‘Ask Aki about Moonface and sorrow. He might think that’s nothing to do with the story of Chappy, but everything’s connected. It’s all intertwined. If it hadn’t been for the theft of his little brother, Aki would not have left home and gone to sea in the first place. If Aki had not gone to sea we would never have come to know Chappy.

‘Grandson, if it hadn’t been for Moonface and sorrow you would never have been born. You wouldn’t be here talking to me now. Or you would’ve been someone else, not this international grandson. Perhaps a more local and ordinary one. Tell him to speak English. I’ve got better things to do than stay up all night.’

When I visited Aki the next day, I was hesitant when asking him to tell me about Moonface and sorrow. However, he agreed, saying he’d never spoken about those things before and it could be time to do so. This was the only occasion when I did get to put my prepared questions to him. In all subsequent recording sessions he was ahead of me, as though he had already put thought to what he wanted to say. He would settle himself when he was ready, press ‘record’ and begin. It was as though he couldn’t wait to tell his stories. Anyway it didn’t matter about my questions. They became redundant as time went on.

There were no preliminary sentences in English this time and, when I brought the tape back and played it for my grandmother, she listened to all of it intently without complaint and said, ‘Leave it to me.’

Chapter 5

Aki

I was the only one home with Mum when Moonface was born. When I found out I was being left at home I was so mad that a clawed demon grew inside me, pulling and tearing and punching all my insides, trying to make a big scream come out of my mouth. Because I had my teeth barred and wouldn’t let out any sound, it shoved itself up into my head and began pounding. Tears poured – not that anyone noticed or would’ve cared, there in the kitchen discussing this and that, making all their plans and laughing their heads off.

Every year I’d been part of that planning and laughing and getting ready, part of it all my life, right up until Dad turned to me that afternoon and said, ‘You can’t come this year, Aki, you have to stay home with Mum,’ and went on discussing grinders with Paa. I didn’t even know until then that Mum wasn’t going. I went out in the dark where I sat against the chimney stones and sniffed and snorted.