4
r
hythm
of
'T
he
D
a
n
ci
ng
Bea
r
',
b
ut b
eing a
wa
ltz i
t is diffi
c
ult. H
e trie
s
the
p
at-a
-
cake
p
at-a-cake
t
empo
of a t
une
t
hat h
e
keeps
h
earing
in
th
e
pl
ayground, a
tun
e
th
at gi
rls
s
kip
to:

Un
derne
a
th
th
e
arc
hes
a
nd
ove
r th
e
s
ea

b
oom,
b
oom,
b
oom,

I
k
now
t
hat
(
Whoever
i
t i
s) s
till
wa
its f
or
m
e

b
oom , boo
m, b
oom.

B
ut t
his i
sn't a
tun
e to wa
lk t
o
.
Fin
ally
h
e se
ttles
o
n th
e rh
ythm
of hi
s
int
en
tions
:

I'
m
g
oi
n
g to
t
ell
h
im
,

I'
m goi
n
g
t
o
t
ell
h
im,

I'm
goi
ng
to
t
ell
h
im,

to
day
.

Toda
y,
h
e w
ill
te
ll B
illy
E
vans t
hat h
e
can
't
r
ead a s
ingle n
ote of
m
usic
a
nd th
at fo
r
t
he l
ast few m
onths
he
h
as
b
een
p
r
e
t
e
nding
t
o read
t
he
sco
re
w
hilst r
elying o
n hi
s
ea
r
to ge
t h
im
t
hrou
g
h.
T
his i
s
h
ard
b
ecause
h
e
d
oesn't
w
ant
t
o s
top h
aving
l
e
s
sons.
H
e
l
ikes Bi
lly
.
In
fac
t, h
e's
n
ever
felt
so comfo
rtable
i
n
t
he
co
mpany
of anyo
ne. Wh
en
h
e
'
s wi
th B
illy
h
e fee
ls
a
peac
e
t
hat h
e
c
a
n
'
t
ex
plain. H
e e
xperiences n
one of
the
u
sual
a
ge
barri
ers
that ar
e
r
igidly
m
aintained
b
etween c
hildr
en a
nd adults. Billy
must b
e se
venty
a
nd
ye
t T
aliesin talks
to h
im as
thou
gh
h
e
wer
e
a play
ground
friend,
a
f
act
whi
ch
h
as
m
ade
him
a
ll the m
ore
wr
etched a
bout hi
s
d
ecep
ti
on.

T
aliesin
h
as
s
ensed
that hi
s
t
eacher
know
s a
bout h
is
inability t
o
r
ead
mu
sic.
It
's
a
s
if Billy i
s
w
aiting
for him to
a
dmit it
,
rath
er
than cruelly e
xpose
hi
s
f
ailing.
Ind
eed,
th
ere
are tim
es
wh
en
Bill
y
s
eems
to know e
xactly
what T
aliesin
i
s
thinkin
g.
H
ow
oft
en
have his t
eacher's
words trodd
en
softly in th
e f
resh print
s o
f h
is
thou
ghts?

Althou
gh
he h
ardly
read
s
book
s,
Bill
y
h
as
th
e
kn
ack
of
s
eeing
a
thin
g
.
H
e
i
s
at on
ce
dir
ect a
nd
se
nsitive,
ge
tting qui
ckly
t
o
the root
o
f meanin
g.
H
e
ha
s
f
ew
o
f
th
e
u
sual
Grown-Up tr
aits: ev
asion, d
eception, c
ondescension
.
H
e
nev
er says,
'I told
y
ou so
.'
Bill
y
has
a ge
ntle d
eference
to thin
gs
th
at
happ
en,
an accept
ance
that there is som
ething
mor
e
import
ant
th
an
his own l
ife.
Thi
s
i
s
r
are
in T
aliesin's eyes.
Bill
y i
sn't rich -his hou
se
i
sn't
e
ven a
whol
e
hou
se,
his piano i
sn't
pri
celess a
nd he h
as
no car. H
e
i
sn't
th
e
cl
everest
man in W
ales
.
H
e
doesn't read m
any
b
ooks,
h
adn't
h
eard
o
f
Anim
al Fa
rm
and h
as
n
ever
r
ead '
The El
ephant
Child'
.
Bill
y
ev
en a
dmits t
o
n
ot
knowin
g
th
e
an
swer
to thin
gs.