Valli : Personal Journal of Valli Pillay, a Living Dead Pandemic Survivor

Entry 20

The road to Deux Bras was clear of both people and the living dead. The whole Deux Bras area, except for a small village, is agricultural. It used to be covered with sugar cane fields, before the sugar estate that owned it sold plots, around 4500 square meters each, to be used for vegetable farming and to raise animals. Some people still planted sugar cane; most of the plots were used for growing vegetables and a lot lay fallow. There were a few poultry and pig farms, and a horse stable. When the plots had gone on sale, Tata bought five of them. The one he had given Dad was at the end of the Deux Bras area. The land backed into a kind of stream which was a feeder canal leading to the bigger La Chaux River. It usually took fifteen to twenty minutes leisurely riding our bikes from our house to get to our plot. I was pedalling so fast it took me only ten minutes.

If it had rained heavily, the dirt roads became potholed in a lot of places and Dad's pickup was the best way to get there. In winter, the rains weren't as heavy which made it okay to ride a bike. The whole area is close to the airport. I liked going to help Dad at the plot because I could see the planes on their final approach to the runway.

It was also the place where the Paris Express Boeing had crashed. As I rode towards our farm I saw the plane's tail in the distance, I didn't stop. I kept riding. Beyond the crash site, the Grand Port Mountain Range loomed on the horizon. The whole area is beautiful, with few houses and a lot of greenery. If you are at the right spot and the right height you can see the airport and the waves crashing on the reef that protects Grand Port Bay.

I was soon at our little farm which rested at the bottom of a small valley. The land sloped down towards the stream. Tata had had it fenced with wire mesh a while ago. Our neighbours on each side of us didn't grow anything and thick brush and weeds covered their land. The land opposite had sugar cane which meant our place was well hidden. I stopped the bike, half hoping to see Dad's truck, but no one was there. By the time I got to the gate, the rain had stopped. In the distance the stream was gurgling along, birds were singing, everything normal. Another beautiful winter's day at Deux Bras whilst the rest of the world was coming to an end.

The litchis, breadfruit, and jackfruit Tata and Dad had planted were in the main area of the farm and, closer to the river at the end of the land, they kept a small plot for vegetables. The guardhouse or hut was closer to the gate on your immediate left when you walked in. I opened the gate and went inside. I closed it behind me, making sure it was locked, and took the bike to the side of the hut. I unlocked the hut and opened the door. I was shocked. It was a different place altogether. It was an actual house.

Dad had put two beds in the main area, one against each wall. At the back was a small kitchenette, with a portable cooker that had an electrical and a gas plate. It had a gas cylinder next to it. The kitchen cabinet was stuffed with canned goods. They would be a staple for a long time. Dad had planned this all along. He wasn't joking when he said he was getting ready. He had brought in lots and lots of bottles of water. An electronic humming sound came from the bathroom next to the kitchenette. I peeped in and saw a small fridge.

The first thought that came to my head was, there's no electricity out here, until I saw electrical wires which went outside. I went back out and followed the wires. They led to huge solar panels on the roof. Dad had also set up a rainwater harvesting system which led to a tank behind the hut. He had thought of everything. We could stay here and wait. Back inside I opened the kitchen cabinet and took a can of lentil soup with sausages in them. I didn't like pork. Dad was really the only one who ate pork and beef, but Mom never let him bring either into the house. I liked bacon occasionally, but I was so hungry I didn't care. I opened the can and poured it into a pot. When it was ready, I poured it all into a plate. I put the dirty pot in the sink and turned on the water to rinse it out. I took my food and went to sit outside. On the side of the hut we had a small wooden table under a thatched roof where we sometimes did BBQs. I sat and ate my meal. I ate the whole plateful.

When I finished eating I went for a walk around the farm. The weeds had taken over the orchard, but Dad had kept a patch of land clean. He had planted eggplant, bok choy and other greens, carrots, and a couple of other things. I was amazed. That's what Dad had been up to recently just getting ready.

Tata had not fenced off the side of the land that led to the stream, but he had built some stone steps that led down the bank. The stream itself was about five metres wide, deep in places and shallow in others. At the foot of the steps it was deep, but a little bit further upstream it was shallow. Uncle Nevin once spearfished an eel. The thing was two metres long. I sat on the steps and watched the water for a while. It was all so peaceful.

As it was winter it got dark quickly and it started to drizzle again. I went back to the hut and sat on the bed waiting and listening to birds chirping as they found their roosts for the night, frogs croaking, and insects calling to one another. I kept checking my phone and trying to call. Sometimes I got a dial tone, but nobody answered. Eventually I just gave up and turned off my phone. I needed to save the battery; I had not taken a charger with me when I left the house.

Back inside the hut I found a torch. Dad had always kept one there, so I knew where it was. The powerful beam cut through the darkness, and I felt as if I was using a ray from the sun. The whole hut lit up. I saw a light bulb and its switch. I turned it on. It was a weak light that sent an eerie glow inside the hut, but at least it worked. Before closing the door, I stepped on the small patio. There were lights far away to the west. Wisps of smoke rose into the sky in several places. From where I was they felt like stars. Light years away.

At this point, I got scared. I had never spent the night by myself. The previous night had been the first time, but this time I was not in the comfort of my home, with TV, the internet, and bright lights. I went back inside, closed the door behind me and locked it from the inside. It was colder. I put on my pullover, took off my trainers, and got into one of the beds. I tried to close my eyes, but I couldn't sleep. I kept hearing things. I strained my ears listening to whatever might be outside, but I knew I was alone and this caused a sinking feeling in my stomach. I started to cry, and I cried and cried for a long time until I fell into a fitful sleep. I woke up at some point and went to the bathroom using the torch. Heavy rain beat a rhythmic pattern on the corrugated iron. There could have been thousands of the living dead outside, moving towards the hut, their terrifying groans covered by the drumbeat of the rain, all heading towards me. I turned on my phone. This time there was no signal. I called out softly to my mom, my dad and Vani. "Please, please come get me, I'm so scared...."

No one answered. It was just the rain, falling, falling, just like the whole world was falling.