Page 166 of Atlas: The Story of Pa Salt

‘Pepe?’ I asked.

‘Our uncle... the brother of Lucía, whose statue you delivered to the Alhambra.’

I understood the connection. ‘Got you.’ We strolled for a little while longer, until we reached a fork in the road. One direction led straight up to the palace. From where we stood, about two hundred metres away, I could just make out the figure of Landowski’s statue in the centre of the square.

‘You know,’ Angelina said, ‘I think we will go this way.’ She began to pull me towards the other road, which wound up towards the caves.

‘Where are we going?’

‘The day is growing old. We must go and meet Erizo. She will be happy to meet her new pa...’

I stopped in my tracks. ‘What do you mean, Angelina?’

She gave me one of her winks. ‘I told you, you were expected.’

Having resigned myself to Angelina’s will, I followed her up into the hills of Sacromonte.

The caves which I had first glimpsed thirty years ago were most remarkable up close. I thought back to my time in the underground home in Coober Pedy, and there was noquestion – the Spanish equivalent was preferable by a long chalk. For one, they offered a breathtaking view of the world below. From the dusty road outside of Angelina’s cave, I observed rows of olive groves, intersected only by the steep, winding paths that wove between the dwellings. In the valley beneath, the River Darro ran through verdurous trees, which were just beginning to turn from green to gold in the mellow September sunshine.

‘Pepe?’ Angelina called into the cave. ‘He is here.’

I followed her inside, and saw a moustachioed man whose skin had been well baked and wrinkled by the Spanish heat over the years. He was bottle-feeding the baby, and humming a tune.

‘Hola,señor,’ he said, giving me an affirming nod.

‘Pepe prefers to speak Spanish, I apologise.’

‘No need, I am in his country with no knowledge of his language. I should be the one apologising. Please tell him that I’m so sorry for the losses he has endured in his life.’

Angelina did so. ‘Gracias por su simpatía, señor,’ he said, bowing his head to me.

‘Well, no time like the present, as they say. I will begin to pack Erizo’s blankets. She has one which her mother and grandmother used. It would be nice if that could travel with her—’

I grabbed Angelina before she could move a muscle. ‘Angelina, stop, please,’ I begged. ‘I know that you are able to communicate with the “upper world”. But I have no right or, more importantly, wish to take Erizo away from you. I simply came here for another reading from an old friend. That is ALL.’

Angelina sighed. ‘You may think that is all, but the upper world returned you here just at the moment you were needed.’

My blood pressure was beginning to rise. ‘That’s merelyyour interpretation of the situation. Do you not respect that I am reticent to take away a child from her own family?’

Angelina took my hand and led me out of the cave again, so that Pepe would be spared my angst. ‘Atlas,’ she replied, ‘your arrival here is not by chance. Pepe and I cannot give Erizo the life she deserves. You, however, can.’

I shook my head. ‘Angelina... this is a conversation I have had many times across the years. Families have practically begged me to take their descendants from them. And when they do, I find myself in the centre of the most hideous moral quandary.’ My head had begun to spin. ‘I...’ Before I could say another word, I involuntarily found myself sinking to the floor.

Angelina ran back inside. ‘Agua,’ she called to Pepe.

With my back against the rock, I stared across at the Alhambra Palace. The setting sun cast a rich orange glow on the towers that seemed to rise magically out of the dark green forest opposite the caves. Angelina returned with a mug of water, and I sipped it gratefully. She joined me on the rocky floor.

‘Angelina, I worry every day that people might interpret me adopting my daughters as somehow...wrong. Moreover, Imyselfpanic that I have deprived them of a chance to grow up in their native lands.’ I put my water down beside me, and sank my head onto my knees.

Angelina squeezed my shoulder. ‘I understand, Atlas. You would not be the man I thought you were if you did not have such concerns. But the universe smiles on you for all you have done.’

I lifted up my head and met her eye. ‘With respect, Angelina, for my whole life I seem to have been governed by a power that I myself do not understand. You told me that my path was fixed.’

‘It is, my friend. But you could have chosen not to walk it. No one has forced you into adopting your daughters. You did it because of your desire to help others. Did you not?’

I ran my hands through my hair. ‘I suppose so.’

Angelina gave me a sympathetic smile. ‘You talk as if I was the first person to introduce you to the powers of the universe. But we both know I am not. As a little boy, you had eyes for the heavens. They kept you safe and guided you on your impossible journey.’