My shovel threw a scoop of dirt out of the grave for the last time. I
straightened, knowing that we’d reached the correct depth, at the samemoment Ruby unbent beside me. The dirt walls came up to our shoulders. We
stared at each other for a second. A wild part of me wanted to ask why we
were burying a dead man, but the impulse passed unvoiced, and we threw our
shovels out of the grave.
The muscles in my shoulders and arms screamed as I leveraged them to
get me out of the ground. I tumbled past the mound of fresh dirt, rose to my
feet, and turned towards Raul .
A small silver glitter drew my eyes to his back pocket. I reached out and
hooked one finger through the metal loop. Out came the keys to his sports
car. I turned them over, appreciating them in the light, then threw them
behind myself.
Neither Ruby nor I wanted to touch Raul. We used our shovels to get
under him and roll his stiff form over the edge of the grave. He hit the
compacted dirt below with a satisfying whump . We smiled at him, admiring
the way he’d landed on his stomach, with his neck twisted at an odd angle
and one eye peering up at us. Then we began shifting the dirt back into the
ground.
It was a slow task, but watching Raul disappear beneath the black dirt and
bones was immensely satisfying. I pictured how he would slowly melt away
down there, his flesh merging with the dirt and his bones joining those of the
animals around him. It was a beautiful image; it made me laugh.
Sweat dripped down my back and over my limbs. It mixed with the dirt
coating me, turning it into mud. A little after lunch, Faye Richardson came
into her yard to hang out her washing. Her eyes passed over us, and she gave
me a curt nod. I nodded back. It was good to have considerate neighbours.
Ruby and I didn’t stop until the ground had been filled in. We had to beat
the soil with the backs of our shovels to compress it. When that stopped being
effective, we jumped on it. Eventually, the mound only protruded from the
rest of the yard a little. I was satisfied with that and stepped back.
“Good job,” I said.
Ruby brushed a strand of dirt-matted hair away from her face. “Thanks
for helping.”
“Of course. Couldn’t leave you to do it by yourself.” I took a deep breath
and let it out slowly. “It’s going to rain soon.”
“I noticed. Shreya must have arranged for the storm. It will wash the blood
off the outside of the house.”
“There’s a hole in your living room window. Make sure you patch it, oryou’ll get water on your carpet.” I tilted my head to the side as I stared at the
grave. “I’m going to go home, okay? I want a shower.”
“Yeah, me, too. Talk to you later, Jo.”
“Bye, Ruby.”
As I walked across the backyard, I stopped to scoop the car keys off the
ground. Then I went around the side of the house and followed the short walk
back to my own yard.
Mr. Korver still stood by his garden across the road, his hose pointed
towards his feet as the water trickled down the drain. I waved to him. He
waved back.
I was a little relieved by that; they made
such a fuss whenever I visited Marwick House, and I was sure they wouldn’t
like the way the dirt smelled. I left clumps of it over my hallway and stairs as
I climbed them.
The shower heated quickly. Plumes of steam rose around me and fogged
the mirror as I peeled off the dirt-caked clothes and dropped them into the
bathtub. They would need to be thrown out… but that was something to deal
with later.
The hot water felt good on my sore muscles. I washed slowly and had to
shampoo my hair twice to remove all of the sediment. When I stepped back
out, I felt revitalised. I stood on the bathmat for a moment, dripping but not
minding, as I admired my hand. The plaster had come off while I was digging
the grave, and I could admire the thousands of black veins that spread from
the finger, across my hand and onto my arm.