Page 32 of The Voice of Wild Places
“Where would we go?”Watt whispered, entertaining the idea of them against the world, if only for a moment.
Cornelius couldn’t help but smile, eyes closing and wind upon his cheeks.“Where wouldn’t we?”
April 7th, 1930
When the men stepped out into the growing rays of sunlight, the world was remarkably quiet.Breakfast had been satisfying, and Watt hadn’t slept so well in … well, a long time.He felt better than he had last night, his melancholy temporarily swept away by curiosity.And he was not the only one in a good mood.
Antunes met them at the hotel first thing in the morning in order to fit in a full day of sightseeing.They were in what was called the Old City, and there was a great promenade along the water just nearby.They walked, passing by gallons of milk and loaves of bread on doorsteps, unbothered by thieves and whole.The sight was picturesque to Watt in a simple way, and he became entranced by the world as they moved through it.The extravagant reform in the last few decades was clearly visible, and he could see why it was called the 'city of decent people.'Watt had to agree with this sentiment, at least in the area they frequented.
According to Antunes, who gave a running commentary on the city and her limbs, the growing favelas that overlooked the coastal part of the city were full of decent people, too.They were simply lower working class, and 1930 had treated them as harshly here as it did in New York City, or anywhere else.They made do with what they had, cobbling sheets of metal and planks of wood into homes.The affair wasn't unlike the tenements in the City, but here they did not compete with snow for space.
He found it hard to look at them, given the distance and his heartache.They reminded him of France, but he had no idea why.There was no physical similarity between these cobbled together neighborhoods and the aftermath of desecrated villages.And while there were the typical sounds of a waking city, motor cars roaring to life and pleasant ‘good mornings’ bid in their direction, it was remarkably quiet.Nothing like screaming, shouting.No bullet fire, or—
“Watt?”
Watt blinked, then looked down at Cornelius’s hand on his shoulder.His thick fingers gently dug into his muscles, and it forced Watt to focus.He glanced around, having lost track of himself for a moment.They were upon the beach now, Antunes had ventured a little ways ahead of them where the mosaic sidewalk gave way to sand.The ocean was right there, beautiful beneath the rising sun.There were a few people on the shore, but not many at this early hour.This beach wasn’t as popular as their later destinations.There was nothing but sand, palms, road, globular street lamps, and buildings for a good distance in either direction.Birds stirred in the air overhead, making their way in from the fringes of nature surrounding the bay.
Cornelius’ hand fell away from Watt’s shoulder.“Would you like to go back?You look terrible.”
“I always look terrible.But no, I’m fine.Thank you.”
Cornelius gave him a wry look.“You are far from terrible looking, Watt Johnson, and you know it.”He tapped the ground with his cane dismissively, then turned away in a flourish and joined Antunes.
Watt's heart skipped a beat.He stroked a hand between Maggie’s ears and recomposed himself before joining Cornelius and Antunes where the tide lapped against the sand.They had no parasol or blanket, but Watt didn’t mind.He sat down a little ways back from the water’s edge and heaved a great sigh, wrapping an arm around Maggie as she sat beside him.Cornelius and Antunes deposited their shoes and other personal belongings beside Watt, then rolled up their pant legs.Cornelius had dark hair on his legs, and Antunes did too.But it was starker on Cornelius, whose skin was much paler than Antunes' dark complexion.
“Could you hold onto these for me?”Cornelius asked, offering his cane, wallet, and camera directly to Watt.
Watt shook his head in mild disbelief, then nodded.“Yes.”The camera was secured in its leather case, and he draped the strap around his neck.He took Cornelius’ cane and laid it across his lap, drawing his knees up to his chest.Watt and Maggie sat together while the others stepped into the water.He didn’t want to get wet right now, but he could see that Maggie did.He just wanted to sit.To be in one place for a moment.And he did feel better now, enough that he could be alone.If only for a little while.Watt disentangled from her comfort.He raised his voice and said, “Cornelius, call her over.”
Cornelius straightened from where he had been dipping his hands into the edges of the Southern Atlantic.He didn’t hesitate before whistling and calling out, “Maggie, c’mere girl.”
Maggie's eyes went wide, and her body tensed.She looked at Watt.He tilted his head towards the water and said, “Go get him.”
Maggie took off like a shot.Ears tucked back against her head, she galloped until reaching the water’s edge, then jumped clear over it.She landed between Cornelius and Antunes with a great splash, dousing the men who’d previously only been wet up to their knees.Watt laughed, and his companions did too.Maggie chased the water as it ebbed and flowed, then proved her worth as a swimmer.She chased after Severino, and Cornelius cheered her on.
Watt took out his book, and began to sketch.
He warmed up in the waves, the surrounding bay and rising sun.His sketches were loose yet detailed, and they grew in depth and subject as time went on.Pages filled with palms lining the beach and mosaic sidewalks, designs on nearly every block.Eventually he returned to the view directly before him, forming a more serious type of drawing.
A curved bay with sand stretching for over a mile in either direction.A good amount of time had passed, and parasols had been erected in the peripheral areas.The focus was two men silhouetted by the distant embrace of mountains and the mid-morning sun, playing in the water with the most loyal of canines.
He bit back a smile, reveling in the diminishing lead and growing picture.He became lost in his work, and was startled when Severino dropped on the sand beside him.His legs were wet and water splattered his shirt, but he wasn’t too soaked.
“I must know her story,” Severino said, grinning as he watched Cornelius and Maggie come out of the water.“She has a certain fire, no?”
Watt liked the sound of that.He rested a hand over the page he’d been working on.“I’ve always thought so.She’s a stray.We sort of found each other one day and I …” Watt shrugged.He didn’t want to talk about this.“I couldn’t leave her.”
Antunes glanced sideways at him with an easy smile.“That’s wonderful.”He stared at Watt, and it seemed like there was something more he wanted to say.But Cornelius walked up to them with a sopping wet Maggie in tow, and the conversation broke.
He looked so happy, he and Maggie both.Her tongue hung out the side of her mouth, and her eyes were bright with a pup's spirit.She hadn't much of a chance to be a pup, like Watt she had been put to work at a young age.Also like Watt, she'd defied expectations and ran away from her masters.Watt wished he could heal as quickly as she did, but then again maybe she still thought about those days.Prior to Maggie he'd thought an animal was an animal, but the way she looked at him sometimes or helped him when he needed it most … there was some humanity in that.
“I didn’t expect to get so wet,” Cornelius said, grinning.His delight brought Watt back to the present.On a beach in Brazil, with his colleagues and his best friend.Right now, it didn't matter how rough their start had been.Right now, everything was okay.
“You?Take a look at me,” Antunes said, feigning despair.
Watt chuckled.“Joy finds us when we are least expecting it, wet or dry.”
“Who said that?”Antunes asked.
