"Kate Wilhelm - Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wilhelm Kate)

forehead. She dropped the shoulder bag that had weighed her down and ran toward him, and only when
he caught her and held her tight and hard did he realize that he was weeping, as she was.
Under the lean-to he pulled off her wet clothes and rubbed her dry, then wrapped her in one
of his shirts. Her lips were blue, her skin seemed almost translucent; it was unearthly white.
тАЬI knew youтАЩd be here,тАЭ she said. Her eyes were very large, deep blue, bluer than he
remembered, or bluer in contrast to her pale skin. Before, she had been always sunburned.
тАЬI knew youтАЩd come here,тАЭ he said. тАЬWhen did you eat?тАЭ
She shook her head. тАЬI didnтАЩt believe it was this bad here. I thought it was propaganda.
Everyone thinks itтАЩs propaganda.тАЭ
He nodded and lighted the Sterno. She sat wrapped in his plaid shirt and watched him as he


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opened a can of stew and heated it.
тАЬWho are those people down there?тАЭ
тАЬSquatters. Grandmother and Grandfather Wiston died last year. That gang showed up. They
gave Aunt Hilda and Uncle Eddie a choice, join them or get out. They didnтАЩt give Wanda any chance
at all. They kept her.тАЭ
She stared down into the valley and nodded slowly. тАЬI didnтАЩt know it was this bad. I didnтАЩt
believe it.тАЭ Without looking back at him, she asked then, тАЬAnd Mother, Father?тАЭ
тАЬTheyтАЩre dead, Celia. Flu, both of them. Last winter.тАЭ
тАЬI didnтАЩt get any letters,тАЭ she said. тАЬAlmost two years. They made us leave Brazil, you
know. But there wasnтАЩt any transportation home. We went to Colombia. They promised to let us go
home in three months. And then they came one night, late, almost at dawn, and said we had to get
out. There were riots, you know.тАЭ
He nodded, although she was still staring down at the farm and couldnтАЩt see. He wanted to
tell her to weep for her parents, to cry out, so that he could take her in his arms and try to
comfort her. But she continued to sit motionlessly and speak in a dead voice.
тАЬThey were coming for us, for the Americans. They blame us, for letting them starve. They
really believe that everything is still all right here. I did too. No one believed any of the
reports. And the mobs were coming for us. We left on a small boat, a skiff. Nineteen of us. They
shot at us when we got too near Cuba.тАЭ
David touched her arm and she jerked and trembled. тАЬCelia, turn around and eat now. DonтАЩt
talk any longer. Later. You can tell us about it later.тАЭ
She looked at him and slowly shook her head. тАЬNever again. IтАЩll never mention any of it
again, David. I just wanted you to know there was nothing I could do. I wanted to come home and
there wasnтАЩt any way.тАЭ
She didnтАЩt look quite so blue-cold now, and he watched with relief as she started to eat.
She was hungry. He made coffee, the last of his coffee ration.
тАЬYou want me to fill you in on anything here?тАЭ
She shook her head. тАЬNot yet. I saw Miami, and the people, all trying to get somewhere else,
standing in line for days, standing on the trains. TheyтАЩre evacuating Miami. People are falling
dead, and theyтАЩre just leaving them where they fall.тАЭ She shivered violently. тАЬDonтАЩt tell me
anything else yet.тАЭ
The storm was over, and the night air was cool. They huddled under a blanket and sat without
talking, drinking hot black coffee. When the cup began to tilt in CeliaтАЩs hand, David took it from
her and gently lowered her to the bed he had prepared. тАЬI love you, Celia,тАЭ he said softly. тАЬIтАЩve
always loved you.тАЭ