The Elephant in the Room

by Holly Goldberg Sloan

  On Wednesday, she spoke with her mother for almost an hour, staring at the computer screen as Oya talked about the weather and different relatives, and finally her mother sang to her as she did when Sila was little. Oya called the tune “The Sila Song.” Sila felt like she couldn’t swallow while she was listening.

  She didn’t say anything about her proposed plan for working at Gio’s, and she didn’t bring up Mateo. She had decided her mother had enough to worry about. That week Sila and Mateo had read their books but not talked in their twenty-minute sessions at the end of the school day. They had a real connection now, so there was no need to do more than pass the time in the stuffy room.

  Did the Facilitator know they always walked home together? Did he see that they ate lunch at the same table? Did he realize Mateo had given Sila half of his tuna fish sandwich every day this week and that she had given him a package of almonds and a piece of pita bread? Were they passing or failing the experiment? It made no difference to them.

  On Thursday as the two kids approached Mateo’s house, Sila said, “I want to come in and see your mom. Is that okay?”

  “Yeah.”

  Then Mateo’s attention shifted. He would be seeing his dog. Mateo took out his house key and they went inside to a routine that looked joyous on both sides of the kid/dog equation. Mateo turned into a different person briefly. Waffles went crazy. While that was all happening, Rosa Lopez appeared, this time not holding a fragile teacup.

  “Hey Mrs. Lopez.”

  “Sila . . . what a surprise!”

  “Remember? I said I was coming over.”

  “Yes. You did. Forgive me. I wasn’t sure if you really meant that.”

  Mateo and Waffles were on the floor wrestling. They were both making squealing sounds.

  “Can I get you something to drink? It’s hot out there today.”

  Sila would have liked tea, but that might remind Mateo’s mom about the broken cup, so she shook her head. “No, thank you.”

  Mrs. Lopez stared down at her son. Her eyes narrowed. Sila looked over. Did he have a rubber dog bone in his mouth? “Mateo!” Mrs. Lopez shouted. “What have I said about that?”

  It was unclear if Mateo released the toy or if Waffles just gained an advantage during the distraction, but the dog took off into the living room.

  It was too much work making small talk with an adult she didn’t know, so Sila got right to the point. “Have you thought any more about what Mateo will do this summer?”

  Mateo was still on the floor, but now he sat up.

  Rosa Lopez looked uncomfortable. “The plan is for him to go to coding camp.”

  Mateo got to his feet as Sila continued with her appeal. “Not everything you need to learn in life happens when you’re sitting at a desk. Having a good time causes you to be smarter. I’m not making that up; I read it somewhere online. It turns out the brain expands in a good way when a person is having fun.”

  Mateo looked over at his mother and said, “At school they told us we’re supposed to keep a journal this summer. I feel like I’d have more to write about riding my bike and helping an old guy with an elephant than going to coding camp.”

  His mom seemed surprised. “I haven’t heard about the journal assignment.”

  Sila could feel something shifting. “They are saying it’s to show we used our time wisely, whatever that means. But it’s really so that we remember what we were like years later when we reread it. At least that’s what I think. There hasn’t been a lot about this school year I want to remember. I’m hoping the summer is different.”

  Mrs. Lopez and Mateo had no idea what she was talking about, but neither of them pressed for an explanation.

  Sila had rehearsed the last part of her argument in her head a few times, so her delivery was solid. “What if we went out to Gio’s and you got to meet Veda and, of course, Gio? You might see it differently after that.”

  27.

  On Saturday Rosa and Mateo Lopez were at the Tekins’ apartment building at ten in the morning. Sila came out carrying two gallons of apple juice. She was excited as she climbed in the back seat of their car. She looked up to the second floor and saw her father standing at the window. She waved and he waved back.

  Mateo was up front with his mother and he wasn’t wearing his camouflage outfit. Instead he had on new blue overalls with his regular green T-shirt and a red bandanna tied around his neck. A straw hat was on his head and he was holding leather gloves. He looked like a scarecrow, which was better in Sila’s opinion than Elmer Fudd, the cartoon rabbit chaser.

  Sila hoped she sounded cheerful as she said “Good morning.” Mateo was silent but his mother answered, “Good morning!” Sila held up the containers. “I brought apple juice for Veda. I read online that elephants like flavored water and fruit juice.”

  “That was very sweet of you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “How will she drink it?” Mrs. Lopez asked.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe we could put it in a pail and she could sip it through her trunk.”

  Mateo didn’t look up, but he was obviously paying attention, because he said, “People think elephants drink that way, but they don’t. Her trunk is really a nose and an upper lip. They can suck stuff into the trunk, but then they shoot it back out into their mouths. It’s not a drinking straw.”

  At the exact same time, Sila and his mom both said, “I didn’t know.” Then they both laughed.

  Mateo added, “It might be the most amazing body part in all of the animal kingdom.”

  Mrs. Lopez took her car out of park and into drive. “Okay then, let’s go see one of these things.”

  They hadn’t gone far before Mrs. Lopez said, “I hope I get to meet your mother soon.”

  Sila tried to keep her face expressionless. She wasn’t sure it was working. She managed, “She’s traveling right now.”

  “On business?”

  Sila considered how to answer, but then decided to go with the truth. “No. She has immigration problems. She’s not in the country.”

  “Oh no, really? I’m so sorry, Sila. How long has she been gone?”

  “Two hundred and eighty-four days.”

  Mrs. Lopez gasped. “Ohmygosh, that’s awful!”

  Sila could hear Mateo exhale in a long, wheezing way, and she suddenly felt so much worse. Yes. It was awful. So awful, it wasn’t something to be shared. Sila closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to cry. Not now. Not here. Then she blurted out, “It’s not her fault. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

  Mrs. Lopez looked up into the rearview mirror. “Oh goodness, I’m so sorry. Of course not. I didn’t mean to pry. I just . . .”

  Sila still had her eyes pressed closed. Then she suddenly had another problem. Her stomach lurched as if she’d been punched. This was not good. She called out, “Could you pull over?”

  Mrs. Lopez swerved somewhat recklessly to the side of the road and put on the brakes. Sila opened the car door just in time to vomit in the gutter.

  * * *

  Mateo’s red bandanna saved the day. He untied the thing from his neck and wordlessly extended his hand to the back seat. Sila used the cotton cloth to wipe both her face and then the edge of the car door, which had caught part of the splash of her morning breakfast.

  She sat back in her seat as Mrs. Lopez fumbled a string of “Are you okay?” mixed in with very sincere apologies. Sila finally managed to say she was all right and that they should get back on the road. She mumbled to Mateo, “Thanks for the bandanna.”

  She didn’t expect him to answer her, but then she heard him say, “You can keep it.”

  No sooner were the words out of his mouth than Mateo started to laugh. Sila immediately started to laugh as well. Then Mrs. Lopez joined them, albeit with some nervous energy mixed in.

  And then Sila realized that the best part of wha
t was happening was she’d never heard Mateo laugh hard before.

  Gio was happy to see the group. And equally as excited to learn Rosa had tuna fish sandwiches. Plus there were not just peanut butter cookies and chips this time, but a tin of caramel corn. After introductions were made and the sandwiches were placed inside the farmhouse in the refrigerator, Gio got a bucket for Sila’s two gallons of apple juice. Then they piled into the golf cart and went down to the pond.

  Gio rolled to a stop at the crest of the hill. Veda wasn’t in the water. She was standing at a distance from the pond in an area with five-foot-high manzanita bushes. Her trunk rose to inhale the odor of the visitors. She then backed up, positioning herself behind a birch tree while she watched them.

  “She sees I’ve brought guests.”

  Sila whispered, “Is she trying to hide?”

  “I think so. But she’s an elephant, so that’s not easy.”

  Maybe having decided the new people were worth investigating, Veda stepped out from behind the birch tree and sauntered into the open.

  Gio called out, “Hello, Veda! We’ve got company!”

  Rosa managed, “Oh my. She’s so big!”

  Veda’s tail swayed from side to side like a dog’s. She moved her head in a similar fashion. Then she turned back toward the birch tree.

  Gio shook his head knowingly. “She’s going to show off.”

  Veda approached the tall tree and put her forehead up against the trunk. She then stepped forward, using her body weight in an assault on the birch tree. The tree wobbled and then roots began snapping, rising up from the pebbly soil at the elephant’s feet. Veda pushed harder and the tree made a ripping sound and then popped up from the ground and fell over with a thunderous smash.

  No one moved in the golf cart, but Sila whispered, “Holy cow.” Then Gio said, “Holy elephant,” adding, “She’ll eat that tree now; pretty much every last scrap.”

  As if on cue, Veda began putting branches into her mouth, crunching bark and leaves.

  Gio worried that this display of strength might be too much for Mateo’s mother. But he was wrong. Rosa Lopez looked thrilled. She had turned her attention from Veda to her son, who, along with Sila, was transfixed.

  Sila asked, “Mr. Gio, where was Veda born?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t find out. That day was just a blur. But Chester said her parents were also in a circus. They were all Asian elephants.”

  “So you think she was born in the U.S.?”

  Gio was uncertain. “Yes. Probably.”

  “So she’s an Asian American elephant.”

  Gio thought about this. “Good point.”

  “But do animals still belong to a part of the world if they’ve never been to the place?” Sila asked.

  “I think it’s just a way of talking about what kind of elephant she is.”

  “What about people?” Sila continued. “You could say I’m a Turkish American. My father and mother are Turkish. But I feel like just an American. With Turkish parents.”

  Gio answered with: “I’m sure there are certain things from your parents that other kids you know don’t have.”

  Rosa joined the discussion. “I’m from Mexico. But I came here as a little girl. I speak Spanish at home to Mateo most of the time. The culture around you becomes so much of who you are.”

  “I’m not sure what culture even is,” Sila said.

  “You kids are lucky to have such interesting heritage,” said Gio.

  “I guess. But everyone has a heritage.”

  Mateo had been silent, and now he spoke. “Cultural heritage is the selected legacy of both physical and intangible attributes of a group passed from one generation to another.”

  Gio nodded. “Mateo, you have an impressive mind.”

  “Thank you.”

  Sila added, “I don’t even totally understand what you just said, but Mateo, I agree.”

  28.

  After they’d returned to the farmhouse and eaten the lunch that Mrs. Lopez had brought, Sila and Mateo got the wheelbarrows and started elephant poop collection. As they rounded the corner behind the barn they both abruptly stopped. Was the big pile moving? The mound they’d made just days before looked as if it was alive. As they stepped closer Sila realized it was covered with birds.

  “Mateo, what’s going on?”

  Sila and Mateo saw larks, magpies, blue jays, and crows pecking at the pile. The birds at once all took flight, landing in nearby trees, watching the two kids with what felt like irritation. With the birds gone, insects could be seen circling in the air, forming a moving cloud of gnats, dragonflies, bees, and flies. The teeming crust of the poo pile had ladybugs, grasshoppers, and beetles mixing with moths, butterflies, and spiders.

  Sila waved her arms like a windmill to scatter the flying swarm, and then crouched down to get a better view. “Look at all the ants! And the larvae. It’s infested with bugs!”

  Mateo got a shovel and stuck it into the decaying dung, revealing dozens of reddish-gray worms. Sila stepped back. “It’s like a horror movie!”

  They both edged away, and the birds, impatient to return to their feast, dove down to the pile.

  Sila turned to Mateo. “We made the world’s greatest bird feeder!”

  And for the second time that day she heard him laugh.

  They went to get the adults. Gio hadn’t been back behind the barn and he had no idea that Veda’s manure was causing such an explosion.

  “This is proof that changing one thing causes a ripple effect to everything else,” he said. “In the last few nights I’ve seen a skunk, two possums, and a raccoon. So I think it’s not just birds and bugs that have found a new home. Up until now I wasn’t sure why.”

  Mateo pointed up at the utility wires. There was a line of thick-tailed gray squirrels staring down at them.

  Sila bent close to the ground. “I think these are mouse turds.”

  “There’s never just one mouse,” Sila heard Mrs. Lopez half whisper.

  Mateo stared skyward again, and Sila followed his gaze to a red-tailed hawk circling directly above. Gio noticed it too. “That’s a beauty. I heard owls hooting last night. I’m guessing that’s all part of this.”

  Sila was pleased. “Do you think your place is turning into an animal sanctuary?”

  Gio laughed. “It’s already an elephant sanctuary.”

  Mateo’s mother wondered, “Have you seen any deer?”

  Sila had an idea. “You should put up security cameras. You could see what’s going on out here at night.”

  “I’m not sure I want to know.”

  Mateo looked down from the sky to the manure pile. “I do.”

  “It’s not just animals.” Mrs. Lopez ventured closer to the manure. “All kinds of plants are sprouting in here.”

  Sila crouched at Mateo’s mother’s side. “I see what you mean.”

  “Veda eats a lot of vegetables and grains with seeds,” said Gio. “Maybe some of it just passes right through.”

  As they walked back to the farmhouse Gio found he was wishing even more than usual that Lillian could be there. She used to say the best way to teach something was to show it, not just tell someone about it. That gave him the resolve to put up cameras. He would position them inside and outside the barn. Maybe he’d even put one up by the pond. It was obvious to him that the elephant poop was a powerful thing that was altering the habitat of this part of the Willamette Valley.

  They stayed later than Sila would have imagined. Driving home she stared out the window uncertain whether the trip was a success. She knew that it had been a great day for her and Mateo, but what was his mother thinking? What would the summer bring?

  When they’d gone to say goodbye to Veda, Gio had walked down to the edge of the pond with her for the first time. She held the old man’s hand as Veda waded
toward them. Sila stood as still as stone, clutching Gio’s hand tightly as the elephant’s trunk took a sniff of the top of her head. They weren’t just getting to know each other. They were learning to trust each other. That was the beginning of real friendship.

  Sila knew that Veda woke up each morning to a better world. But she didn’t know that the elephant watched the sun at the end of the day turn the green hills to gold. Or that Veda began to understand more than the patterns of her new existence. There was an ever-changing sky overhead. And the red earth at her feet. There was water in a large pond with always-muddy shores. There were shrubs and trees and grass and brambles, bugs and birds, and a constant, fluttering wind. But the most important things were the wise man making the decisions about her life and the young girl who came to visit.

  At night when Veda drifted off to sleep she could not believe her good fortune. The endless road was over. She had been released from prison into a world filled with kindness. She could now remember the things from the past that brought her joy. In a daze before sleep she would see her mother. Veda felt her giving her strength.

  Veda was the dreamer in this dream.

  29.

  Sila was in her room when her father called out, “Come look at this with me! It’s from Gio.”

  At the mention of his name Sila bounced up off her bed and into the kitchen, where her father had his laptop open. They both watched footage of a mountain lion making an attempt to scale the stone barricade around Gio’s property.

  “Look at that!” Alp exclaimed.

  “Wow. Dad, it’s a cougar, right?”

  “It is. And he didn’t come from a circus. He came from the mountains.”

  “But not to see an elephant,” Sila said. “I bet he wanted some of the furry animals at the poo pile.”

  “Gio’s going to have to start getting rid of that stuff.”