Klara and the Sun(47)

Indeed, Rick had come walking up the plank steps and glanced towards the house, but had then sat down on the top step, his back turned to us once more.

‘I must return to Josie,’ I said then. ‘It was very kind of Miss Helen to take me into her confidence. I’ll do as you ask and speak with Josie.’

‘And speak with her repeatedly. This is Rick’s only chance. And as I say, I have a secret weapon. A contact. Perhaps the next time Chrissie takes Josie into the city, perhaps when she next sits for her portrait, Rick and I could cadge a ride. Then Rick could meet my secret weapon, hopefully impress him. Chrissie and I have already spoken about it. But all of this is useless until Rick changes his attitude.’

‘I understand. Then goodbye. I must go now.’

When I stepped out onto the platform, I could feel the wind blowing through the gaps of the planks more strongly than before. The fields were no longer divided into boxes, so I could see a single clear picture all the way to the horizon. Despite the altered angles, Mr McBain’s barn was where I expected it to be, though now a slightly changed shape to the one from Josie’s rear window.

I walked past the cobweb refrigerator to the top plank where Rick was seated. I thought he might still be angry and ignore me, but he looked up with gentle eyes.

‘I’m sorry if my visit caused friction,’ I said.

‘Hardly your fault. It often gets like that.’

We both looked at the fields before us, and I realized after a moment that his gaze, like mine, was on Mr McBain’s barn.



‘You were saying something,’ he said. ‘Before Mum came down. You were saying how you wanted to go out to that barn for some reason.’

‘Yes. And it will have to be in the evening. It’s essential to time such a trip accurately.’

‘And you’re sure you don’t want me to go with you?’

‘It’s very kind of Rick. But if there are informal trails leading to Mr McBain’s barn, it’s best I go alone. It’s important I don’t take anything for granted.’

‘Okay. If you say so.’ He was squinting up at me, partly on account of the Sun’s pattern on his face, but also, I realized, because he was once again studying me carefully, perhaps assessing my ability to make such a journey. ‘Look,’ he said eventually. ‘I don’t really understand what this is about. But if it’s going to help Josie to get better, then, well, good luck.’

‘Thank you. Now I must return to the house.’

‘You know, I’ve been thinking about it,’ he said. ‘Perhaps you could tell Josie I really liked her picture. That I was grateful. And that if it’s okay with her, I’d like to come over soon and tell her that myself.’

‘Josie will be so happy when she hears.’

‘Maybe tomorrow even.’

‘Yes, of course. Well then, goodbye. It was a very interesting trip for me. Thank you for your useful advice.’

‘See you, Klara. Go carefully.’



* * *



—

The timing of my journey to Mr McBain’s barn, as I’d told Rick, was crucial, and when I crossed the loose stones towards the picture frame gate for the second time that day, a fear came into my mind that I’d miscalculated. The Sun was already low before me – and I couldn’t assume the second and third fields would be as easy to navigate as the first.



My journey began reassuringly, the informal trail to Rick’s house similar to what it had been in the morning. This time I had both hands to push away the grass, and as I did so, evening insects flew up. I saw more insects hovering before me in the air, nervously exchanging positions, but unwilling to abandon their friendly clusters.

My fear of not reaching Mr McBain’s barn in time caused me to give only a brief glance at Rick’s house as I passed it, and then I was further along the informal trail, beyond any point I’d been. I went through another picture frame gate, then the grass became too tall to see the barn any more. The field became partitioned into boxes, some larger than others, and I pressed on, conscious of the contrasting atmospheres between one box and another. One moment the grass would be soft and yielding, the ground easy to tread; then I’d cross a boundary and everything would darken, the grass would resist my pushes, and there would be strange noises around me, making me fearful that I’d made a serious miscalculation, that there was no justifiable reason to disturb his privacy in the manner I was hoping to do, that my efforts would have gravely negative consequences for Josie. While crossing one particularly unkind box, I heard around me the cries of an animal in pain, and a picture came into my mind of Rosa, sitting on the rough ground somewhere outdoors, little pieces of metal scattered around her, as she reached out both hands to grasp one of her legs stretched out stiffly before her. The image was in my mind for only a second, but the animal carried on making its noise, and I felt the ground collapsing beneath me. I remembered the terrible bull on the walk up to Morgan’s Falls, and how in all probability it had emerged from beneath the ground, and for a brief moment, I even thought the Sun wasn’t kind at all, and this was the true reason for Josie’s worsening condition. Even in this confusion, I was convinced that if I could only pull myself through into a kinder box, I’d become safe. I’d also been aware of a voice calling to me, and I now spotted an object – shaped like one of the overhaul men’s traffic cones – placed in the grass a little ahead of me. The voice was coming from behind this cone, and when I tried to move towards it, I realized it was in fact two cones, one inserted into the other, allowing the higher one to perform a rocking motion, perhaps to draw the attention of passers-by.