Children of Paradise: A Novel by Fred D'Aguiar Page A

harrowing sermon. They ignore the prod of the sticks and barely hear the guards’ orders to move faster and hurry to their beds. They trudge through the dark in a somnambulant state, dreamless because incapable of another nervous impulse, emptied into mere echoes of themselves.

SEVEN
    R yan and Rose try to console Trina in the dormitory. They say her mother’s wounds are just scratches and will be cared for at the infirmary. Trina shakes her head and cannot stop her tears. Ryan hugs her and asks if she wants him to get her and the others some bread. His bold offer makes Trina smile. Rose says he should bring two loaves and jam to go with them. A third child says the treat would go down nicely with a cup of tea if he could manage that as well. Trina chuckles along with the others. A quick rap on the door banishes all the children’s smiles. They adopt a variety of miserable expressions, from hangdog looks to sour faces to blank impassive stares, just in time to see an assistant to the preacher stride into the dormitory with a paper bag that she hands to Trina. She tells Trina that the preacher himself wants Trina to know he is proud of her conduct at the sermon and that she is a fine example of trust.
    —Is my mother all right?
    —She’ll be fine, only a few scratches and a slightly sprained wrist.
    —Can I see her?
    —It’s very late now. In the morning.
    Trina thanks her and waits for her to leave the dormitory, then opens the twisted top of the brown paper bag. Inside she finds a chocolate bar, a pack of sweet wafers sandwiched with cream, a packet of salted peanuts, chewing gum (which the children are never allowed to have without special permission), and a bag of salted potato chips. Trina offers the treats to the entire dormitory of sixteen. Some of the children accept. Rose says that she cannot, that Trina should enjoy her hard-earned treat. Ryan insists that Trina should enjoy her treats by herself, since she paid a high price for them with her mother in the infirmary and her life almost lost for real. But Trina says she will be happy only if she can share her unexpected bounty. She says she did what any one of them would do if ordered to do so by the preacher, and any other course of action would have been insane and accompanied by one of three outcomes: the well, the gauntlet, or a group beating. She divides the chocolate and hands out a few peanuts and offers the potato chips to eager hands. Ryan and Rose see her logic and think her brave and very generous, and with that they help themselves to a part of the chocolate bar, a stick or two of gum, and a wafer. They nibble their treats to make them last. They talk in between chewing for longer than they should as they try to stretch the time the snacks last. They say how they could not breathe and could hardly look and almost passed out in shock as Trina offered the gorilla a banana. How did she do it? How did she manage not to pee herself? Ryan says he was with her all the way, beside her in every move she made. Rose agrees and adds that she was like Trina’s shadow if Trina had a shadow in that tent. Trina smiles and then stops in the middle of the smile and starts to cry. She says she hopes Adam dies in his sleep and ants crawl over him and eat his gorilla body. She says she wishes she were big and could wield a large stick so she could beat the snot out of those guards and make them cry for their mothers. She drops her treats as she says this and pulls at her hair. The others stop nibbling and look alarmed. She begins to say something about the preacher, and Ryan drops his snack and rushes to her and covers her mouth with his hand. He pulls her to him and cuddles her. She shakes in distress.
    —I will get you a real treat, Trina. Promise me you won’t say bad things and get yourself into more trouble, and I will get you some fresh bread hot out of the oven. Promise.
    Ryan looks into Trina’s face, and she stops shuddering and nods, and he smiles at her