The mako jumbie’s legs collapsed under it. Chichibud jumped down quickly just before it hit the ground. Its head landed with a thump. Its rolling eyes were still. The slash in its neck, still pumping blood, gaped a wet black. Then the flow stilled. Chichibud had chopped the bird right to its neck bone.
He put his knife away and started to limp across the clearing, favouring one leg. “Tan-Tan! Antonio! Where allyou?”
“Chichibud, please—Daddy arm break!”
Antonio was moaning and crying with pain. The sound scraped at her ears. The smell of stale rum from him reminded her of nights when he and Ione would fête till dayclean, shouting and singing all through the mayor house.
“He been drinking that bitter liquid allyou does make,” Chichibud said.
His arm was scraped raw. He put a clawed palm on Antonio’s chest. Antonio quieted a little, looking pleadingly up at him. “Tallpeople,” Chichibud said, “I go help you, understand?”
Antonio nodded.
Chichibud went to the ruin of the destroyed tent and brought back a small packet and the water gourd from the wreckage. “Good the calabash ain’t break, we go need the water.” He unwrapped and picked out two-three pieces of dry bark. He put them in Antonio’s mouth. “Chew this. Is for sleeping. It bitter bad.” Antonio chewed, screwing up his face at the taste. He gagged. “No,” Chichibud said. “Don’t spit it out.” The douen stared at Antonio. “You is pure botheration. Without trail debt, I might left you here just so.”
Little-little, Antonio’s two eyes-them closed down. His head rolled onto his chest and the piece of chewed-up bark fell from his mouth. He relaxed into Chichibud’s arms. Chichibud lowered him to the ground.
“Little one, you must help.” He sliced Daddy’s shirt sleeve with his teeth, tore it away from Daddy’s broken arm. Tan-Tan felt woozy, looking at it. “Cradle his head. Hold he jaw back so he could breathe easy.”
Chichibud washed his hands then Antonio’s arm, using his claws to pick out grit and leaf mould from the break. When he was done he shook the calabash. “Nearly empty. Tomorrow we find some water vine. That bark your daddy chew does make you thirsty.”
He found a straight stick for a splint, and ripped the torn shirt sleeve into a bandage. Then he leaned over Antonio’s two broken ends of bone and spat into them.
“You nasty!” Tan-Tan said.
“It will heal faster so. Is so we mouth water stay.” He stretched Antonio’s arm out straight and gently moved the two ends of bone back together. Tan-Tan screwed up her face at the grinding noise. She looked down at her daddy’s face to see if he felt it, but he was sleeping peacefully.
Chichibud said, “Must reach to Junjuh before it start to rotten.”
He bound Antonio’s arm tightly.
“He go get better, Chichibud?”
“He go sleep quiet. The doctor in Junjuh go make he better.” He held Antonio’s head. “Take his feet.”
They were heavy, but she could do it. They carried Antonio back to the wreckage of the tent. They passed the stiffening corpse of the mako jumbie on the way. The scent of its blood was sweet and sickly, like rotten frangipani flowers. They laid Antonio down. Chichibud burrowed into the mess that had been the tent and surfaced with the yellow cloth.
“Lie beside he and keep he warm.” He covered them both. “Sleep now.”
She sat up, throwing the cloth off in the same moment. “You going and leave we?”
“No. I watching the fire. And it have fresh meat lying out there. I guarding it.” Chichibud laughed shu-shu. “Too besides, you musn’t waste the gifts Bush Poopa does send you. I go smoke the mako jumbie meat over the fire tonight; as much as you and me could carry. And I taking the feathers, for my wife to make a hat to keep the sun off she face. Everybody go know what a brave husband she have.” He made sure that Tan-Tan was comfortable beside her daddy, then covered them both with the fabric that had been their tent. Tan-Tan could hear him twittering and chirping as he tended to the bird.
They were safe. She closed her eyes.
“Tan-Tan! Tan-Tan! Wake up, nuh?” Antonio was cotched up on his good arm.
Tan-Tan sat up and blinked her eyes in the pink morning light. Daddy’s face was grey and haggard-looking. His eyes were red and bleary. But he was smiling.
“You doing good, doux-doux?” he asked. She nodded.
“Tell me that I only had a bad dream last night, nuh? Tell me that I ain’t see a bird big so like a mountain, and it ain’t try to pull off my arm.”
Tan-Tan giggled. Antonio made to sit up all the way, but he cried out and sank back down to the ground.
“It paining you, Daddy?”
“Yes, girl. It paining too bad.”
“I go get Chichibud.”
She scrambled out from under the canvas. The warm pink morning light made the whole forest glow. It had some things like big butterflies dancing in the air, gold and green wings flashing. They were tearing leaves from the bushes with their hands and eating them. A small something was working up inside the ground just in front of her. A head and body popped out of the little mound of soil. It was dark red and furry, with an intelligent face like a mongoose’s. It saw her, wheeped in alarm and jumped back into its hole. What came after five? Yes, six. She always forgot. The mongoose thing had had more legs than six, but it had gone before she could count them all.
Small busy beast noises came from the halwa tree; chucking and chuckling sounds. The air smelt better to her than it had the day before. The glowing light on everything made it hard to focus. Her head hurt a little from it. She squinted and looked round. There was Chichibud sitting by the fire, slicing at something with his knife and eating the strips he cut off.
The mako jumbie legs-them were jooking out of the bush, where Chichibud must have dragged its carcass. The branches over the spot were shaking and sometimes there was a growling and a scrabbling. Tan-Tan imagined animals tearing at the body. She would make sure to stay far away from the trembling branches. She wondered what Mummy was doing this morning, if she was getting ready yet to come and join them. This place ain’t go suit Mummy so good, oui; with no Nursie and no seamstress and no eshu, and all kind of wild animal only looking to make a meal on your bones.