The Mystic's Miracle

by Noah Alexander

  Helena, usually a very active audience in a fight, was concerned that it might turn violent and she held Maya’s hand and dragged her back

  “Relax Billy,” said she, pulling Maya away from the cabin, “she is your niece.”

  “Don’t abuse me by calling that piece of filth my niece,” he barked and shut the door once more.

  “Please pretend that you didn’t hear it,” she said nervously to Maya, “and come with me to the kitchen. I will make you some lemon sherbet. I would also like to know why you accused him of murdering his brother.”

  The kitchen tent was empty when the two got there. The workers had almost finished hoisting the menagerie tent and were now preparing to shift the animals inside.

  Helena pushed Maya onto a bench and quickly produced a jug of water, some sugar, and a couple of lemons. She made the lemonade in silence keeping one eye on Maya who she felt might jump at any moment and confront Billy once more. Maya felt the same and it took a lot of self-control to keep herself sitting on the bench. She did not like people calling her filth, that was one of the many things that made her really mad, especially from the mouths of people she thought were filth themselves.

  “Here darling,” said Helena handing her a large glass of lemonade. She poured some for herself and settled down beside Maya.

  “Nothing like a sherbet to cool off a boiling head.”

  Maya took a sip and actually felt a little better. She imagined Bill lying on the ground, bleeding and with a broken nose, and took one more sip. She felt even better. At the end of the glass, Maya was able to breathe normally again.

  “Now tell me,” said Helena sensing the change in her demeanor, “why did you think that Billy had a hand in Harold’s death.”

  “No, it just came out in anger,” said Maya, “I have nowhere near enough facts to infer that. I am still learning how not to let emotions impact my conclusions. Not doing very well it seems.”

  “But why did it even come up,” asked Helena, clearly yearning to know more.

  “I was in Harold’s room,” said Maya, “And I just lay down for a bit to rest and someone broke into the room. As I opened my eyes he rushed out and in the direction of Bill’s cabin. When I asked him about it, he became aggressive and pushed me out but not before I verified that he was indeed the one who had broken into Harold’s room. He was there to get something. I am not sure what, but it must have been something important that is why he would risk it with me sleeping inside.”

  “This is very interesting,” said Helena, “Now, I don’t want to imply anything, you know, but I have actually been thinking about Billy as well. I also had a feeling that he might have a hand in it.”

  “And what facts have you in support of that feeling”

  Helena looked around the tent, then leaned closer to Maya.

  “This is the afternoon of Harold’s death that I am talking about,” she said, “I was coming from the kitchen to ladies' tent and there were not many people around. Now, I didn’t intend to eavesdrop but Harold was so loud that it became impossible not to overhear him. Anyway, he was shouting at Billy. I could not hear it all but he was very angry at him. I didn’t think anything about it then, you know, fights happen between brothers all the time. But then that same evening Harold jumped to death and I couldn’t help but think that the fight in the morning could have something to do with it. What do you think?”

  Maya didn’t answer Helena, her mind was already buzzing with possibilities and theories. The stakes had suddenly grown steeper. If Bill indeed had a hand in Harold’s death, Maya would never get a sweeter chance to make him pay for all his lifetime’s worth of mistakes.

  EIGHTEEN

  An Old Acquaintance

  “Come,” said Ernst putting his arms across his father and trying to pull him up, “Let’s get out of here.”

  “Where are you taking me,” said his father crumbling back upon the floor, “there is a bank holiday today, we can get you to your office tomorrow. No reason to be so impatient.”

  Ernst was exasperated.

  “Wake up father,” he said shaking his father vigorously, “this is not our house. You are in a dark room in an ashram and you have been here for the past three days. And just so you know mother is not here, she is in our house right now and is very worried for you. I am here to take you to her.”

  “What are you saying son,” his father ran his hands upon Ernst’s face as if deeply concerned for him, “Are you unwell. Can’t you see your mother standing here?”

  He pointed to the door.

  “There is no one there, father, come let’s get out of this place.”

  Once more he tried to pick up his father, but the old man was in no condition to stand let alone walk. He crumpled once more upon the floor and slid away from his son.

  “Where do you want to take me,” he said slightly angry.

  “To your house.”

  “This is my house.”

  Ernst didn’t even try to correct him. He didn’t think his words were having any effect on him. Something was terribly wrong with this place, he would not be able to take his father out willingly. He had to find some other way, and quick. Even with the incense sticks extinguished, this place was making him nauseous, and he had to be in his office tomorrow or Horace Ibrahim would make sure that he felt much worse.

  The only way that occurred to him was to go out and ask for the help of the man who had led him to this place. He had been lucky once with a lie, perhaps the Guru’s blessing was still with him.

  “Wait here,” Ernst told his father, “I will be right back.”

  “Don’t leave son,” Ernst heard his father say feebly as he opened the door and slip out into the dark lobby, “You are not well. I think I need to take you to the Guru. It is obvious that something is wrong with you.”

  Ernst trundled slowly up the dark lobby and came to a halt at the door at the end. It was locked from the outside. He knocked, hoping that the man who had brought him here would open the door. It was a long time before his knock was heeded. Twice he heard people shout at him from the various rooms in the lobby.

  “Go away, milkman,” one of the ladies spoke, “I don’t need milk today.”

  Another man was even more vocal in voicing his displeasure, “If you don’t stop chopping that tree,” he said threateningly, “I would come down there personally and use your ax on your idiot's head.”

  The man sounded serious enough and Ernst was glad when he heard a lock click open on the other side of the door.

  His relief, though, was short-lived. Staring at him, when the door opened, was the face of Manu. The same man who had assaulted him at the gate.

  “How did you enter the ashram,” the large man hissed pulling him out of the lobby and locking the door once more, “and what are you doing here in the private meditation room.”

  “As I said before,” Ernst said trying to look into the eyes of the towering man, “I am looking for my father and the Guru said he was to be found here.”

  “Do not lie,” said the man. Apparently, the trick of the guru did not work on all the men around.

  “I am not. Ask one of your men. He led me inside. And I was right as well, my father is in one of these rooms.”

  “So why didn’t you bring him out with you?”

  “Well, he is not strong enough to come out. So I need some help to lift him out of the ashram.”

  The man studied Ernst’s face for a long time.

  “This is the worst lie that I have heard in a while, peacock,” he said, his manner turning threatening, “you are here to investigate, aren’t you? One of those crazy men complained and you are sneaking in to investigate.”

  Ernst was not sure what this man was talking about, but he sure did plan to come back with some more men to investigate this place. If he managed to get out, that is.

  “You are mistaken,” Ernst said calmly, “I am here in a personal capacity to find my father, and I have found him as well. I do not plan to c
ause any trouble. Only to take my father out, if you would kindly help me that should not take much time.”

  The man didn’t seem to hear a word of what Ernst had said.

  “You should have taken my first warning seriously,” he said, “we do not allow policemen inside.”

  He held him again by his collar and Ernst felt his feet slowly lift up from the ground.

  “And now that you are inside, unfortunately for you, we cannot let you out.”

  Ernst would have thought that this man was joking but his face made it clear that he had no sense of humor. He meant every word of what he said.

  As Ernst dangled in the air, flailing like a cloth on a cloth line, he thought about his mother and who she would now approach to find her missing husband and son.

  NINETEEN

  The Missing Link Between Monkeys and Humans

  “Where have you been all these years?”

  “Where do you live?”

  “Have you rejoined the circus as a performer?”

  “Why did you leave the circus?”

  It didn’t take long for Maya to regret her decision to have evening tea with all the other circus folks. No sooner had she picked up a mud teacup and settled on one of the long benches around the fire beside the kitchen tent, that she was bombarded with all manner of inquiries. Almost 20 men and women, who made up two-thirds of all the circus artists, had gathered around a bonfire to chat in the company of tea, and Maya seemed like a perfectly ripe topic. Maya, in her own defense, had been expecting there to be some discussion about Harold’s death which might allow her to have some more clues to aid her investigation.

  But she was disappointed. The presence of Natasha in the group probably dissuaded people from talking about her dead father.

  And in Maya, they had a readily available alternative. Though she did feel Helena had a hand in her misfortune. As soon as she had come to join the group, her head focused firmly on the ground to avoid any unwanted eyes, Helena had announced her arrival with childish excitement.

  “Ahoy," she said, "here comes our guest and a face we have not seen in a while.”

  Even those people who did not know her from the past looked up at her in interest. Someone pulled Maya close to the fire and the questions started.

  She couldn’t figure out why the people were so interested in her. Maya was almost truthful in answering most questions, though. She lived in Cardim all by herself, she told the avid audience who gaped in admiration, in a single room flat and worked in a detective agency. Her profession caused quite a flutter and people were curious to know more. Maya was stuck however when Chang, a small Chinese man who could climb ropes faster than monkeys, suddenly asked why she had run away from the circus in the first place.

  Maya did not know how to answer that. The truth would scandalize them. Even Bill had kept it a secret, and she didn’t want to subject them to such a shock so soon after they had witnessed the death of Harold.

  Bon Bon came to her rescue. He was a fully grown African man who had the head of a child and was advertised to the audience as the missing link between monkeys and humans. Maya and Bon Bon had been good friends when she was a performer here and they had even performed together.

  “Nada,” Bon Bon said exposing his missing front tooth as he saw Maya and began to hop about her in joy.

  “He remembers you,” the group broke out and began to clap. Even Maya couldn’t resist a laugh and she held Bon Bon's hand and hopped with him. In the happy moment, everyone seemed to forget the question that Chang had asked Maya and she slipped out of the group. She noticed Helena talking to two ladies, one of whom she did not know. Helena motioned Maya to come closer when she saw her.

  “You would already know Miley,” she said pointing to a tall and extremely bony woman who walked on stilts in the circus, “this is Olivia,” she said introducing the other woman who was smaller in stature but with strong muscular arms, “She joined the circus two years ago and she is also a performer. She jumps, on trampolines, between hoops and from ropes, everything literally.”

  Maya smiled at both of them.

  It seemed, though, that Helena had called her for more than just introduction.

  “I was just talking to Olivia,” she said in her slow and careful manner, “it seems that she too heard an altercation between Harold and Bill. She was on the other side of the cabin doing somethi…”

  “Yes, I did,” jumped in Olivia, “I was going to the ladies toilet when I heard Harold shouting profanities at Bill who too flung a few back at his brother. I didn't exactly hear what they were fighting about but I think Harold said something like ‘I never expected this from you’. I also heard something which sounded like ‘go away, I no longer need you here’. There was silence for some time and then Billy walked out of the cabin and went away seething.”

  “Now,” said Helena, “if this doesn’t prove Billy’s guilt, I don’t know what will.”

  “I don’t know if it proves that,” said Maya thinking deeply, “but it does give him a motive to harm Harold. But we still don’t know what they were fighting about.

  TWENTY

  Happy Billy Sneaks out of the Circus

  The ladies' dormitory tent was not at all as Maya remembered. It was quite big now, almost as big as the men’s tent. Seven years ago there were much fewer ladies in the circus, there was Helena the cook and a couple other pretty ladies who did not do much more than dress in sparkling outfits and smile and dance in between the main circus acts which were performed mostly by men. There were a few, like Maya who performed as well but the tent was still occupied by no more than seven ladies during any season. Now though more than a dozen and half woman performers were part of the circus. A few, like the boneless sisters who could bend their bodies into a knot or touch their feet by bending backward and then roll across the circus ring, were actually as popular as the men who fought with bears or commanded lions to do tricks.

  Maya had been given the bed vacated by Goli, the human cannonball who had left the circus in the absence of payment. Natasha had lent her some clothes, which fit her rather well given the similarity in their size and built. Though still melancholy, Natasha had grown fairly social during the day. She was still susceptible to drifting into moments of grief but at least she managed to not cry. Not that she could afford to grieve too long, the first show of the circus was due in a week and after the death of her father, she had been forced to take care of a lot of things which were rather new for her. Bill, who was supposed to take some of the burden off her shoulders, having much more experience in circus, had, as yet, proved to be utterly unhelpful. He had been responsible for managing the finances of the circus at the time of Harold and also performed on the stage as a clown. But the grumpiness of his real-life had made it hard for him to act funny on stage and he was not very popular. That was, Helena had mentioned to Maya, one of the things taking the Golem Circus down, she had never heard of a successful circus employing a one-eyed clown. But Maya was certain that the circus's problems ran deeper than just a gloomy clown. Most of the shows were still the same as when she had left, although the people performing had changed. She also noticed that they had set up camp at the very edge of Anthill. She couldn’t see how a show this far out would be able to attract any public.

  Natasha shared most of Maya’s concerns, but she could do little about them. They had been forced to rent a ground so far out of the city because the ones in the busy localities were out of their budget. The circus already had a lot of debt and it was hard to borrow more money. The same lack of money was also preventing the addition of newer acts that needed newer equipment, performers who invariably asked for more money, as well as more money spent in advertising.

  “It is a vicious circle,” Natasha sighed settling down on her bed, “I don’t have money so I cannot improve the circus and because I cannot improve the circus, I cannot earn more money.”

  Maya didn’t know how she could help here. She wasn’t too great at consoling
and encouraging people either, so it felt like a good idea to leave Natasha on her own.

  The dormitory was almost full now apart from Helena (who had to stay in the kitchen till all the workers were fed) and was bubbling with pre-slumber chatter. The bunk to Maya’s right was occupied by Olivia. She was slowly removing the many rings that she wore on both her hands and putting them carefully in a trunk by her side. She noticed Maya looking at her rings and smiled.

  “I used to assist a magician when I was younger,” she said, “You know, slip into a box which he would saw in half, or fly in the air with the help of ropes. Every time the act went well he took out the ring in his hand and gave it to me. I have a lot of them in this trunk and I like to wear them, at least the ones that fit my fingers.”

  “When did you join Golem?” Maya asked.

  “A little over three years ago. The magician that I was talking about, I joined with him. Actually, he was also my husband.” Her face became slightly stiff, “I accompanied him here.”

  “Oh! And who is your husband? Did I see him today?”

  “No you did not,” said Olivia grimly, “I haven’t seen him for more than a year. He ran away one day and I haven’t heard from him since. Harold gave me an act of my own after he had left so that I could sustain on my own. I jump through hoops and do tricks on the trampoline. I am even learning training a lion.” She became quiet for some time, “He was a very kind man Harold,” she added.

  “I am sorry to hear about your husband,” said Maya, “did you not try to find more about him, you know, write to his house or relatives.”

  “I don’t know where he lived or if he had any relatives. I was a foolish girl, married him without knowing anything about him. Do you know those girls who, when they fall in love, they surrender all reason? I was one of those.”

  Maya couldn’t say she even remotely related to that feeling. She didn’t think she even understood love. Inexplicably, Ernst’s face came swimming in her mind. She tried to shake him away but could not.