Peripheral Vision Read Free Page A

floor the next morning, and it wasn’t Shaun’s and it wasn’t hers.
    â€˜Do Hindus believe in God?’ Marly interrupted. If she could break the chain, tonight might end differently.
    â€˜We have many gods, which are manifestations of a single reality. We believe in reincarnation, and in karma. What you choose to do in your life determines your destiny in this life and the next.’
    â€˜Sounds like that chick in the crystal shop.’ Azza tipped back on his chair too, and swigged his beer.
    â€˜Take your feet off the table, boys. It’s not nice.’ Marly tapped her nails on the tabletop. The Indian’s clean white shirt and his polished shoes were flickering like soft candles in the corner of the room.
    Shaun and Azza were so surprised that they lifted their feet and dropped their chairs back to the floor.
    â€˜Jesus, Marl, where’d the manners suddenly come from?’ Shaun reached across the table. He picked up a tube of toothpicks from the bench. He offered them around the table, but Azza and Marly shook their heads. The room was quiet as he rooted around the back of his mouth and brought out the toothpick to examine it. The tip was bright with blood, like a thin match.
    â€˜So.’ Shaun rubbed the toothpick between his thumb and forefinger, twirling it up and down the length of his thumb pad. ‘So, Pran, mate.’
    â€˜Yes, Shaun?’
    Marly couldn’t believe how relaxed he was. Either he was stupid or he had some secret weapon.
    â€˜Pran, I don’t think we’ll be taking your offer of a free set of steak knives.’
    â€˜I am not trying to offer you steak knives, Shaun.’ Pran lifted his canvas bag and brought out a pamphlet. ‘I am giving you free of charge six months of—’
    â€˜I said we don’t want it, mate. The thing is—’
    â€˜Mr Pran, what did you mean by manifestations of a single reality?’ Marly knew Shaun and Azza would be cursing her, but she had to make it stop. And maybe this calm little man had the secret. The secret of being happy, or of not always wanting to be someone else, somewhere else.
    Pran wondered how the woman had ended up with these louts. ‘You see, Marly, our scripture, the Bhagavad Gita, says that there is a single essence that underlies all existence. You might call it the soul. “The soul dwells in every living being, and in every part of every living being; it dwells in the hand and the foot, the skull and the mouth, the eye and the ear.” ’ Pran watched Marly move her lips as he spoke, as if she was trying to make his words fit into ones she might understand. ‘But for us in this world, it is only necessary to do one’s duty.’
    â€˜You’re giving me a headache, Pran.’ Shaun finished his beer and lowered the bottle to the table. ‘I think we’re done here.’
    â€˜But I want to hear more. This is interesting.’ Marly nodded at Pran and he saw the tension in her tight forehead. ‘Come on, Shauny. Let him tell us a bit more.’
    â€˜Yeah, Shauny,’ Azza whined in a mock falsetto, ‘let’s hear what the Paki has to say.’ His voice dropped to its normal register. ‘But you’ve gotta ask, if they’ve got it all worked out where he comes from, what’s he doing here?’
    â€˜Come on.’ Shaun leaped up from the table, his big body causing the room to tremble. ‘We’ll walk you to your car, mate.’
    â€˜I’m fine, thank you. It is very near.’ Pran thought about the reserve and its bits of glass and discarded car parts. Outside, it was getting dark. The bush in the reserve would be dry and still and shadowy. He wasn’t sure whether a path led straight through to the street where his car was sitting. Perhaps it would be wiser to take the long way around.
    â€˜Nope, I insist. Where is it?’
    â€˜Really, I don’t want you to bother.’