I don’t know whether it was good luck or the good efforts of the other boyers. Or maybe there were no polar bears at all in that area. Maybe the grown-ups just wanted us to feel important. I woke up feeling stiff and giddy. I rubbed my eyes with my hands and smelt the smell of stale blood. I looked at my hands. My left hand was smeared still with the dried blood of the whale, which I had picked up off the coffee mug of the whaler I had served. I shuddered. I was implicated in this butchery, whether I liked it or not. Outside, an impromptu feast was going on. The whalers had taken a break from their butchering work and the women had set up stoves beside the whale and were cooking maktak. ‘What’s that?’ I asked. ‘Whale skin,’ said Matulik, handing me a piece. ‘It’s delicious. You should try some, Tyke.’ I stepped back. ‘No,’ I said, horrified at the idea of eating boiled whale skin.
What do You think about Call Of The Whales (2012)?
