The heat. The mosquitos. The medusas in the oily sea. The stripped mountains. The German shepherd I freed who might have drowned. The relentless knocking on the door of the beach house. I have locked it now and don’t answer, except for yesterday, when it was Juan. It was his day off and he offered to take me on his moped to Cala San Pedro. It is the only beach with a freshwater spring. He said we could drive half the way on the road, then his friend would take us there by boat. I told him my mother was in a melancholy mood. I am her legs and she is lame. I don’t know what to do with myself. I have started to limp again. I have lost the car keys and I can’t find my hairbrush. The incident with the snake and then Leonardo undermining me kept colliding with my other thoughts. I was frightened when I took the axe from Ingrid’s hand. But not frightened enough not to want to know what will happen next. Leonardo has become her new shield. My mother was speaking to me but I was not listening, and she could tell because she raised her voice.
