Alicia walked towards the stairs.
‘By the way, is the plan for tomorrow still on? Diving …’ she asked.
Max was surprised she had taken him up on his offer. He nodded.
‘Of course. Shall I wake you up?’
Alicia smiled shyly at her younger brother. It was the first time Max had seen her give a proper smile in months. It felt good.
‘I’ll be awake,’ she replied. ‘Goodnight, Max. And thanks.’
‘Goodnight, Alicia.’
Max waited until he heard the door of Alicia’s room closing, then he sat in the armchair next to the projector. From there he could hear the murmur of his parents speaking in a low voice. The rest of the house sank slowly into the silence of night, disturbed only by the sound of the waves breaking on the beach. Suddenly Max felt a presence right behind him. He turned around. Someone was looking at him from the foot of the stairs.
The shining, yellow eyes of Irina’s cat observed him from the gloom.
‘Get out,’ Max spat.
The cat kept its eyes on Max for a few seconds longer. They were lifeless and cold, like doll’s eyes. Max stood and faced the beast.
‘I said out.’
The cat appeared to smile, if such a thing were possible, then slowly withdrew into the shadows. What a time for Irina to bring that thing into their home … Max started putting away the projector and the films. The thought of returning them all to the garden shed and having to go outdoors in the pitch dark wasn’t tempting, so he decided he would do that in the morning. He turned off the lights and went up to his bedroom. As he opened the door, he imagined Jacob Fleischmann placing his hand on that same handle years ago, entering what was now to be his room. He lay down on the bed and turned off his bedside lamp. For a while he listened to the thousand tiny noises a house makes when it thinks nobody is listening. He closed his eyes and tried to imagine he was back in the city walking along the streets, passing familiar faces and places he used to go to. He smiled to himself and slowly, without realising, began to slip into sleep.
The last image that flitted through his mind before he succumbed was his sister Alicia’s unexpected smile. It had been an apparently insignificant gesture, but for some reason Max felt as if a door had opened between them and that, from that night on, he would never again view his sister as a stranger.
6
ALICIA WOKE SHORTLY AFTER SUNRISE TO FIND two amber eyes staring intently at her from the window. She sat up with a jerk. The cat calmly padded away from the windowsill. Since they had arrived in their new home Alicia had learned to detest the animal, with its superior attitude and that penetrating smell that seemed to announce its presence before it even walked into a room. It wasn’t the first time she’d caught it watching her. From the moment Irina had managed to introduce the feline into the house, Alicia had noticed that it would often spend whole minutes not moving at all, vigilant, spying on the movements of some family member from a doorway, or lying hidden in the shadows. She usually loved animals but for once – she wasn’t quite sure why – Alicia secretly relished the thought that some stray dog might finish off the beast during one of its nightly outings.
Outside, the sky was losing the purple hue of dawn and the first rays of a blazing sun pierced the forest that extended beyond the walled garden. There were still at least two hours before Max’s new friend was due to pick them up. Alicia slipped under the sheets again, and considered going back to sleep. Morning naps were her favourite and they always brought the best dreams. She closed her eyes and listened to the muffled sound of the waves on the beach, yet sleep seemed to elude her. She started wondering about Max’s friend, Roland. She climbed out of bed, walked to her wardrobe and studied her collection of clothes. They still smelled of the city. Suddenly two hours didn’t seem like enough time to decide what she was going to wear.
But only an hour later, Max rapped gently on her door.
‘Morning … Roland’s here,’ he called.
‘I’ll be straight down.’
Alicia gave herself one last look in the mirror and sighed, then she tiptoed down the stairs. Max and his friend were waiting for her outside, on the porch. Before going out she stopped in the hallway and listened to the two boys chatting. She took a deep breath and opened the door.
Max was leaning on the railings. He turned round and smiled at her. Next to him stood a boy with tanned skin and straw-coloured hair who was almost half a head taller. He smiled shyly at her. He had the greenest eyes she had ever seen.
‘This is Roland,’ said Max. ‘Roland, my sister, Alicia.’
Roland nodded politely and turned towards the bicycles, but the look that had passed between the two did not go unnoticed by Max. He smiled to himself. This outing was going to be more fun than he’d thought.
‘How are we going to do this?’ asked Alicia. ‘There are only two bikes.’
‘I think Roland could take you on his,’ replied Max. ‘What do you think, Roland?’
Roland stared at the ground. ‘Yes, of course,’ he mumbled. ‘But you’ll have to carry the gear.’
Max clamped Roland’s diving equipment onto the small rack behind his seat. He knew there was another bicycle in the shed, but the thought of Roland having to transport his sister amused him. Alicia sat sideways on the handlebars and held on to Roland’s neck. Despite Roland’s tan, Max noticed how he was struggling not to blush.
‘Ready,’ said Alicia. ‘I hope I’m not too heavy.’
‘Let’s go,’ pronounced Max, and he began pedalling along the road.