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the wiser of us, the clearer thinker, the better judge of
people.
He always gave his rhino its full title – “Rhino-keros,”
pronouncing it like a Greek word, and I thought that
sounded more impressive too, more poetic.
Alik and I came away from that sports center after the
interview talking incessantly, in no hurry to part, and
headed over to the park. It was summer, hot, and two
plump schoolgirls aged ten or so were playing in the river,
dancing up and down, shoving each other under the water
and, without noticing it, moving away from the bank until
the bottom suddenly disappeared, one grabbed the other,
they clutched at the air and disappeared from view.
Like two greyhounds, in our T-shirts and jeans, we raced
into the water and trampling, on something hard, without
being able to see it from above, I groped around and pulled
out the first one and El pulled up the second; – their eyes
were bulging out of their sockets, they had both swallowed
plenty of water and seemed about to start shrieking but
then, completely unlike little kids, just didn’t, as if they had
grown up in those few seconds they were down there, they
seemed stunned, although only a short time before they
had been squealing and grunting like piglets.
Goggle-eyed and at a loss for words except to babble his
thanks, as taken aback as the girls, their big brother arrived,