Page 64 - Litteratteur Redefining World December issue

Litterateur redefining world December 2020

William got up off the bed and followed Roberto. The air outside was still and hot.
They spent the day in the vines, harvesting. Roberto and William picked without
speaking. As he worked William imagined where he would go when he left the
vineyard, the places he had seen on the internet. All he knew of the country was
the airport, and the passing landscapes on his six hour bus ride to the vineyard. It
had been a bleak winter’s day when he landed, the horizon shrouded in looming
clouds, the rough hills stretching on for hours. William paused in his work, stood
and straightened his spine. He lifted his head to the blue sky, the silhouette of
rough hills. Surely there’s more to this country than this.

By the end of the day William was sore from bending over and carrying, his knees
aching from crouching under the foliage. Even though he’d been wearing a hat the

skin on his face felt tight with sunburn. Roberto drove the truck back to the
buildings in the twilight and they unloaded the grapes into the sheds. It was dark
by the time they were inside the farmhouse, the first stars twinkling in the dry
summer sky. Roberto cooked by candlelight and they ate silently in the kitchen.
William was too tired to speak, and went to his room as soon as he had finished
cleaning the kitchen. It almost seemed like too much trouble to wash himself, but
the cold water from the shower head cooled his tight skin as he stood in the watery
darkness. He fell asleep almost as soon as he blew out the candle.

When he woke in the morning William saw immediately that someone had been in
his room. His bag was unzipped, and the drawers of the bedside table lay open. He
guessed what Roberto had done.

William found him in the machinery shed.

Where’s my fucking passport?

Roberto held up his hands. They were big, almost bear like, the palms pale
compared to the rest of his body.

You will get it back when we are done, and paid all what you are owed. It will only
be a matter of a few weeks extra, maybe a month.

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