Dada 42

 Iskra said that the bird must have got lost and then he`d come back. He gave him lots of examples of birds that had travelled hundreds of miles to make their way back home.

In spite of all that, the old man seemed even more upset. “The bastard can’t walk let alone fly but they’ll still take him away from me, don’t you understand? 

It wouldn’t be so bad if I thought someone might take him in. But that`s impossible; he disgusts everyone with his scabby plumage. If the police pick him up, they’ll destroy him as a health risk.” 

I told him that all he had to do was go down to the police lost property and make a gentle enquiry. He`d get him back if he paid enough of a fee. He asked me if the fee was very expensive, I didn’t know. Then he got angry: “Pay good money for that scabby bastard.  He can go to hell!” he started cursing him. Iskra laughed and went inside the house. I followed him in and we said goodbye on the landing. A moment later, I heard the old man`s footsteps and he knocked on my door. When I opened it, he stood there for a moment then finally said: 

“I`m sorry”.

I asked him if he wanted to step inside. At first he said no but very quickly and sounding rather embarrassed he said he knew people in the neighbourhood that thought badly of me because of my Dada and that my mother and father were right to do what they did in order to keep  me straight. He continued ‘ that it was good that Dada had died up there in that home alone (even if it wasn’t true) because that way he could not be seen to betray any more people nor his stigma run like a stain down the Rajang river and cover all the family ‘