Tuesday, October 6, 2009

hills like golden camels

The hills across the valley of the Fergana were velvety and golden like a peach. There were no roads and no trees, just a white building with flaking walls. At the outpatient clinic there was a café with green plastic tables outside, on the shadow of the building. A curtain of vivid colours made of thick cloth, hung across the open door of the café. The Uzbek and the girl with him sat at the table outside the café.
“ How long do we have to wait?” the girl asked. She had taken off her headscarf and put it on the table.
“ Put your scarf back “ the Uzbek said.
“ It is only a pregnancy test, and we have been here for four hours now” she complained.
“ Two teas” the man said into the curtain.
A young man brought two teas and some biscuits.
“Lemon? The young man asked looking at the girl.
“Yes” the girl said without looking up from her book.
The girl looked across at the line of sallow hills.
“They look like golden camels, like camel´s humps” she said.
“ nonsense!”
A woman´s voice called “Natasha Petrova” through the outpatient clinic´s door.
Twenty minutes later they came out , the girl smiled brightly at the nurse , to thank her.
The man looked at the dusty mountains.
“ In six months I will have a beautiful baby girl”
“Do you feel better?” he asked.
“ I feel fine” she said, staring straight into the young waiter eyes.

1 comment:

  1. Interesting to see the shift of cultural background, and the attitude to the pregnancy. I wonder how the husband felt about learning he was about to have a girl, rather than a boy?

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