The Whale Caller Read Online Free PDF Page B

ostrich farms. And then the tragedy happened, and the house remainedunoccupied, until it became a ruin because it was reputed to be haunted by the ostrich baron’s ghost and the vengeful spirits of his murdered family.
    The girls’ parents didn’t seem unduly worried when Saluni brought them home.
    “They like to wander around,” said the father, as if talking of straying chickens.
    “It can be dangerous out there,” said Saluni.
    “What can we do?” asked the mother. “These children get bored. We cannot look after them all the time because we are working people.”
    “We are casual vineyard workers,” explained the father. “We took over this house a few months back when everyone was afraid of it. It is our base… our home. But we still have to travel to the vineyards in search of work.”
    “The twins know how to look after themselves,” the mother assured Saluni. “Of course they do get bored sometimes.”
    They asked Saluni to stay for the night, since it had become too dark for her to walk home. The Bored Twins, excited at having a visitor, took her on a tour of the house. Each one was holding a candle. Saluni was amazed at the number of rooms. Yes, the mansion, though dilapidated, did look imposing from the outside. But she couldn’t have imagined that inside it was such a maze. However, the Bored Twins knew their way around. They took her to all the bedrooms. Saluni counted eight of them, most with bathrooms en suite. But there was no water in the bathrooms, the girls told her. There was no running water anywhere in the house. The family drew their water from a communal tap almost a kilometre away. There were many other rooms whose original function Saluni could not determine. All devoid of furniture. All with rococo ceilings that used to be white. The ornate ceilings looked out of place in the simplicity of Cape Dutch elegance. Most of the rooms had spiders and other crawling creatures as permanentresidents. It was obvious that the family only used three rooms: the kitchen, the parents’ bedroom and the Bored Twins’ bedroom. The rest of the rooms were full of dust and spiders’ webs that ran from one wall to the other. The only other clean room was the wine cellar in the basement. Even the empty wine racks that lined its walls were dust-free. The Bored Twins told her that it was their secret room, which they used when they wanted to hide from their parents.
    After a supper of snoek fish and rice, Saluni helped the mother clean the plates. Then it was time for bed. The girls became excited when Saluni offered to sleep in their room. Sponge mattresses were spread on the floor. The Bored Twins insisted on reading her their favourite bedtime story:
Dr. Seuss’s Sleep Book.
    “But first we must put out the light,” said the smaller girl.
    “No, don’t!” screamed Saluni. The Bored Twins were taken aback by her sudden anxiety. But she gave them a reassuring smile and asked, “How will you read me the story if it is dark?”
    “We read it in the dark,” said the bigger twin.
    “We know the whole book by heart,” explained the smaller twin.
    “Please don’t put out the light,” pleaded Saluni.
    “But Mother will be mad at us,” said the bigger twin. “She says we must not waste candles.”
    Saluni took out a candle from her sequinned handbag. She lit it from the twins’ candle before putting the twins’ candle out.
    “You carry a candle in your handbag?” asked the smaller twin.
    “All the time,” said Saluni. “Let’s hear your story then.”
    “The news/Just came in/From the County of Keck/That a very small bug/By the name of Van Vleck/Is yawning so wide/You can look down his neck,” began the smaller twin.
    The bigger twin took over: “This may not seem/Very important, I know/But it
is.
So I’m bothering/Telling you so/A yawn is quite catching, you see. Like a cough/It just takes one yawn tostart other yawns off.” At this point the girls started yawning, so did Saluni.