She looks good. Less than in its paid sletterig dress, in so far as a child can look like sletterig there. The word reminds him to the wife. Sletterig, a word as a game that is played for a long time not.
'I am Jörgen ship's steward,' he says, 'there is just called on behalf of me. For one or two nights. Do I need to register somewhere?'
'All comes later," she says.
A man comes on him. A white. The man shows a young Frenchman. It is called a ship's steward welcome, says that all formalities will be dealt with later, asks whether they want to eat something first. Also the baggage will later be removed from the vehicle. Now they should first but rest. Relax.
Ship's steward is led to a table. He is so tired that he forget to turn off his hat. Too tired to brands or and how there to him and the child is being looked at carefully.
If a basket with home-baked bread on the table appears, food he and the child the within five minutes.
'Kaisa,' he says, 'we are there. We are almost there.'
And finally she says what. For the first time that day. With a smile on her face, a smile that almost seems ironic. 'Meneer," she says, 'more bread, dates.'
He beckons one of the girls. They come with more bread. The girl remains at the table and look at the child.
'Your daughter?' she asks.
'My cousin,' says ship's steward.
This will start the girl to sing. She sings in a language which he cannot mean and she makes klak noises with its tongue. She has a beautiful voice, but he wants no singing. He wants to eat, sleep, disappear.
If the girl is sung, caresses on her arm ship's steward Kaisa. While they are in a piece of homemade bread nibbles.
'Not all bread food,' whispers, 'otherwise have a ship's steward you will not be hungry.'
Also it stops chewing. She smiles at the man with whom they are already a few days on a trip.
It makes its not, he thinks. It makes its not from who i am. Also indifference can forgiveness.
After the meal he gives the car keys to a boy who the luggage for a preview of the hut. But after a few minutes the boy is back. He gets the tailgate will not open.
'I think that there are too many sand and dust in the lock,' he says. 'We will tomorrow rinsing. But I am afraid that you now without luggage must spend the night. Is that a big problem? If you have something?'
'No,' says ship's steward. 'No problem. We needed anything.'
They are by the Frenchman to their stay. The cabins are relatively far away from each other. They must be carefully walk. The road is marked with stones, but there is not a lot of light. Sand and dust everywhere.
'Beware,' says the Frenchman. 'Meestal the guests previously. If the light is still.'
The hut meets Hofmeesters expectations. A bed, a fan, a spray against insects, a shower.
'If you want,' says the Frenchman, 'you can sleep on top of the roof. There are blankets. Some people find it convenient to under the starry sky to sleep. It is a special experience. An attraction.'
They walk from the outside toward the rear of the hut, where a ladder condition.
The child has remained within.
Ship's steward nods. 'Are you already long here?' he asks.
'a year or three,' says the Frenchman. 'It is really time that I will continue. But I cannot say goodbye. The desert is addictive.'
They look at the top, to the hut and to the bed that is located on the roof. No bid farewell to. It is a ship's steward known for and we are not. What is so special about this place is that you can?
'And how are you here?" requires a ship's steward.
The Frenchman laughs. "I wanted to know what else.' He is also still as if he expects that there will be even more questions. Than he says: 'Well, I leave you alone. Tomorrow we paint cleaning your car and you will hopefully your luggage. And then you must also show you know which excursions you want to join them.'
Ship's steward goes back into the cabin. He washes his hands. The water is remarkable warm.
'We have no toothbrush,' he says. 'De toothbrush is still in the back and that they are not open. But it does not, yet?'
He goes away from depends his clothes in a small box.
'Would you like this persist?' he asks. 'Now we need your usual nightdress not with us?' he draws attention to the training pants, the t-shirt.
The child is nodding. It is a good thing.
He looks around. There is no phone in the room. Everything is there, on a telephone after. He opens his own telephone. Range has also not here.
As state in his pants. He saves the blankets open, but then think about something. 'Would you perhaps sleep outside?' he asks. 'Outside. On the roof? In order to watch to heaven? The star?'
He points to the ceiling as if he were a little afraid that they do not understand.
'On the roof?' he asks again.
"Yes," she says, "on the roof.'
A little shocked by this answer with the child ship's steward runs to the rear of the hut. The sandy does not feel uncomfortable with his bare feet. He did not know that they wanted. Sleeping on the roof. Well why not. It is an attraction. Perhaps has done the same Tirza.
'You Go first,' he says. 'If you fall, than to catch up.'
Climb slowly the child the ladder. They are halfway. She looks down.
Go 'but' says ship's steward. He pushes against her buttocks, afraid if he is that they will get unexpected fear of heights. Afraid that they will fall.
The ascent of the ladder costs him more effort than he had expected. Stiff joints, muscle weakness, the expiration.
Without the rather blankets cold on the roof. The nights are fresh in the desert.
He pulls the blankets about themselves and the child.
The child remains shivering.
'come but,' he says, 'I hold you.'
While he holds Kaisa, he looks to the sky. Star. Indeed, as promised. This is nice, he thinks, but why is this nice? It is an appointment? Or find all people the nice without something of the appointment to know?
The Sleeping would not come, while he has traveled throughout the day and tired. After a time he notes that the child does not sleep.
She has her eyes open.
Just as he is. But she looks or sleep with her eyes open?
You need to look at the stars? Is that the intention of this attraction? Specially designed for the westerner, so that this is also know what it is, the naked sky.
'Kaisa,' he says, 'sleep you already?'
There is no answer.
'Have you the cold?' he asks. 'Kaisa?'
Again no answer. He feels something on his cheek. A manual. The basis of Kaisa.
They purr of him, it seems. She has her hand on his face. But its main has not moved.
He is not seeing. The manual remains lie.
Silence. Silence and darkness. That is the desert in the night. Occasionally the sound of the wind.
'You know what it was with Tirza,' he says soft, 'You know what it was?' he does not need to whisper, but he does it. It is so quiet here, his voice seems tens of meters away. 'They seemed to me. That was it. She was… She was…'
The hand moves slowly on his face, as the basis of a blind. It is not a stroke is the search. But what are the hand, Kaisa's hand?
'I came the living room,' he whispers, 'de living room which has been my parents, and there it was. On the table. Tirza. She heard me. He also not. It makes so much noise, Kaisa, sex. It is so noisy, that makes it all the unpleasant for third parties. The noise. The noise. Nothing but noise.'
The hand on the face of a ship's steward does not moving. His mouth. Its ears. His nose. Everything is touched.
'I actually wanted to leave. To the kitchen. I was doing something. I do not remember what. Drinking wine. I think. Italian gewürztraminer. But I stopped. I found it strange that they had heard me. That is why I continued to watch. It was so love Loos, Kaisa. Suddenly I saw that. How love free it was. How To…'