Chapter 26

Tirad is not hopeful that the Parsana healers can save Narivan. They have come to the boat, two women and a man. One of the women is young, perhaps the same age as Dalia. The other woman has grey hair and a wrinkled forehead, and the many specks and spots on her hand show the long years she must have spent on the sea. The man also looks young and carries a heavy bag with him. The old woman takes off the moist cloth that Dalia has put over Narivan’s face to avoid the sun. She then unwraps the bandage around Narivan’s leg and shakes her head gesturing sorry. But she doesn’t want to give up on him yet, she addresses Tirad telling him that Narivan needs to stay on the ship for at least a few days.

“This wound needs tending. I will do whatever I can, but it may cost you a lot,” she says and looks at Tirad for his reaction. Tirad says they will pay whatever coins needed. The old woman orders her younger assistants to take the man up to the ship. Tirad wonders how they are going to carry Narivan up the metal ladder, but he hopes these professional healers would be prepared for such a situation. The young man climbs the ladder. Tirad knows they have to wait. The old woman uses this chance to ask what has happened to Narivan. Tirad doesn’t know what Dalia had told them when she had gone up to the ship and called the healers, he turns his face to Dalia for the answer, hoping that he doesn’t have to say something that would contradict Dalia’s words. Dalia gets his gesture and starts explaining.

“As I already told you on the deck…we were going to Oxan from Avij Ship to buy oxygen masks with these coins…but my father…” she says and points to Narivan. She tries to avoid Tirad’s questioning stare. She seems unsure of the reason she had given but it is too late to change her lie.

“My father slipped on the boat deck and this iron rod injured his leg…” She stops again to point at the rod which still has bloodstains on it. The healer looks at the rod and tries the sharpness of the rod’s point. Dalia’s lie is obviously not bought by her.

“How deep was the cut that you had to burn it?” she asks. Dalia says it was bleeding a lot and her father had told her to burn it to stop the bleeding. The woman again shakes her head in sorry.

“You should never burn skin-deep wounds! How much of the rod had entered his flesh? Was it stuck?” she asks. Dalia says she doesn’t know but the wound was deep.

“Are you brother and sister?” she asks Tirad who is shocked by the question. He didn’t think they had to explain their relationship. Having paused like that has made it worst. Even if he says now that they are blood related, the old woman wouldn’t believe him. Dalia comes to save him again.