کینو و جوانا برمی‌گردن خونه

Chapter twelve

Kino and Juana Return Home

Everyone in the town remembers the return of Kino and Juana. Some old people saw them come back. Other people were told by their fathers and grandfathers a long time later. But everyone remembers the day.

Late one afternoon, some little boys ran into the town with the news. Everyone came out of their houses to see Kino and Juana. The sun was going down and the shadows on the ground were long. Everyone remembers Kino and Juana and the long, black shadows.

Kino and Juana came from the sandy road into the town. Kino was not walking in front of Juana. They were walking side by side. The sun was behind them and their long shadows were in front. Kino had a rifle in his hand and Juana carried her shawl over her shoulder like a heavy bag. The shawl had blood on it.

Juana’s face was hard and covered with lines because she was so tired. Her wide open eyes seemed to see nothing. Kino’s lips were thin and his mouth was shut tight. People say that Kino looked as dangerous as a wild animal that day. The crowd of people pushed back as Kino and Juana passed.

Kino and Juana walked through the town, but they did not see anything. Their eyes did not look to the right or to the left. They did not look up or down. They only looked ahead.

Kino and Juana walked side by side, through the town and down to the little wooden houses. The neighbours stood back to let Kino and Juana pass. Juan Tomas lifted up his hand, but he said nothing and left his hand in the air.

Kino and Juana walked past their burnt house, but they did not look at it. They walked through the bushes and went down to the water. They did not look towards Kino’s broken canoe. When Kino and Juana came to the water, they stopped and looked at the sea. Then Kino put the rifle down, put his hand in his pocket and took out the large pearl.

Kino looked and remembered all the terrible things that had happened. In the pearl, Kino saw cruel faces and flames burning up. He saw the frightened eyes of the man in the pool. Kino saw Coyotito lying in the cave with blood on his head. And the pearl looked bad and ugly.

Kino’s hand shook a little as he turned slowly to Juana. He held the pearl out to her. Juana was still holding Coyotito’s dead body over her shoulder. She looked at the pearl in Kino’s hand for a moment. Then she looked into Kino’s eyes and said quietly, ‘No, you must do it.’

Kino lifted up his arm and threw the pearl as far as he could. Kino and Juana watched the pearl shining in the evening sun. They saw the pearl drop into the sea. They stood side by side for a long time, watching the movement on the water.

The surface of the sea was like a green mirror. The pearl went down into the beautiful, green water and dropped towards the bottom of the sea. The pearl went down through the seaweed and fell among the plants in the sand. The pearl lay on the floor of the sea. And the pearl was gone.