Sembilan. Three Continent Disease Conversations
“Cholera is not that serious. You can cure it easily…”
“Cholera is not that serious. You can cure it easily…”
A pale moon, the color of muslin, lit the town with the soft touch of cat’s fur. It remained un-wavered by thin grey wisps of cloud that passed in front; the streets were dark with shadows that bulged and re-formed as the figures moved through them, slow stately figures gliding like statues on air, and the women treaded with the soft pat of thongs as girls who kicked puffs of dirt around them flitted this way and that behind serene mothers.
Rory sensed that I wanted to be alone so he arranged to meet me later that evening, then he flagged a jeepney to take him to Smokey Mountain. I just wandered around town.
Karin was with a friend. They came over together, grabbed another chair for our table, and then they sat down. Karin looked pleased to see me. Her friend looked at me with contempt. I didn't look pleased to see Karin.
Karin skipped through the barriers and past a security guard. She took one final look back at me, over her shoulder and her eyes were green as the misty slopes of her Cambrian childhood, glistening despite the cold neon lights.