Feathers in the Wind (5 page)

They came to a central hall, where hundreds of ready-made kites covered the walls, ceilings and countertops. Joe couldn’t believe his eyes at how many types there were.

‘Wow!’ he cried. ‘How do we choose?’

There were kites with smiley faces and fierce faces; kites the shape of wind socks, doughnuts, parachutes and sails; kites as small as twenty centimetres, others larger than a metre; kites with one colour, two colours and all the colours of the rainbow. Everywhere they looked, people were asking to take a closer look at one kite, dismissing it and demanding to see another. When they’d made up their mind, they spent the next few minutes haggling over price. The cacophony of voices was so loud Joe could scarcely make himself heard. He wondered how the vendors managed to negotiate with so much din going on, yet they dealt with several people at the same time.

‘What do you think, Joe?’ Binti had to put her mouth right up to his ear.

Joe felt so overwhelmed he was on the point of asking his mother to choose for him, when he spotted a blue kite in the shape of a giant squid hanging from a railing by a stall in the corner.

‘That one!’ he shouted. ‘Over there.’

He headed towards it, pushing through the crowds and turning to check that his family was following. As soon as Peter had caught up with him, he pointed again.

‘The blue squid,’ he said. ‘That’s the one I’d like.’

‘Good choice.’ Peter laughed. ‘You can’t beat a cross-eyed squid.’

He began to haggle with the stallholder and then went through the whole process again when Aesha decided she wanted a multicoloured arrow-shaped kite from the same place. By the time he had finished he was sweating profusely and desperate to get out.

‘In terms of effort expended,’ he said as they emerged on to the street, ‘these are the most valuable purchases I’ve ever made. I hope you’re happy with them.’

Joe and Aesha nodded. ‘Thanks, Dad.’

Chapter 10

Joe and his family ate at a restaurant that evening. The atmosphere was electric with anticipation, everyone talking loudly, some of the diners demonstrating their prowess with a kite through elaborate arm waving and hand gestures.

‘If only there wasn’t such a big negative side to it all,’ Binti sighed. ‘I can’t quite bring myself to rejoice in their excitement because of that.’

Joe felt a bit guilty that he and Aesha were going to be joining in the celebrations, even though they had bought normal string for their kites.
We won’t be doing any harm
, he kept trying to convince himself.

‘I only hope the publicity campaign the vets and volunteers have been running will lead to fewer kites flying in the early morning and evening when greater numbers of birds are around,’ his mother continued.

‘You can’t do more than you’re doing,’ Peter reassured her, ‘and for some of these people tomorrow is the highlight of their year. You can’t take that away from them.’

‘If only vultures weren’t quite so endangered.’ Binti sighed again.

‘I bet you’ll save loads of them,’ said Joe, trying to cheer her up.

They finished dinner and called for Ravi to take Binti to the rescue centre before returning to the hotel. Joe gave her a big hug.

‘We’ll miss you,’ he said.

Alone in his hotel room, he placed the package containing his kite on a chair and prepared for bed. He didn’t like his mother not being with them, even though it happened quite often because of her work.
I wish I could go and help her
, he said to himself.
I’m sure there’s something I could do
.

Joe must have fallen asleep, because when he next opened his eyes he could see slivers of daylight through the curtains. He rolled over, unwilling to accept that it might be time to get up. He was still tired from the excitement of the night before. He would wait until his mother or father knocked on the door.

And then he remembered. He leapt out of bed, ran to the window and pushed his way between the heavy curtains. Sunshine streamed into the room, blinding him for a moment, and then he saw.

‘Wow!’ he cried.

There were kites everywhere he looked and people were flying them from the rooftops. From the seventh floor of their hotel, he had the perfect view. He wanted to open the windows so that he could feel part of it, but the room was air-conditioned and the windows firmly sealed.

‘Dad, come here, Dad!’

He ran into his father’s adjoining room, which was still in darkness. ‘Come and see, Dad.’ Joe shook him by the shoulder. ‘The kites are flying. It’s amazing! There’s one that looks like a giant caterpillar.’

Peter looked at his watch. ‘Giant caterpillar or no giant caterpillar, I’m not getting up at six-thirty in the morning.’

‘Aw, come on, Dad,’ Joe persisted. ‘It’s brilliant. I bet Mum’s up already.’

‘I shall be grumpy all day,’ Peter protested, crawling out of bed nevertheless.

Joe drew the curtains. ‘See,’ he said triumphantly. ‘It’s a great view from here. People are flying kites from the roofs of their houses! It’s clever the way they can lift them into the air from such a small space.’

Peter stood and looked. ‘We certainly couldn’t do that back home,’ he observed, ‘or we would be the endangered species.’

Joe giggled. ‘It’s cool to be able to climb up on the roof of your house.’

‘I haven’t found it cool since I’ve been here,’ Peter joked.

Joe groaned. ‘You tell such terrible jokes, Dad.’

‘What do you expect at six-thirty in the morning?’ Peter replied. ‘Can I go back to bed now?’

Joe shook his head, laughing, and grabbed one of the pillows. ‘No, I won’t let you, and if you try I’ll jump up and down on you until you give in.’

‘Binti, come back and help me!’ Peter cried. ‘Your son has stolen my sleep and is threatening me with a pillow.’

Joe threw the pillow at him and for a few moments – to Joe’s delight – they indulged in a pillow fight, until they both fell back on the bed exhausted.

‘Are you ready to give in and get up?’ Joe demanded.

‘When your sister wakes, which could be hours.’ Peter snorted.

‘She’s awake. It’s difficult not to be with the racket you’ve been making.’ Aesha came into the room through an adjoining door on the other side and walked over to the window. ‘Have you seen the kites? They’re amazing! And people are flying them from their roofs! Can we go out?’

Joe was delighted and more than surprised to have his sister on his side. He went and stood next to her. Peter, complaining that he didn’t have a chance pitted against the two of them, joined them.

‘There’s the giant caterpillar.’ Joe pointed.

Just at that moment, another kite crossed strings with it. The kites’ owners tried to free themselves, manipulating the lines one way then the other until, all of a sudden, the caterpillar plunged downward. At the same time, the other kite soared upward in a dance of triumph.

Joe felt a pang of sadness as he watched the caterpillar fall. He hoped his own kite would fare better and was determined to keep it away from any fighter kites.
That’s what happens to the vultures
, he thought.
One minute they’re flying happily, the next minute they’re plunging to the ground.
It was only then that he noticed there were birds in the sky over the city.

Chapter 11

They had already decided that the best place to fly their kites would be from the field where Sachin had taken Joe. They travelled there by autorickshaw at Aesha and Joe’s request, and because they knew that Ravi would want to spend the day with his son. The scene that met them on arrival was completely different from when Joe had gone there previously. This time there were groups of people dotted all over the place, some of them guiding kites in the sky, some in the process of launching them, some taking photographs, others simply watching and enjoying the incredible aerodynamic skills of the more expert flyers.

Joe, his father and sister stood for a while and watched, before finding themselves a spot where there was enough room for them to launch their own kites. Joe pulled his squid from its bag and opened it out. He was pleased all over again with his choice, especially since nobody else seemed to be flying a squid.

‘Hold it up,’ Peter said, and quickly took a photograph of him. ‘And you, Aesha.’

Aesha did as she was told, then asked for his help.

‘Your brother’s the expert,’ said Peter. ‘What do we do to get your sister airborne, Joe?’

Delighted to be asked, Joe attached a spool to his sister’s arrowhead kite and showed her how to roll out the line once the kite was sky-bound. He took the kite from her, licked his finger and held it up, and began to walk away.

‘As soon as I let go,’ he called, ‘pull on the line, not too hard and not too soft, and try to pick up the wind.’

He let go of the kite. Aesha pulled too hard and it skidded on to the grass.

‘More gently,’ Joe instructed.

They tried several times, but each time the kite failed to take off.

‘Are you sure you’re doing it right?’ Aesha cried.

Joe could hear the frustration and accusation in her voice, while recognising that she might shortly throw her toys out of the pram and it would be all his fault.
Come on, Joe
, he said to himself.
This time
.

‘Once more,’ he called. ‘The minute you feel the kite start to tug, let out more line.’

He launched the kite into the air and willed it upward. Peter stepped in to help Aesha feel the wind and then, with a sharp whip of its tail, the arrow soared.

‘Let out the line, keep letting out the line,’ Joe said as he moved to his sister’s side.

‘Look at it go!’ she cried.

‘Well done, Joe,’ said Peter, picking up Joe’s kite. ‘Your turn now.’

He copied what Joe had done, moving away from him and then launching the kite into the air. Joe caught the direction of the wind and the giant squid was sky-bound instantly.

‘Wow! That’s the best yet!’ Joe couldn’t contain his pleasure at succeeding at the first attempt. ‘Look at the way the squid’s tentacles are waving.’

‘Keep them up there while I take some photos,’ Peter said, loading more film into his camera.

Joe was feeling full of confidence and bravado now. He manipulated the line of
his kite, shortening it and lengthening it again, giving it quick sharp tugs, then swinging it to and fro.

‘I can make my squid dance!’ he shouted.

‘My arrow’s piercing the clouds!’ Aesha laughed as she let out more and more line.

Peter videoed them both, then turned his attention to some of the other kites and their owners. He moved around the field, sometimes taking video footage, sometimes taking still photographs, checking back frequently to see where Joe and Aesha were.

Joe spotted danger from a large black and red kite that had already cut down two others. He wound in his line to move out of the way and accidentally lost the current of air he had been riding. He tried hard to keep the squid flying, but little by little it wafted down to the ground.

‘I kept mine up longer than you,’ Aesha boasted.

Joe growled inwardly. He was about to look for his father to ask for help to relaunch the squid, determined that this time he would not be beaten by his sister, when a loud squeal made him turn to her instead. She was staring at the sky, where her arrow had become entangled with the black and red fighter kite. In an instant, the fighter kite had severed Aesha’s line and the arrow was cut free. It began to fall, not straight down but in fits and starts, drifting further and further away from them over the heads of the crowds.

Joe tried to watch where it was going, but it was swallowed up among the other kites and he could no longer see it.

‘Come on, Aesha,’ he cried. ‘Let’s go after it before someone else finds it.’

He quickly rolled up the squid and thrust it into his rucksack, then ran in the direction he had last seen his sister’s kite. Aesha followed him. He caught sight of it briefly once, then again. It was drifting towards the network of streets that bordered the field.

‘We’d better leave it,’ Aesha yelled from somewhere behind, but Joe ran on.

‘It can’t go much further,’ he yelled back. ‘You’ll be upset if we don’t find it.’

He glimpsed the kite one last time as it dropped down among the houses. He came to a halt, trying to work out which street would take him to its landing place. Aesha drew up next to him.

‘Did you see where it went?’ she asked anxiously.

Joe thought he knew and marched forward. ‘This way,’ he said. ‘It won’t be far.’

‘What about Dad?’ Aesha hesitated before going after him.

‘We’ll be back before he notices we’re not there,’ Joe reassured her.

Chapter 12

Once they had left the field and were walking along a narrow side street, Joe felt less confident about where the kite might be. This part of the city seemed to be deserted, with rows of shops and businesses closed for the day. There was nobody about who might help, but they could hear shouts and music coming from several of the rooftops and glimpsed the occasional flash of colour.