She has to get on the train.

It’s not her choice, but there’s no way she can avoid it. Her brother and sister have made up their minds.The District Line from Stepney Green to London Victoria. And bussing it is out of the question, ’cause her brother’s never been on the tube and he’s really excited. As for her sister, an hour on the bus doesn’t appeal to her because there’s so much she wants to see and so little time.

If you’ve been fighting cancer for eighteen months and have spent days on end on chemotherapy, hooked up to bags dripping into veins that slowly wither and die before your eyes, nothing frightens you anymore. And if your husband has left you for another man, and the boyfriend you’ve been seeing for just a few months commits suicide when he finds out you had a husband who left you for another man, nothing frightens you anymore.

Her brother is twenty-four and has lymphoma; her sister’s thirty, recently separated after three years of marriage, and the first man she’s dated left her a note a month ago in which he said he was taking his own life because of her.

So they’ve both made it amply clear: they don’t give a fuck about death. But if they had a choice, they’d rather die in a terrorist attack than from cancer or depression. She thinks differently. Her legs feel numb as she descends into Stepney station. And the whiplash of wind across her face makes her feel sick to her stomach. And then they’re on the train: her sister,her brother, and herself.

The train is completely deserted.

After the events of a couple days ago, everybody is still shaken. Except for her brother and sister. And she has to obey and this whole who-gives-a-fuck-about-death-and-dying thing is getting to her. . .dying is a serious business as far as she’s concerned and let’s face it, the prospect is pretty distant, probably further away than the last stop on the Green Line.

And her brother and sister want to play the part of the tourists to the hilt. She doesn’t. The last time she was in London she was studying here, so she didn’t qualify as a tourist. And the last time she was in London she decided she wanted to move here for a few years because she loved this city, it didn’t make her feel lethargic, in spite of the darkness that seeped into her veins. In fact, it usually filled her with an energy she now lacked because her brother and sister had squeezed it out of her, every last drop. She’d been the one to encourage them to make the trip in the first place.

Idiot.

And suddenly, London just wasn’t the same anymore.

WHITECHAPEL

Her brother glances at the tube map. “Eleven more stops to go,” he says.

Having made up her mind that she hasn’t got much longer to live, she begins to think of all the questions she’d like to ask her father but has so far failed to get him to answer.

“Do you remember when we used to go down to the playing field and there’d be this box of preserves on that old woman’s doorstep?”

“No, I don’t remember.”

“What was her name?”

“I can’t remember.”

“You can’t not remember, I was with you a couple times and you told me not to breathe a word to anyone.”

“So you shouldn’t be talking to me about it either.”

“And you parked some distance away, ran to get the box, dumped it in the trunk. And then we made our getaway.”

“No, I don’t remember.”

“And what about that morning when I burst into tears because I wanted to go to school and you said I couldn’t . . .?”

“No, you never cried.”

“’Course I did, and then you were saying that school was out and we were on vacation. And I’d seen the boy from next door go to school, so I thought why can’t I go too. . .”

“That was a long time ago.”

“But you do remember that you went on strike, right?”

“I’d forget about that too if I could.”

“And do you remember how we used to go to the port in Valletta to wait for Pantu to come back from Gozo with boxes of veg from Nann Roża?”

“What are you on about?”

“Don’t you remember anything anymore?”

“ … “

“And what about when Nannu got us our first color TV?”

“No, can’t remember.”

“I do remember, though. Every one of our aunts and uncles had gotten one, we were the only ones left.”

“You’re getting things mixed up.”

“Was that ’cause you’d gone on strike?”

“No.”

“Or maybe because Nannu worked at the dry docks?”

“No.”

“And I guess Nannu’d managed to get them all on the black market. Or for free, even.”

“Ask him.”

“He got one for himself first, and then one for Aunt Jenny, and then it was Uncle Manuel and finally we got one of our own.”

“I don’t remember.”

“Well, you actually accepted it. So how did that happen?”

TOWER HILL

This friend of hers is getting married soon and is afraid of going to Tuscany on a honeymoon ’cause apparently Tony Blair’s going to be in Tuscany round about the time he and his wife were planning to go, and everyone’s thinking that’s likely to be the next target. And this other friend of hers, a German, she lives in London and says she’d never missed a day’s work before, but that morning she felt queasy and phoned in sick. And she thinks of Marthese, who also used to live in London but whom she’s not heard from since they had a tiff in Republic Street and Marthese had said she was selfish and she’d called Marthese a coward and Marthese took off her top and bra right there in front of the passersby, just to prove that she wasn’t. And she’d have liked to do something to prove that she wasn’t selfish, but she didn’t do anything. And now she’s wondering whether Marthese also called in sick when she woke up that morning.

And then she looks at her sister. Stares into that turmoil in her eyes. She’s on the verge of telling her that this is their last chance to talk over all the things that need to be cleared up, seeing as they’re about to die. And her sister seems to understand but it’s so quiet on the train she picks up a book instead. Some shitty paperback, which is all she ever reads.

“Do you remember playing doctor and patient when we were kids, and I’d always tell you to get undressed (though I was younger than you), and I’d keep my apron on and you’d be stark naked and I’d give you a full examination, top to toe?”

No, she doesn’t remember.

“You used to enjoy it too.”

She doesn’t remember.

“And do you remember how, on your wedding day, just before we went into church wearing our best smiles, you told me you didn’t love this man and that this was going to be the biggest mistake of your life? And I just gave you a dirty look . . .“

She doesn’t remember that either.

“And what about when I told you I’m into women and I find men disgusting and you just changed the subject?”

No, she doesn’t remember.

Her sister chuckles at a bad joke in the book.

MONUMENT

This friend of hers says her life is like the London tube map: it veers off in all sorts of directions, but she knows where each line starts and where it leads to, what time the train leaves and how long the journey’s going to take. And her moods (which vary a lot) are the tube colors. And the stops (which vary even more) are the various relationships she has with various people in various moods along the various routes. And right now she’s wishing she could ask her whether there’s a contingency plan for when there’s a bomb scare and she’s got to shut down parts of her underground network. Her friend once told her that when she first visited London she’d spent all of her time on the tube. She liked the idea of being able to go wherever she wanted with a single ticket. She got off at every stop and then caught the next train to go to the next stop. And she marked every stop she got off at on the map, in pencil. By the time she had them all marked, it was time to go back to Malta.

BLACKFRIARS

Someone gets on the train. He’s carrying a backpack. She can’t stand it, the way she’s beginning to tar everyone with the same brush. But her mind races on ahead regardless. It thinks its thoughts and comes to conclusions too quickly, and just as quickly panics. ’Cause what she can’t get her head around is how some guy with a family and a decent job could suddenly decide to blow himself and forty others to kingdom come. Not to mention how this guy could decide that she should die along with him.

She’s feeling suffocated and her brother, peeking into the musty vault of her mind, cottons on. And then she’s about to tell him that since they won’t be around for much longer, this might be a good moment to talk about that row they’d had, when he’d thrown the pointed kitchen knife at her head. She tries to remind him by staring flick-knives into his eyes.

“Do you remember when you threw that knife at me and missed me by a hair’s breadth?”

He doesn’t remember.

“And I picked it up and was on the verge of throwing it right back at you, but instead I went out and carved a scratch into the side of your new car.”

He doesn’t remember.

“It might be a good idea to apologize to each other today, seeing as we’re going to die pretty soon.”

He’s not paying attention.

“And do you remember when you were at the doctor’s, and he told you about the tumor? And then you went to another doctor and another and they said it wasn’t a tumor you had, just a hernia, and that evening you were telling me about it and we were both in fits, and when you blacked out I simply kept on laughing ’cause I thought it was all part of the act but you didn’t get up. And we rushed you to the hospital and they kept you there.”

But he’s still counting the remaining stops to London Victoria.

In the end it had turned out not to be a tumor. It wasn’t a hernia either, though.

TEMPLE

There’s this other friend of hers who’s really paranoid, she’s always afraid that someone might break into her place, not to rape her but to steal her laptop that’s got the first few chapters of a novel she’s been hacking away at for about six years. So she backs up her novel every Saturday at nine in the morning (thieves tend to break in on Saturday night) and hides the CDs in different parts of her apartment. She used to think it was hilarious, what her friend did, but now she’s the one who’s feeling paranoid in the tube, making the sign of the cross every time a bearded man with a backpack gets onto the train.

And then she takes her mobile phone out of her handbag and starts writing a text to her friend.

when am back we shd wrk
on d plan yeh, i’ll give u
a hand.. if I die spare a thought
for me gal

Turns out there’s no network access down here, so she saves the text to send later. That’s assuming she makes it through.

EMBANKMENT

She starts to think about how it doesn’t occur to some people, when they’re really pissed off, to lock themselves away in the bathroom and scream their heart out, instead of doing themselves and about fifty other people in. It’s what she does, when for example her mum starts going on about premarital sex. Or when her dad asks her on a Sunday morning whether she’s been to church. And then she shuts her eyes and thinks of her mother and of the last row they had, and she wants to tell her that finally she’s going to be rid of her once and for all, ’cause this is it, her daughter’s going to die so she needn’t worry anymore about what the neighbors think of her daughter, and she’d also like to ask her about Aunt Ċett, not for the first time, but maybe this time she can get her to talk straight for once.

“So what’s with Aunt Ċett and Pina?”

“What about them?”

“Well, they’re inseparable!”

“Right.”

“Oh come on, Ma, you know that it’s an open secret, the way your sister and her friend stick together!”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Well, stands to reason . . .”

“What?”

“It’s all inherited from your side of the family!”

“What is?”

“Nanna’s sister was like that too . . . only they had her down as an old spinster who never managed to get married.”

“I don’t remember.”

“Funny, that, ’cause I do remember.”

“How could you remember, you were barely six when my mother’s sister died!”

“She had a girlfriend too. Ġanna, her name was, she was always talking about her.”

“I don’t remember.”

“And now Pina’s started to sleep over at Aunt Ċett’s.”

“What’s that got to do with anything?”

“It’s got plenty to do with everything.”

“She’s sick isn’t she? She needs someone to take care of her.”

“You’ll buy anything, won’t you, even from a couple of sixty-year-olds.”

“You keep going on about this.”

“You never admit it.”

“Admit what?”

“That’s why you’ll never understand.”

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about.”

“That’s ’cause it suits you better not to know.”

“Know what?”

“Let’s face it, this business with Aunt Ċett and Pina . . .”

“Yes . . .”

“There’s no way I’ve got that wrong.”

“It’s not important.”

“So I’m not important either?”

“We’ve got enough problems as it is.”

“But that’s just it, this isn’t a problem . . .”

This morning her cousin told her that one of these days, he’d like to sit in the tube playing the guitar. It’s not about money, he just wants to try it out, see whether anyone would stop and listen, whether they’d like the songs he writes. Her cousin lives in Stepney Green. He says he feels he’s a Londoner and wouldn’t want to live anywhere else, despite the racist jibes he occasionally gets when he boards a bus. He told her that although he isn’t blond and good-looking and doesn’t live in a nice area, he’s made up his mind to stay put, because he was born in this place. And he said that music was the only escape valve he needed, and he’d thought up this idea of playing in the underground right now, just so he could make the point that he wasn’t scared. Then he asked her whether she’d spare a little change for him if she was ever passing through and came across him playing, at which point she just screamed and chucked a shoe at him.

WESTMINSTER

It’s stifling. There’s a smell she can’t identify. It gets into her nostrils like Duncan’s fingers the day they had a row over a bit of weed. She can almost feel the blood trickle down as it did that day. Her legs are splayed out, like they were that time on Hastings Bastions, her shoes in her lap and her legs jutting out catching the cool breeze. But she’d started to cry soon after, and lit a cigarette and stubbed it out repeatedly on her flabby thighs. It hurt. And it makes her wonder, now, why these types that decide to turn themselves into kamikazes don’t just lay into themselves with a blade and stop when the pain becomes unbearable, the way she does whenever she feels angry at the whole world, feels like taking it out on the whole of humanity. Or why they don’t just light a smoke and burn their eyelids with it just to remind themselves of how much it hurts, being burned, the way she does whenever everyone and everything seems to have it in for her. But to just do yourself in, not to mention a whole lot of other people, jesus fucking christ that’s . . . way out . . . and she’s tried to kill herself several times and has never managed to go through with it. Hurting yourself when you’re pissed off she can understand, though. And it works, too.

She glances once more at her brother and he says, “We’ll be there soon.” And she feels the urge to tell him that she loves him and wouldn’t want him to die even though they have these nasty rows and he calls her a loser because she can’t seem to hold down a job for longer than three months. Then he tells her she should consider becoming a train driver ’cause it seems to be a cushy kind of job, fun, like, and she might even manage to stick it out for longer than three months. And she aims a kick at him. And she wants to tell him that they should probably start taking life a little more seriously, stop ribbing each other, because they’re about to die.

VICTORIA STATION

A desert.

This is the first time she’s seen that station in such a desolate state, waiting for the people to turn up, sending off train after empty train, forlorn in the absence of the morning rush . . . what is she doing here? And she needs to look happy because this is the first time her brother’s been abroad. Her sister looks as if she’s standing on the shore of the new world, the way she herself used to feel every time she went to London, except that now everything seems to have died, and she’s begun to think that maybe this isn’t the best place to spend the rest of one’s life after all. Then she sees the policemen with their dogs. And shortly after, a man in civvies walks past carrying a squarish brown briefcase, looking as though he’s searching for explosives. And her brother thinks it’s really cool and takes a picture of him. And she feels a strong urge to shove her head into a trashcan and vomit. But there are no trashcans in Victoria, and she decides it’s not worth making a mess on the station floor.

This friend of hers wakes up at five on the dot every morning and eats exactly half a cup of Special K, then goes right back to bed and sleeps until six-thirty, then gets out of bed and heads straight for the bathroom. Her friend says that makes her life so much easier, compared to other people who don’t get up before eight and then have to rush to be at work by eight-thirty. So one day she asked her friend what would happen if she didn’t hear the alarm clock ringing, but her friend said this had never happened; or what would happen if she ran out of Special K, but her friend said this had never happened either; and now she’d really like to ask her friend what would happen if she was in the tube and it blew up and they took her to the hospital and the hospital couldn’t serve her Special K at five in the morning and she couldn’t use the bathroom at six-thirty on the dot. But this friend of hers is way too laid-back, she doesn’t consider possibilities unless they concern her directly, and maybe that’s why her life’s so much easier and she thinks she’d really like to be that way herself, except she couldn’t get up at five to eat her Special K and anyway, she’d be sick of it after a week.

Then, her brother and sister go to look up the route to Leicester Square. The Piccadilly Line. Part of it has been shut down, but they can still catch a train to Leicester. But she’s feeling dizzy. Her legs seem to be made of lead. She can’t face another ride on the tube. Why not take a walk? It’s not such a long way. The police are still around with their dogs. So’s the man with the briefcase. Her brother and sister wander off to take the connection to the Piccadilly Line. She starts to have visions of her friend eating her Special K, her cousin strumming the chords of Julia somewhere in the underground, her mother praying, her father saying the rosary, her friend staring at the tube map, the bearded man getting on the train, her brother at Boffa Hospital, her sister in bed all alone. She needs to feel the chill of the ground beneath her feet, so she takes off her shoes and socks, rolls up her jeans, and walks barefoot.

*

She gets home and shuts the door behind her, turns the keys in both the top and bottom locks, slides the bolt on the little window at the side, and plods the remaining steps to her bedroom. She draws the nylon curtain, then the stripey drapes. The light outside gets on her nerves, like the repetitive yammering of a scratched CD. She takes off her belt, undoes her waist button, and unzips her trousers. The zipper goes down jerkily, releasing the flab on her belly. She tears her shirt open with such livid force the buttons fly off. She hears them as they hit the floor. One, two, three, four. Like those glass beads she used to play with when she was a little girl; when she got tired of playing with them, she’d try to get the cat to swallow them and choke. She takes off her shirt, flings it onto the bed behind her. She pulls her trousers off, then her panties. First one leg, then the other. Unfastens the clasp of her bra, lowers the strap over one arm, then the other. She looks in the mirror. Grabs a bottle of perfume in her right hand, squeezes it tight between her fingers. Stares at it. She lifts her right arm, squeezes the bottle even harder. She draws herself back a little and. . .

Screams.

She slams down hard onto the bed and shuts her eyes.

After a few minutes, she gets up again, looks into the mirror once more and is aware of a tear teetering over the edge of her eyelid, reluctant to take the plunge. She walks to the bathroom. Opens the door. Walks in. Shuts the door behind her. Turns the key, sits on the toilet, and hugs the tank.

And she thinks of good sex. Of how she felt like throwing up after sleeping with Silvan that night. Of her mother, of every time she tells her, “Sleeping with a man is sinful, sleeping with a woman is three times as sinful.” And then of her father, of when he asks, “Which mass are you going to this morning?” She remembers her time in London with her brother and sister, how everything had happened at once and she’d felt like stubbing out a hundred cigarettes on her thighs and had ended up walking barefoot through the station instead. And she wishes there was some way to ascertain that the bathroom is in fact the safest place to be.

Hugged around the tank.

Keeping her solitude at bay.

Bilfors trid titla’.

Mhix għażla tagħha imma hekk ikollha tagħmel. Għax ħutha hekk iddeċidew. Minn Stepney Green għal London Victoria, id-District Line. U mhux se jaqbdu bus għax ħuha ż-żgħir qatt ma qabad tube u l-idea teċitah, u oħtha l-kbira ma tridx tagħmel siegħa fuq karozza tal-linja għax trid tara kollox u ma tridx taħli żmien.

Jekk tkun ilek marid bil-cancer sena u nofs u tkun qattajt ġranet sħaħ taqla’ ġol-vina boroż sħaħ ta’ chemo u tibda tara vina wara l-oħra tinxef u tmut, ma tibqax tibża’. U jekk ir-raġel ikun telqek biex imur ma’ ieħor u l-boyfriend ta’ ftit xhur jikkommetti suwiċidju għax isir jaf li kellek raġel u mar ma’ ieħor, ma tibqax tibża’.

Ħuha għandu 24 u marid bil-lymphoma; oħtha ta’ 30 isseparata wara tliet snin miżżewġa u xahar ilu l-ewwel boyfriend li ħarġet miegħu wara l-ewwel raġel ħallielha nota fejn qalilha li se jagħmel suwiċidju minħabba fiha.

U t-tnejn li huma għamluhielha ċara: jiġu jitnejku mill-mewt. Imma kieku kellhom jagħżlu, jagħżlu li jmutu f’attakk terroristiku u mhux bil-cancer jew bid-depression. Imma hi le. Saqajha ma tibqax tħosshom hi u nieżla t-taraġ ta’ l-istazzjon ta’ Stepney. U kif tħoss ir-riħ tat-train isawwatha fuq wiċċha tkun trid taqla’. Imbagħad jitilgħu. Hi, oħtha, u ħuha.

It-train baħħ.

Kulħadd kien għadu mwerwer wara dak li kien ġara jumejn qabel. Minbarra ħutha. U hi jkollha tobdi, u din li ħutha jiġu jitnejku mill-mewt qed toqtolha … għax għaliha din il-biċċa tal-mewt xi ħaġa serja u fil-verità hija ’l bogħod, x’aktarx iktar mill-aħħar stop tal-linja l-ħadra. 

U ħutha jridu bilfors jagħmluha tat-turisti. Hi le. L-aħħar li kienet Londra kienet qed tistudja u allura ma kinitx turista, u l-aħħar li kienet Londra kienet iddeċidiet li kellha tmur tgħix hemm għal ftit snin għax din il-belt, minkejja li d-dlam tagħha tħossu dieħel fil-vina, kienet tħobbha u ma kinitx tħeddilha, anzi kienet timlieha bl-enerġija li bħalissa ma kellhiex għax ħutha kienu ħaduhielha kollha, sa l-inqas qatra. Kienet hi li ġennithom biex jitilgħu.

Belha!

U issa Londra mhix bħal qabel.

WHITECHAPEL

Ħuha jħares lejn il-mappa. “Ħdax-il stop ieħor,” jgħid.

Hi taqtagħha li ma fadlilhiex wisq ħajja u allura tibda taħseb fl-affarijiet kollha li kellha tistaqsi lil missierha u għadha ma rnexxilhiex tieħu mingħandu …

“Tiftakar meta konna ninżlu ħdejn il-bandli u kien ikun hemm kaxxa mimlija preserves fuq l-għatba tal-bieb ta’ dik il-mara x-xiħa?”

“Le, ma niftakarx.”

“X’kien jisimha?”

“Ma niftakarx.”

“Ma jistax ikun ma tiftakarx għax jien kont inżilt miegħek xi darbtejn u kont għidtli biex ma ngħid lil ħadd.”

“Mela ’qas lili ma suppost tgħid.”

“U kont ipparkjajt kemm xejn ’il bogħod, mort tiġri għaliha, tfajtha fil-karozza u ħrabna.”

“Le, ma niftakarx.”

“U meta bdejt nibki filgħodu għax ridt immur l-iskola u għidtli li ma nistax?”

“Le, int qatt ma bkejt.”

“U x’le le! U bdejt tgħidli li l-iskola għalqet u bħalissa vaganzi. U jien lil ta’ ħdejna kont narah imur l-iskola, u allura jien għaliex ma stajtx immur kont ngħid … ”

“Dak żmien ilu.”

“Imma tiftakar li strajkjajt hux?!”

“Kieku nista’ anki dak ma niftakarx.”

“U tiftakar konna mmorru x-xatt tal-Belt nistennew lil Pantu ġej minn Għawdex bil-kaxxi tal-ħaxix mingħand in-nanna Roża?!”

“X’qed tħawwad?”

“Mela xejn m’għadek tiftakar jaqaw?”

                         “ … ”

“U tiftakar meta n-nannu ġabilna l-ewwel televixin tal-kulur?”

“Le, ma niftakarx.”

“Dażgur, niftakar li kulħadd kellu miz-zijiet u aħna biss le.”

“Qed tħawwad.”

“Dak għax kont strajkjajt?”

“Le.”

“Mela għax in-nannu kien jaħdem id-Drydocks?”

“Le.”

“U kien ġabhom kollha bil-kuntrabandu jew inkella b’xejn?”

“Staqsi lilu.”

“L-ewwel ġab tiegħu u mbagħad taz-zija Jenny u wara taz-ziju Manuel u mbagħad wieħed lilna.”

“Ma niftakarx.”

“U kif aċċettajtu allura int?!”

TOWER HILL

Għandha ħabib se jiżżewweġ dalwaqt u qed jibża’ jmur il-honeymoon it-Toscana għax sema’ li fl-istess żmien li se jkun hemm hu u l-mara, se jkun hemm ukoll Tony Blair u allura qed jgħidu li issa hemm imiss jattakkaw. U għandha ħabiba Ġermaniża li tgħix Londra li qaltilha li qatt ma falliet xogħol u dakinhar qamet tirremetti u ċemplet sick. U tiftakar f’Marthese li wkoll kienet tgħix Londra imma li kienu tilfu kull kuntatt wara l-ġlieda li kellhom fi Triq ir-Repubblika meta Marthese kienet għajritha egoista u hi beżżiegħa u biex Marthese turiha li ma kinitx beżżiegħa, qabdet u neħħiet il-flokk ta’ fuq u l-bra wkoll quddiem kulħadd. U hi kieku xtaqet tagħmel xi ħaġa biex turiha li ma kinitx egoista imma m’għamlet xejn. Issa tixtieq tkun taf jekk dakinhar Marthese qamitx u ċemplet sick ukoll.

Imbagħad tħares lejn oħtha. Tiċċassa fil-kedda t’għajnejha. Tkun trid tgħidilha li se jmutu u allura aħjar jgħidu ħafna xorti lil xulxin biex jiċċarawhom, u hi bħal donnha tifhimha imma tant hemm kwiet fit-train li minflok taqbad ktieb. Xi paperback taż-żobb għax dawk taf taqra.

“Tiftakar meta konna żgħar konna nilagħbu tat-tabiba u l-pazjenta u jien (minkejja li iżgħar minnek) kont ngħidlek tinża’ u mbagħad niċċekkjak minn fuq s’isfel, int għarwiena u jien bil-fardal?”

Ma tiftakarx.

“U kont tieħu gost.”

Ma tiftakarx.

“U tiftakar li dakinhar tat-tieġ, eżatt qabel ma dħalna fil-knisja, jiena nitbissem u inti titbissem, kont għidtli li ma tħobbux lil dan ir-raġel u li se tagħmel l-ikbar żball ta’ ħajtek? U jien ħarist lejk bl-ikrah … ”

Le, ma tiftakarx.

“U tiftakar meta għidtlek li jien inħobb in-nisa, u li l-irġiel nitqażżiżhom u int dawwartli d-diskors?”

Le, ma tiftakarx.

Nismagħha tidħaq b’xi ċajta mqanżħa fil-ktieb.

MONUMENT

Għandha ħabiba li tgħidilha li ħajjitha qisha l-mappa ta’ l-underground ta’ Londra: fiha ħafna direzzjonijiet u kull waħda taf fejn tibda u fejn se tispiċċa u x’ħin se titlaq u kemm se ddum. Il-burdati tagħha (li huma ħafna) huma l-kuluri. U l-waqfiet (li huma iktar) huma relazzjonijiet differenti ma’ nies differenti f’burdati differenti f’rotot differenti. U bħalissa hi tixtieq tistaqsiha għandhiex pjanijiet għal meta jkun hemm xi bomba u jkollha tagħlaq partijiet mil-linji ta’ l-underground. Qaltilha li meta ġiet Londra ma marret imkien ħlief fl-underground. Għoġbitha l-idea li b’ticket wieħed setgħet tmur fejn trid. Qaltilha li waqfet f’kull stop, niżlet, u mbagħad qabdet it-train ta’ wara biex tieqaf fi stop ieħor. U f’kull wieħed li niżlet immarkatu bil-lapes, u meta kienet immarkathom kollha kien waslilha ż-żmien biex tmur lura Malta.

BLACKFRIARS

Jitla’ xi ħadd. U għandu basket wara dahru. Din li issa se tibda tiġġeneralizza ma tistax għaliha. Imma moħħha ma jridx jaf. Malajr jaħsibha u malajr jibda jippanikja. Għax din li wieħed ikollu familja u jkollu xogħol tajjeb u mbagħad jiddeċiedi li jtajjar lilu nnifsu u xi erbgħin oħra miegħu ma tistax tifhimha. U b’liema mod jiddeċiedi li anki hi għandha tmut miegħu?

Qed tħossha qed tifga u ħuha jħares fil-kannierja ta’ moħħha u jinduna. Imbagħad tkun se tgħidlu li ladarba se jmutu jkun aħjar jekk jitkellmu fuq dakinhar meta ġġieldu u tefgħalha s-sikkina tal-ponta għal rasha. Tipprova tfakkru billi titfa’ ħarsitha f’għajnejh bħal mus.

“Tiftakar meta tfajtli s-sikkina u ma lqattnix bl-eżatt?”

Ma jiftakarx.

“U mbagħad jien qbadtha minn ma’ l-art u kont se nitfagħhielek l-aħħar, imma minflok ħriġt nigriflek il-ġenb tal-karozza l-ġdida?”

Ma jiftakarx.

“Forsi jkun tajjeb li niskużaw ruħna llum għax daqt immutu.”

Ma jagħtix kas.

“U tiftakar dik id-darba meta mort għand il-professur u qallek li għandek tumur? U mbagħad mort għand tabib ieħor u għand ieħor u qalulek li mhux tumur imma ftuq, u filgħaxija int u tirrakkontali mogħxi bid-daħq, tak ħass ħażin u jien bqajt nidħaq għax ħsibtek qed tirreċta u int ma qomtx? U mbagħad ħadniek l-isptar u bqajt hemm?”

Imma hu jibqa’ jgħodd kemm baqa’ sa London Victoria.

U fil-verità ma kienx tumur, imma lanqas ftuq.

TEMPLE

Għandha ħabiba paranojka dejjem taħseb li bil-lejl se jidħol fuqha xi ħadd u flok jirrejpjaha jisirqilha l-laptop li fuqu hemm il-bidu ta’ rumanz li ilha tiktbu xi sitt snin. U allura dan ir-rumanz tissejvjah kull nhar ta’ Sibt fid-disgħa ta’ filgħodu (għax ġeneralment il-ħallelin is-Sibt filgħaxija jidħlu) u taħbi s-cds f’postijiet differenti fil-flett. U hi kienet tidħaq biha qabel, imma issa, f’daqqa waħda, qed tħossha paranoid fit-tube, u ma’ kull persuna li titla’ u jkollha d-daqna u basket, trodd is-salib.

Imbagħad toħroġ il-mobile mill-handbag u tibda tikteb messaġġ lil ħabibtha.

la nigi lura dak

ilpjan ta … intik daqqa

id naraw xinhawdu jekk

immut ahseb fija ras

Imma m’hemmx reception u allura żżommu biex tibagħtu wara. Jekk ma tkunx mietet!

EMBANKMENT

Tibda taħseb fuq kif wieħed meta jkun irrabjat ma jistax jidħol fil-loki u jarma jwerżaq, flok joqtol lilu nnifsu u lil xi ħamsin oħra. Kif  pereżempju tagħmel hi meta ommha tibda tparla fuq is-sess qabel iż-żwieġ. U meta missierha jistaqsiha tkunx marret il-quddiesa l-Ħadd filgħodu. Imbagħad tagħlaq għajnejha u taħseb f’ommha, fuq l-aħħar ġlieda tagħha magħha u tkun trid tgħidilha li issa se teħles minnha darba għal dejjem għax se tmut u allura m’għandhiex għalfejn toqgħod tinkwieta li n-nies se jgħidu biha, u tkun trid tistaqsiha fuq iz-zija Ċett kif tagħmel dejjem, u tipprova ġġiegħel ’l ommha ma tilgħabx bil-kliem …

“Allura z-zija Ċett u Pina?”

“Xiex?”

“Istja dejjem flimkien!”

“Eh … ”

“U ejja ma, tgħidlix li mhux kulħadd jaf li oħtok u ħabibtha dejjem flimkien!”

“Ma nafx x’qed tgħid.”

“Mhux ta’ b’xejn … ” 

“Xiex?”

“Din fil-familja qiegħda … u min-naħa tiegħek ġejja!”

“Xiex?”

“U oħt in-nanna ukoll hekk kienet … imma dak iż-żmien kienu jgħidu li ma żżewġitx u baqgħet fuq l-ixkaffa.”

“Ma niftakarx.”

“Allura jien kif niftakar?”

“Int jekk kellek sitt snin meta mietet oħt ommi!”

“Anki hi kellha l-ħabiba. Ġanna kien jisimha, għax dejjem kienet issemmiha.”

“Ma niftakarx.”

“U issa Pina bdiet torqod għand iz-zija Ċett.”

“X’għandu x’jaqsam?”

“Iva għandu.”

“Dik għax marida, biex iddur biha.”

“Ara, int anki żewġt ixjuħ ta’ sittin sena jagħmlu li jridu bik.”

“Dejjem l-istess paroli int.”

“Int ma tammettix.”

“Xiex?”

“Għalhekk ma tifhimnix.”

“Ma nafx x’qed tgħid.”

“Għax hekk jaqbillek.”

“Xiex?”

“Għax vera, iz-zija Ċett u Pina … ”

“Eh … ”

“Ma jistax ikun qed niżbalja.”

“Mhux importanti.”

“Allura jien miniex importanti?”

“Għandna biżżejjed problemi.”

“Imma din mhix problema … ”

Filgħodu kuġinuha qallha li xi darba jixtieq jintefa’ fl-underground idoqq il-kitarra. Mhux biex jaqla’ l-flus, imma biex jara x’jiġri, biex jara jiqfux jisimgħuh in-nies, biex jara l-mużika li jikteb tintgħoġobx. Kuġinuha jgħix Stepney Green. Jgħid li jħossu Londoner u ma jridx jitlaq minn hemm, anki jekk meta jitla’ fuq tal-linja jisma’ botti razzisti. Qallha, hu hemm twieled u hemm se jibqa’ jgħix, anki jekk m’huwiex bjond u gustuż, u ma jgħixx f’parti sabiħa. U qallha li l-mużika kienet biżżejjed għalih biex jiżvoga, u din li jmur idoqq fl-underground issa jrid jagħmilha, biex juri lil kulħadd li ma jibżax. U mbagħad staqsieha kieku titfagħlux flus hi u tkun għaddejja minn quddiemu u hi minflok bdiet twerżaq u tefgħetlu ż-żarbuna għal wiċċu.

WESTMINSTER

Is-sħana. Qed ixxomm bħal riħa u ma tistax taqbad x’inhi. Qed tidħol fi mnifsejha bħas-swaba’ ta’ Duncan dakinhar li ġġieldu fuq biċċa blokka. Kważi kważi qed tħoss id-demm nieżel bħal dik id-darba. Saqajha mitluqa bħal ta’ dik id-darba li kienet fuq is-sur ta’ Hastings, biż-żarbun f’ħoġorha u saqajha mifruxin ’il barra jilagħqu ż-żiffa kiesħa. Imma ftit wara bdiet tibki u qabbdet sigarett u bdiet titfih fuq koxxtejha mimlija xaħam. U weġġgħet! U ħasbet, allura dawn li jiddeċiedu li jagħmlu bomba-suwiċida, għaliex ma jaqbdux xafra u jaqtgħu lilhom infushom u jieqfu malli jibdew iweġġgħu kif tagħmel hi meta tkun irrabjata għal kulħadd u meta jkollha aptit tagħti xebgħa lid-dinja kollha? Jew għax ma jaqbdux sigarett u jitfuh fuq il-kappell t’għajnejhom ħalli jkunu jafu kemm tweġġa’ meta tinħaraq, kif tagħmel hi meta kollox u kulħadd ikun kontriha. Għax din li toqtol lilek innifsek, u lil xebgħa nies oħra, istja din … din … le u qatt … u hi ppruvat mitt elf darba toqtol lilha nnifisha, u lanqas din qatt ma rnexxielha. Imma ara li tweġġa’ lilek innifsek għax tkun inkazzata, din tifhimha. U taħdem! 

Terġa’ tħares lejn ħuha u jgħidilha, “Daqt naslu.” Imbagħad tkun trid tgħidlu li tħobbu u allaħares imut anki jekk jiġġieldu bl-ikrah u jgħajjarha pastizz għax qatt ma rnexxielha ssib xogħol li fih iddum imqar tliet xhur. Imbagħad jgħidilha li jmissha tibda ssuq it-train għax jaħseb li hu xogħol faċli u tal-buzz u forsi jirnexxilha ddum iktar minn tliet xhur. U hi ttih daqqa ta’ sieq. U tkun trid tgħidlu li issa daqt imutu u allura aħjar ma jibqgħux jitnejku b’xulxin bħal dejjem u minflok jibdew jieħdu l-ħajja bi ftit iktar serjetà. 

VICTORIA STATION

Baħħ.

Qatt ma kienet rat lil dak l-istazzjon jistenna lin-nies fil-vojt u jibgħat lit-trains vojta u jibki l-passi miġnuna ta’ kull filgħodu … u hi qiegħda hemm! U trid tidher kuntenta għax din hija l-ewwel darba li ħuha siefer. Oħtha kienet qisha f’dinja ġdida bħalma kienet tħossha hi kull darba li kienet tkun Londra, imma issa f’daqqa waħda miet kollox u saħansitra bdiet tikkunsidra li dan ma kienx l-aħjar post li fih wieħed seta’ jqatta’ l-bqija ta’ ħajtu wara kollox. Imbagħad tara l-pulizija bil-klieb. U ftit wara tara raġel pajżan għaddej b’bagalja kwadra kannella bħal donnu qed ifittex xi bomba. U ħuha tant jiggustah li jeħodlu ritratt. U jkollha aptit iddeffes rasha ġo landa taż-żibel u taqla’. Imma laned taż-żibel m’hemmx f’Victoria u allura tiddeċiedi li ma tridx tagħmel fratteriji ma’ l-art.

Għandha ħabiba li tqum kull filgħodu fil-ħamsa bumm biex tiekol mitt gramma Special K u mbagħad terġa’ torqod sas-sitta u nofs u fis-sitta u nofs bumm tqum biex tidħol dritt fit-toilet. Tgħidilha li hekk il-ħajja hija ferm iktar faċli minn ta’ ħaddieħor li jqum fit-tmienja u fit-tmienja u nofs ikun ix-xogħol. U darba staqsietha x’jiġri jekk ma tismax l-iżveljarin u qaltilha li din qatt ma ġrat; jew inkella x’jiġri jekk ma ssibx Special K u qaltilha li lanqas din qatt ma ġrat, u issa tixtieq tistaqsiha x’jiġri jekk tkun fit-tube u tisplodi u jiħduha l-isptar u hemmhekk ma jagħtuhiex Special K fil-ħamsa ta’ filgħodu u hemmhekk ma tkunx tista’ tidħol fit-toilet fis-sitta u nofs. Imma din ħabibtha relaxed wisq u l-affarijiet li ma jikkonċernawhiex ma jgħaddux minn moħħha u forsi għalhekk ħajjitha relaxed u hi tixtieq kieku li hi bħalha, imma hi mhix kapaċi tqum fil-ħamsa biex tiekol l-iSpecial K u lilha kieku żgur idejjaqha wara ġimgħa.

Imbagħad, ħutha jaraw liema linja jridu jaqbdu biex jaslu Leicester. Il-Piccadilly Line. Biċċa minnha magħluqa imma xorta jistgħu jaqbduha għal Leicester. Imma hi tħossha qed tistordi. Saqajha ma jtuhiex. Ma tridx taqbad tube ieħor. Aħjar jimxu. Hekk jew hekk m’hemmx bogħod. Il-pulizija għadhom hemm bil-klieb. Dak ir-raġel tal-bagalja wkoll. Ħutha jibdew mixjin fid-direzzjoni tal-Piccadilly Line. Hi tibda tara lil ħabibtha tiekol l-iSpecial K, lil kuġinuha jdoqq Julia xi mkien fl-underground, lil ommha titlob, lil missierha jgħid ir-rużarju, lil ħabibtha tħares lejn il-mappa, lir-raġel bid-daqna tiela’ fuq it-train, lil ħuha Boffa, lil oħtha fis-sodda weħedha. Saqajha jixtiequ jħossu l-kesħa ta’ l-art, u għalhekk tinża’ ż-żarbun, il-kalzetti, ixxammar il-jeans u timxi ħafja.

  *  *  *

Tidħol id-dar, issakkar il-bieb b’ta’ fuq u b’t’isfel, tagħlaq il-bieba tal-ġenb bil-firroll u tlaqqat ftit passi sal-kamra tas-sodda. Iġġerri l-purtiera tan-nylon u wara dik tad-drapp strixxi strixxi. Id-dawl ta’ barra jqabbadha n-nervi daqs cd jaqbeż. Tneħħi ċ-ċintorin, tħoll il-buttuna tal-qalziet u tniżżel iż-żipp. Żippjatura mqanżħa li sserraħ it-tpaħpiħa ta’ żaqqha. Tiftaħ il-qmis b’tant salvaġiżmu li tqaċċat il-buttuni.  Tisma’ l-ħoss tagħhom ma’ l-art. Waħda, tnejn, tlieta, erbgħa. Qishom żibeġ li kienet tilgħab bihom meta kienet għadha żgħira u li kif iqabbżuhielha kienet tieħu gost titfagħhom f’ħalq il-qattusa biex taraha tifga. Tinża’ l-qmis. Titfagħha fuq is-sodda ta’ warajha. Tniżżel il-qalziet, il-qalziet ta’ taħt ukoll. L-ewwel sieq, it-tieni sieq. Tħoll il-kurkett tal-bra, tniżżel l-ewwel ċinga, imbagħad it-tieni. Tħares fil-mera. Taqbad b’idha l-leminija l-flixkun tal-fwieħa.  Tagħsru bejn subgħajha. Tħares lejh. Tgħolli idha l-leminija. Tagħfas iżjed. Tinġibed ftit lura u …  

Twerżaq.

Tinstabat fuq is-sodda u tagħlaq għajnejha.

Wara ftit minuti tqum minn fuq is-sodda, tħares għal darb’oħra fil-mera u tħoss demgħa trid toħroġ imma ma tazzardax. Timxi sal-kamra tal-banju. Tiftaħ il-bieb. Tidħol. Tagħlaq warajha. Iddawwar iċ-ċavetta, tpoġġi bilqiegħda fuq il-loki u tgħannaq il-flaxing. 

U taħseb fis-sess li hu sabiħ. U taħseb f’kemm xtaqet taqla’ dakinhar li qagħdet ma’ Silvan, f’ommha, f’kull darba li tgħidilha, “Jekk tmur ma’ raġel dnub, jekk tmur ma’ mara dnub tripplu.” U mbagħad f’missierha meta jistaqsiha, “Ta’ x’ħin sejra llum?” Tiftakar f’meta kienet Londra ma’ ħuha u oħtha u f’meta mbagħad ġara kollox f’salt u xtaqet titfi mitt sigarett fuq koxxtejha u minflok imxiet ħafja fl-istazzjon. U issa tixtieq tifhem jekk il-kamra tal-banju hix l-iktar post safe.

Mgħannqa mal-flaxing.

Biex ma tħosshiex weħedha.