No Pain Like This Body Read Online Free PDF Page B

kitchen knife she made holes in the floursacks to fit their heads and hands. Then she helped them to put on the floursacks. She took out a flourbag sheet from an old box. She spread the sheets on some empty rice-bags. Then she said, “All you chirens sleep on dese ricebags.”
    Ma heard the cattle going moh umoh. She knew that they were getting on because they were hungry. “Now Rama and Panday stay in dis house. I goin to change dem cattle.”
    â€œI fraid to stay in dis house,” Panday said.
    â€œWhy?”
    â€œI fraid a spirit come from de bush and hold me in dis house.”
    â€œIt not have no spirit in dat bush.”
    â€œI still fraid,” Panday declared.
    She left them inside the house. She went by the lime tree and got the sledgehammer, threw the sledge over her right shoulder and walked behind the house to the riceland. The riceland bank was about one hundred yards long. It began on the eastern side of the house and ran to the end of the rice-land, right under the doodoose mango tree. Ma looked for the bank. But there was no bank; the water made the place look like a brown sea.
    Panday was afraid to sleep in the house: Rama was groaning and getting on. He was bawling as if something was beating him or standing on his chest, he was just going uh! uh! uh! try­ing to drive away the fever like. Then Rama fell asleep like a dead dog. But although he was asleep, Rama was still making noise; he was breathing like this choot choot scroosh scroosh as when a fowl scratches the ground for a worm.
    Panday was afraid. He was not afraid that Rama was going to die in the house so much; he was afraid that an evil spirit was going to kill him; one of those headless jumbies that lived on the silkcotton trees in the forest; the spirit was going into the house and eat Rama, then it was going to eat Panday too. He rested on the ricebags in fear, just waiting for the spirit to come into the house. But no spirit came. Panday stretched his hands and felt Rama’s chest. It was hot. A dark fear came over him. He got up and ran outside, bawling “Ay Ma!”
    Ma was changing the white cow; she was tethering the cow under the doodoose mango tree, because Pa never built a pen for the animals. Ma looked. Panday was standing in the yard and calling her real hard.
    â€œGo back in dat house!”
    â€œI fraid a spirit eat me!” Panday shouted.
    â€œGo back in dat house boy!”
    â€œI not goin. I fraid!”
    Ma was watching Panday. But he had no intentions of going back into the house. Ma took the iron pickets and put them under the carat tree. She washed her hands in a drain and headed for home. When she reached the yard she asked Panday, “Wot you doin in dis yard?”
    â€œI was fraidin in dat house.”
    â€œBoy it gettin night. Go back in dat house.”
    â€œRama makin noise like a dead dog in dat house!”
    And Ma: “Now dead dog dont make no noise. You hear me? Now you go in dat house and stay wid you bredder. You better go fast because if you fadder come home and meet you in dis yard, he goin to kill you wid lix. Now you be a good chile and go back in dat house.”
    Panday went back into the house.
    Ma took the sledgehammer, walked past the rainwater bar­rel and put it under the lime tree. She washed her feet in a drain by the outhouse and went to see about Rama and Panday. As she entered the doorway, Panday said, “Ma I tell you he dead like a dog. Rama done dead. But it good he dead, now he cant pee on me in de night no more.”
    And Ma: “Now you hush dat mout Panday. You bredder not dead. He just sleepin. Rama have fever. Some lime tea go cut dat fever. Now you keep dat mout shut and let you bredder sleep.”
    â€œOright.”
    Ma didn’t change her clothes. The dress was wet and it clung to her body as if it was trying to eat her bones. She went into the backyard, got some lime leaves and went into the kitchen with them. She