The valley in which Pasolobino was located was surrounded by enormous mountains whose foothills were covered in fields and forests with rocky crests. The small villages spread around the slopes and hillsides painted two pictures: the dark houses of stone, with steeply sloped roofs and robust chimneys, mixed with fresh new houses.
When it seemed as if there were no more mountains, the bus stopped in a town called Cerbeán. Laha finally arrived at his destination on Christmas Eve, on an afternoon when it snowed as much as it ever could. While the previous day had been calm and peaceful, flakes as big as hazelnuts now fell.
A woman wrapped up in an anorak, with a woolen hat, gloves, scarf, and a pair of high thick rubber-soled boots, waved her arm to get his attention. The only visible part of her body was her unmistakable smile. Laha felt a special joy on seeing his friend. He was certain he was going to have an unforgettable holiday.
Clarence thought that Laha looked wonderful. He wore a dark woolen coat, a scarf, and a brown pair of leather ankle boots that gave him the appearance of a city gent. They gave each other a friendly hug, which Clarence held a little longer, imagining Laha’s arms were his brother’s.
No, she said to herself. Iniko was bigger.
“You don’t know how happy I am to see you.” Clarence stepped away and gave him another smile. “I hope you don’t mind the snow!”
“On Bioko, it doesn’t stop raining for six months of the year.” Laha chuckled. “I think I can put up with a little snow!”
Clarence drove along the path opened up by the snowplow on the steep, narrow, and winding road. During the drive to the House of Rabaltué, they brought each other up to date.
“How is your brother?” she asked offhand. She felt incapable of saying his name.
“Iniko goes on with his daily routine, his work, his children, his meetings . . . ,” Laha responded. “When you left, he started brooding again. You know he’s not very talkative.”
He was very talkative with me, she thought. And he laughed a lot.
“He sends you his best regards.”
As they approached, Clarence began to get nervous. She had told her family about Laha, but they did not know that he was the special guest for the Christmas holidays. How would they react?
“We’re almost there,” she announced in a high-pitched voice. “Get ready not to move from the dinner table until tomorrow afternoon! And I’ll give you some basic advice. Hesitating when my mother offers you more food is the same as saying yes.”
Inside the House of Rabaltué, Carmen opened and shut the oven door, waiting for that small sign that would tell her that the roast was perfect. Clarence had finally invited a friend to spend Christmas with them; Carmen had the firm intention of, after giving him a thorough going-over, making a good impression, starting with her culinary skills.
Kilian had been restless all day. He first blamed this restlessness on the unsettling calm that he felt, like just before a big snowstorm or a tornado. But this afternoon, he felt something different, something more intense and difficult to explain, as if a silent gust of wind were going right through him. He shivered.
He looked at Jacobo, who was showing unusual interest in the king’s Christmas speech on the television. He still had not dared talk to him alone about the news and presents that Clarence had brought from Guinea, but Kilian knew that the memories had to be preoccupying his brother as much as him. They had spent so many years acting as if nothing had really happened. Neither of them wanted to risk breaking their pact of silence. But Jacobo must have realized that Clarence was suspicious. How much did she know? Could Bisila have told her something?
Jacobo turned, and his eyes met Kilian’s. He frowned. Why was Kilian being so odd? Was it not his daughter who had chosen the holidays to introduce them to a special friend? Carmen was very excited, hoping the invitation meant that the relationship was serious. Jacobo had mixed feelings about the news. He did not feel like making a good impression on a stranger who might or might not end up being part of the family. It made him feel older than he already was, and he did not like that one bit. Ah well, it was the law of life. He was happy for his daughter, whom he loved more than anything else in the world. He promised himself to try and behave around the lad.
“Family!” The door opened and Clarence entered. “We’re here!
“I’d like you to meet Fernando Laha. Everyone knows him as Laha, pronounced in low pitch and with the h sounding as an x . . .” She stepped to one side, swallowed hard, nervous, and concentrated on everyone’s reaction, especially those of her father and uncle.
Everyone stopped what they were doing to welcome this tall and attractive man. He greeted them with a beaming smile and, in spite of being in a strange house, oozed confidence.
Carmen twisted her lips in a silent whistle of surprise. Jacobo jumped out of his seat, as if he had seen a ghost. Kilian remained still, looking at Laha very closely, and tears welled up in his eyes. Daniela dropped the box of golden stars that she had been decorating the tablecloth with. They scattered and turned the floor into a fleeting celestial mosaic as she hurried to gather them up, blushing at her clumsiness.
Carmen was the first to greet him. Laha handed her a box of chocolates.
“There is a shop in Madrid,” he said in a confidential tone, “called Cacao Sampaka. It’s got nothing to do with the plantation, but I’ve been told that they have the best chocolates in the world. I thought it would be a good opportunity to see if it’s true.”
Carmen thanked him while out of the corner of her eye, she saw her husband’s face go paler and paler.
Jacobo tried to control himself. Fernando Laha? One of Bisila’s children? This was the person his daughter had fallen in love with? It was not possible. In God’s name! If Carmen knew! He cursed the bad luck that had put his daughter in contact with the only people on the whole island she shouldn’t have met. Could Laha know what had happened with his mother? Kilian and he had managed to bury it. Then how was it possible that he noticed an expectant glow in his brother’s eyes? Unless Kilian knew of the existence of this lad . . . and he had not said anything? Jacobo remembered the scrap of a letter that he had read many years ago, when he had been looking for a deed in the sitting room. He had not given it much thought then, but now it took on a whole new meaning. Clarence and Laha together? Jacobo shook his head. He did not yet know how, but he would make sure that his daughter did not get too involved with this man.
Laha went over to say hello, and Jacobo coldly shook his hand. Carmen went over to her daughter.
“He’s very handsome, Clarence,” she whispered, “but you should have warned us. Have you seen your father’s face?”