Like, they’ll find out little personal details about you before the séance starts, so you’ll really believe that it’s your dead Aunt Jemima talking to you.’
Sparky took his hands out of the bowl and carefully scraped the
schnitzla
mix from his fingers, using a spoon. Then he went to the sink and washed them.
‘Hey – you don’t finish yet, Sparky!’ called out Mikhail. ‘Now you have to squish into patty!’
‘I’m sorry, Mikhail,’ said Jack. ‘You’ll have to finish them off yourself. Sparky and me, we have a couple of important things to talk about.’
‘OK,’ said Mikhail. ‘But you come back, Sparky, for more lesson in cook! You have touch like good chef!’
Jack and Sparky went upstairs to their apartment. Jack went to the fridge and took out a beer for himself and a Dr Pepper for Sparky. They went into the living room and Sparky sat down on the end of the couch, looking up at Jack both expectantly and anxiously.
‘This is so hard, Sparks,’ said Jack. ‘At first I wasn’t going to tell you, but then I thought, I have to. After all, it was
you
who said that I was going to be given a message, and you were right, and so you deserve to know what it was and who gave it to me.’
‘Do you believe that Mom’s still here, someplace?’ asked Sparky. He looked around the room, almost if he thought she might be standing in the corner.
‘What?’ said Jack. ‘In heaven or something? I don’t know. It would be nice to believe it, wouldn’t it? But I don’t think I can.’
‘If she’s not in heaven, how did she speak to you?’
‘I have absolutely no idea. But the message she gave me was that somebody was buried in the Kampinos Forest, not too far from a village called Truskaw. Well, she said “they”, so I’m assuming that she was talking about more than one.’
‘Did she tell you who they were?’
‘No, she didn’t, but considering that this was a message from beyond, she was pretty specific about
where
they were. Two kilometers north of Truskaw and three hundred meters to the west, that’s what she said. Apparently they’re buried where the path splits up into three, under some rocks that look like the head of a witch.’
‘She said all that? What … what did she sound like?’
‘Really calm, like she always used to, when she was alive. Not upset in any way at all, but not much expression, if you know what I mean. It was almost like she was reading it. She started off sounding really clear, but then her voice got fainter and fainter.’
‘Did she say anything about Malcolm?’
‘No, she didn’t. Well – she might have done, but if she did I couldn’t hear it.’
Sparky looked thoughtful. ‘She must have had a reason for telling you about these buried people.’
‘I agree, Sparks. Like I said, she didn’t tell me who they were, but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that they could well be your great-great-grandfather Grzegorz, and his friend Andrzej – you know, Mrs Koczerska’s great-uncle. I never even
heard
of Truskaw before last week. It seems like too much of a coincidence that this is the second time in five days that somebody has mentioned it to me.’
‘What are you going to do?’ asked Sparky.
‘Well, you said, didn’t you, that some woman far away was going to confirm that this message was true? I’m going to call Maria Koczerska and see if her friend at Warsaw University can shed any light on it.’
‘She can,’ said Sparky, emphatically. ‘She
will
.’
‘You also said that I’m going to fall in love with her.’
‘That’s what your stars say.’
‘Don’t I have any choice in the matter?’
Sparky looked away. Jack was trying to be light-hearted about it, but he could tell that Sparky didn’t want to talk about it any more.
‘Do you have any homework?’ Jack asked him.
‘Not tonight. Well – some, but it’s only reading a chapter of
Moby Dick
, and I can do that when I go to bed.’
‘OK – why don’t you go
Sparky took his hands out of the bowl and carefully scraped the
schnitzla
mix from his fingers, using a spoon. Then he went to the sink and washed them.
‘Hey – you don’t finish yet, Sparky!’ called out Mikhail. ‘Now you have to squish into patty!’
‘I’m sorry, Mikhail,’ said Jack. ‘You’ll have to finish them off yourself. Sparky and me, we have a couple of important things to talk about.’
‘OK,’ said Mikhail. ‘But you come back, Sparky, for more lesson in cook! You have touch like good chef!’
Jack and Sparky went upstairs to their apartment. Jack went to the fridge and took out a beer for himself and a Dr Pepper for Sparky. They went into the living room and Sparky sat down on the end of the couch, looking up at Jack both expectantly and anxiously.
‘This is so hard, Sparks,’ said Jack. ‘At first I wasn’t going to tell you, but then I thought, I have to. After all, it was
you
who said that I was going to be given a message, and you were right, and so you deserve to know what it was and who gave it to me.’
‘Do you believe that Mom’s still here, someplace?’ asked Sparky. He looked around the room, almost if he thought she might be standing in the corner.
‘What?’ said Jack. ‘In heaven or something? I don’t know. It would be nice to believe it, wouldn’t it? But I don’t think I can.’
‘If she’s not in heaven, how did she speak to you?’
‘I have absolutely no idea. But the message she gave me was that somebody was buried in the Kampinos Forest, not too far from a village called Truskaw. Well, she said “they”, so I’m assuming that she was talking about more than one.’
‘Did she tell you who they were?’
‘No, she didn’t, but considering that this was a message from beyond, she was pretty specific about
where
they were. Two kilometers north of Truskaw and three hundred meters to the west, that’s what she said. Apparently they’re buried where the path splits up into three, under some rocks that look like the head of a witch.’
‘She said all that? What … what did she sound like?’
‘Really calm, like she always used to, when she was alive. Not upset in any way at all, but not much expression, if you know what I mean. It was almost like she was reading it. She started off sounding really clear, but then her voice got fainter and fainter.’
‘Did she say anything about Malcolm?’
‘No, she didn’t. Well – she might have done, but if she did I couldn’t hear it.’
Sparky looked thoughtful. ‘She must have had a reason for telling you about these buried people.’
‘I agree, Sparks. Like I said, she didn’t tell me who they were, but if I had to hazard a guess, I’d say that they could well be your great-great-grandfather Grzegorz, and his friend Andrzej – you know, Mrs Koczerska’s great-uncle. I never even
heard
of Truskaw before last week. It seems like too much of a coincidence that this is the second time in five days that somebody has mentioned it to me.’
‘What are you going to do?’ asked Sparky.
‘Well, you said, didn’t you, that some woman far away was going to confirm that this message was true? I’m going to call Maria Koczerska and see if her friend at Warsaw University can shed any light on it.’
‘She can,’ said Sparky, emphatically. ‘She
will
.’
‘You also said that I’m going to fall in love with her.’
‘That’s what your stars say.’
‘Don’t I have any choice in the matter?’
Sparky looked away. Jack was trying to be light-hearted about it, but he could tell that Sparky didn’t want to talk about it any more.
‘Do you have any homework?’ Jack asked him.
‘Not tonight. Well – some, but it’s only reading a chapter of
Moby Dick
, and I can do that when I go to bed.’
‘OK – why don’t you go
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