TE20 Migrant Mosaics

The Fig Tree (excerpt) Goran Vojnović Translated from Slovenian by Olivia Hellewell

XIII Anya and I drove back in silence. I joined the motorway at Koper and itwas as if the surrounding scenerywas also choosing to hold its tongue. The monotone sound of the engine, the lines that divided lanes, the crash barriers, and Anya, who was waiting for my explanation. We had driven away so quickly after the burial, that she hadn’t been able to ask. But nor did she have to. It wasn’t her job to ask; it was my job to answer.

‘Aleksandar killed himself.’

‘What?’

Maybe I was just checking to see if she was listening. Maybe I wanted towake her, to call her back tome. Or maybe I just had to tell someone else about the empty little brown bottle and Mum’s visit.

‘What are you talking about? What do you mean, he killed himself?’

‘Suicide. Aleksandar committed suicide.’ 57