“Where are my smokes?”
“You missed an amazing sunset.”
“Jimmy, did you see my cigarettes?”
“The sky turned lilac.”
“Oh, yeah, the sky. Cut out the sissy crap and light the lamp, I’ve got to have a smoke. ”
“Look in your pockets.”
“Hand me the lamp, Jimmy, please, before I lose my patience.”
“You’re a moron, Clemen.”
“And you’re a pain in the ass. Give me the damn lamp. ”
“There’re your cigarettes, look. ”
“Where?”
“From here I can see the reflection of the package next to the carboy of water.
“Oh, you’re right. Shit. I’ve only got half a pack left. Let me count. Eleven cigs. Let’s hope Mono Harris comes tomorrow and bring us more supplies.”
“Let’s hope.”
“He promised.”
“He said he’d return tomorrow if the National Guard had quit snooping around the island.”
“What if they stay? We’ve only got enough provisions for one day.”
“We’ve got to be careful, Clemen. Use the least. ”
“What a drag to have to eat canned sardines and drink water after the fresh seafood and whiskey we had at Don Mincho’s house. And you were thinking we’d be in Punta Cosigüina by now. ”
“I don’t think the soldiers will hang around for long. It’s a private island. They’ll finish their search tomorrow then leave.”
“Unless the caretaker or his wife or daughters rat on us, or they go to the hamlet and the guide and oarsmen open their fat traps. Then they’ll stay and look for us, Mono Harris won’t be able to bring us provisions, and we’ll go straight to Hell in a handbasket. ”
“Stop torturing yourself with what-ifs. If they rat on us, they rat on themselves. Nobody’s going to say anything.”
“The shipwreck this afternoon was a tragedy, Jimmy. I lost all my cigarettes and the bottle of whiskey.”
“We lost the shotgun, the gun, our shoes, the money. We very nearly drowned. And all you think about is your whiskey? Be grateful we’re still alive.”
“A drink would do me so much good at this moment.”
“Me, too.”
“It’s your own fault, and the guide’s. You think Mono Harris will pay him?”
“Of course. ”
“Why should he? He didn’t get us to Punta Cosigüina, which was the deal, and he almost got us drowned. And it was his fault, when we capsized we lost the money we were going to pay him with when we got there.”
“It wasn’t his fault, it was the weather.”
“The weather?! The shipwreck was your and the guide’s fault, you were so determined to keep going when the waves were already dangerous. I warned you we should turn around. But since you’re a stubborn ass. Don’t now start pretending to be all nice and understanding.”
“We had to try to leave when we had the opportunity. Don’t be such an ingrate. You should thank the guide for going to get Mono Harris while we waited on the beach after the wreck. ”
“. ”
“It was all so weird, Clemen: that squall, those swells, they appeared out of nowhere. There was no storm anywhere, the sky was completely clear. Doesn’t that seem strange to you?”
“What, now you think the sea has to give you an explanation? Don’t give me this shit, Jimmy. There weren’t any clouds but that wind was very strong. There are none so blind as those who will not see, as my grandmother used to say.”
“Pass me the water. I’m thirsty.”
“Pass me the lamp, and I’ll pass you the water.”
“What do you want the lamp for?”
“What do you want the water for?”
“Look, Clemen, it’s about time you started acting like a grown-up.”
“You, too. Pass me the lamp. You know very well I don’t like the dark.”
“I don’t understand what I’m doing with you. It’s like some kind of a punishment.”
“I tell myself the same thing.”
“Pass me the god-damn water!”
“Don’t shout at me, you turd!
“Don’t call me a turd!”
“. ”
“. ”
“Jimmy, what was that?”
“What?”
“That splashing. Over here, on my left.”
“I didn’t hear anything.”
“Shh. You hear?”
“You’re right.”
“What the fuck is it, Jimmy?”
“A fish.”
“Fish are in the water, not out of it. It’s probably a snake.”
“Here, Clemen, take the lamp. Turn it on and move it to that side. careful.”
“You got the gun ready?”
“Uh-huh.”
“You see something?”
“Nothing.”
“I think we’re too close to the mangroves, Jimmy. A snake, or all kinds of other creatures, can jump down on us from the branches. We should move the boat more into the middle of the canal.”
“We’re about ten feet from the branches. And if we go more to the middle, we run the risk of being seen by a fisherman or the soldiers. Here we’re more hidden: in an emergency, we can slip into the swamp and disappear.”
“I’m afraid a snake or a monkey is going to jump on my neck.”
“You and your dramas. Turn off the lamp and pass me the water.”
“Let’s leave it on for a while.”
“We’re using up the kerosene just for the hell of it.”
“No, we aren’t. The light scares off the creepy crawly things.”
“On the contrary: look at the tons of mosquitoes. They’re going to eat us alive. Turn it off, you’ll be more afraid when we’ve got the soldiers on top of us.”
“You think they’re going to be poking around at night in these swamps?”
“Better not be overconfident.”
“It’s that asshole with the gold tooth who wanted to confess to you who’s after us. Mono Harris himself said he was a motherfucker. By now he must have realized we took him for a ride. ”
“Too bad I didn’t have a chance to confess him; it would have been a hoot.”
“They must have wired our photos from the capital, and he recognized us.”
“Mono Harris would have said something, but all he said was that the National Guard is inspecting the island, just like they inspect all properties; he didn’t say they knew we were hiding there.”
“We were doing so well at Don Mincho’s, like a vacation. The best ten days I’ve spent in a long time. The only thing missing were girls.”
“Look: a shooting star. ”
“Where?”
“There, just above Mars.”
“Let’s make a wish.”
“My only wish is to leave this country as soon as possible.”
“We could also wish the soldiers don’t catch us, and that they leave the island and don’t come back, so we can get out of these swamps and return to Don Mincho’s house.”
“What then? We’re going to spend the rest of our lives waiting till they just happen to drop in on us?”
“I’d rather that than drown. No way in hell I’m getting back in a canoe and back out onto the high seas. If you want to try it again, you can go to Punta Cosigüina alone. ”
“. ”
“It’s true, right, you learned your lesson, too?”
“It was a miracle, Clemen. ”
“Damn right it was a miracle. If it hadn’t been for that sand bank, we would’ve drowned. And luckily the upside-down canoe was floating on the empty water barrel. If the canoe had sunk, we wouldn’t have lived to tell it.”
“That’s not what I was talking about.”
“About how long were we floating around holding onto the canoe, adrift and about to drown, until we hit the sand bank?”
“I’m telling you it was a miracle because I prayed to the Virgin. ”
“At least a quarter of an hour, hovering between life and death. I still can’t believe it.”