Follow the Elephant

by Beryl Young

  “He presses milk out from the poison glands beside the eyes,” said Rani.

  Ben saw the snake’s eyes flash. “Not a happy snake,” he whispered.

  A third man held a glass dish under the snake’s open mouth. Ben saw the two pale fangs, like long hypodermic needles.

  “Those fangs puncture the skin of a victim and the poison goes into their blood stream. I did a project on cobras at school,” Rani said. “See the yellow serum coming from the fangs into the dish.”

  Shivers rippled up Ben’s entire body. “Do the men ever get bitten?”

  “Sometimes, but watch how calm and slow their movements are. They are followers of the god Shiva, who protects them from snake bites.”

  Ben remembered that Shiva was the father of Ganesh. He also protected people from snake bites? What next?

  Ben took some photographs and caught a good one of the men carrying the snake back to the rocks after they’d finished the milking. As the snake was released, the men stepped back quickly and the snake slithered into a hole under the rocks.

  “My grandmother and I saw snake charmers in Delhi, at the Red Fort. They looked dangerous,” Ben said. “My grandmother spazzed.”

  Rani laughed. “Oh, those snakes are harmless. I see them often in shows and they’ve had their poison sacs removed. When they strike out at the crowd, it’s effective for the shows, but it’s just a trick to make money.”

  “That’s wicked!”

  Rani went on. “I’ll tell you something else. People don’t know it, but cobras are deaf, so the music the snake charmers play on their flutes is just for dramatic effect.”

  “Worked on me!” said Ben.

  Ben stood in the clearing beside Rani. The sun was warm on his back, the scratchy-voiced parrots kept up their raucous calls, monkeys howled from high in the trees, and nearby two incandescent blue and orange butterflies chased each other in a flashing dance.

  None of it felt real to Ben. Here he was, Benjamin Leeson from Vancouver, standing in the jungle beside an Indian girl, a metre away from men milking a poisonous snake! Somehow, the things you saw in India filled your head and didn’t leave space for anything else.

  Rani interrupted Ben’s trance. “It’s after four o’clock, Ben. We’d better get back to your grandmother.”

  He hadn’t given Gran a thought for hours. “You’re right. We have to go.”

  Ben ran for his bike, Rani followed and they wheeled onto the path. Ben began to cycle furiously, glancing behind to be sure Rani was following. How could he be so selfish? He was the only person Gran knew in India and he’d said he’d be back at four. Now it was over twenty-four hours since he’d seen her. She could have started vomiting again. Or worse.

  Bumping over ruts in the road and sliding too fast around corners, Ben heard Rani call out behind him. He braked and turned around. Rani had crashed her bike and was lying on the rough gravel road.

  Ben dropped his bike and ran back, but as he reached her, Rani sat up and looked at Ben with startled eyes. There was dirt on her blouse and along the skin of her arm. She held her arm with her other hand, and her face was twisted in pain.

  This was his fault. He’d rushed away in a panic, thinking that Gran might be dead, and poor Rani had been trying to keep up. His fault.

  “Please help me stand, Ben.” Rani’s voice was unsteady. “Take my other arm.”

  Once on her feet, Rani tried to brush the dirt off her blouse, but Ben could see it hurt too much. Not until she gave him a weak smile could Ben allow himself to speak. “I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I made you rush.”

  “I wasn’t watching and I hit a dip in the road back there. I’m okay, Ben.”

  “Your arm is hurt,” Ben stammered.

  “Not badly. Let’s keep going to the hospital. The outpatient infirmary will take care of it. You should get to your grandmother. Come on, Ben.”

  Ben picked up her bike. At least it was still working. Ben wheeled both bikes beside Rani as she set the pace for a quick trip to the hospital. Rani still used her left hand to support her right arm. She was pale; her arm was probably broken. Ben’s watch said it was almost five. He didn’t know who to worry about the most — his grandmother or Rani. But he knew who was to blame for everything.

  He led Rani to the hospital infirmary, where a nurse told her to take a seat. Rani waved him away. “Leave me here, Ben. Go to your grandmother.”

  “Okay,” Ben said, gratefully. “But I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

  At the end of the long room Gran was sitting up in the hospital bed, eating from food on a tray. Her face looked normal, not the grey colour it had been the day before, but when she saw Ben her lips began to tremble. “Where have you been?”

  “Oh, Gran. I’m sorry I’m so late. I forgot about the time and then —”

  “Ben. I’ve been worried that something had happened to you.” She started to cry; when she tried to wipe her eyes with the hospital gown, she knocked over a bowl on the tray.

  “All night and all day with only the nurses to talk to.” She was making a mess of wiping up the soup and sobbed even harder. “I saw you drowning. Or hit by a truck. And I wasn’t there to help you. I’m responsible for you and I was stuck here.”

  Ben took the tray and put it on the side table. He put his hand on his grandmother’s arm. “I’m sorry. Really sorry. But you shouldn’t have worried. I was fine. Rani took me to watch cobras being milked —”

  “You were watching cobras being milked? Oh, heavens, it scares me out of my mind to hear you say that!” There was soup all over her hospital gown and tears dripping down her face.

  Ben moved closer. “It was so interesting. The snakes were so huge —”

  “Don’t say another word!” Her face was getting red and she was waving her arms wildly in the air.

  A nurse appeared at the bed and leaned over to Gran. “What happened, Mrs. Leeson?”

  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.”

  Dear Mum and Lauren

  Gran will be home tonight. She spazzed when I told her I saw cobras being milked. Now I’ve got Ganesh, the elephant god, helping me 2 find Shanti.

  Good luck in the semis, Lauren.

  Ben

  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.

  Days Ten, Eleven and Twelve

  “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.”