Elisa K

---

AUTUMN - 1994

The rural school employs

a strict teaching method.

Eight different grades of pupils,

divided into two rooms.

On the right, Miss R

teaches the younger children.

On the other side, Mr S

is in charge of the older children.

Today, Mr S breaks

the rigorous school schedule.

Instead of telling his students

to open their books,

he says

they won't be reading today.

The class falls silent,

as if the pupils were afraid.

He is going to talk about

something very important

You won't be reading today.

I'm going to tell you about

something very important,

so I want you all to listen.

Interrupting the silence,

he clears his throat

and continues in a solemn voice.

Today, I'm going to tell you

about Martin Luther King.

Hi, kids.

How are you?

Fine.

I'm Maria. I'vejust finished

cleaning the house...

Elisa Kiseljak

turns eleven this winter.

But that's four months away,

four months is a long time.

So she's not thinking about it.

Not yet

At her cousirs First Communion

she wore a new white and blue dress

and she tried not to dirty it.

Her little sister had

exactly the same dress, identical.

Elisa doesn't like

that they dress the same.

Her sister asks their father

if she can sleep over

at her cousirs house.

The father agrees.

Elisa Kiseljak leaves with

her father and her older brother.

It's dark when they get outside.

Very dark.

Elisa stares at the squares

on the pavement.

One, two, three, four, five.

Every five she has to jump

or she'll go to hell.

Come on, Elisa.

The following morning,

like every Saturday,

they get up late,

without any hurry,

and Elisa,

her dad and her big brother

have breakfast

in their usual caf.

Afterwards, they walk

to their dad's friend's house.

They ring to tell the friend

and his kids to come down.

The friend's wife answers

with a metallic voice.

- Hello.

- Hi, it's us.

Come on up.

Okay. Let's go.

Let's take the stairs,

it's the first floor.

Hello!

Hello, sweetie.

Hello.

Wow, you've grown.

What do you feed him?

Vitamins and minerals.

Keep your eye on this one,

he climbs everywhere.

Don't worry.

A kiss.

Bye, sweetie.

I've got it.

See you later.

Ready?

He gives his right hand to his

daughter and the left to his son.

Elisa's father tries to do the same,

with the same ease,

but it doesn't really work.

Elisa Kiseljak and her brother

find it funny,

their father doesn't know

how to do things like that

When Elisa sees her brother

coming out of the museum,

she quickly gets off the big wheel,

She thanks the man who is whistling,

with a friendly smile.

- Hello, sweetie.

- Hello.

Were you cold up there?

- Why can't we go on the rollercoaster?

- There was hardly any queue.

Another day.

They all had lunch

at the usual restaurant.

Their father's friend's wife too.

Elisa's father asks them

up to his place.

Will you come to mine

for another coffee?

His friend's wife

and their children can't go.

They have to visit grandmother.

Their father's friend decides to go.

I think I will.

Elisa is upset with her father.

He didn't insist enough

that they all come up.

She wanted to play

with the friend's daughter.

The four of them

walk back slowly,

feeling dozy after their lunch.

In the lounge there are

two worn leather sofas,

a silver television,

a lamp hanging immobile

from the ceiling,

a portrait of a lady with

a violet hat and orange scarf,

a lacquer coffee table

and a rug.

The father serves his friend

some coffee.

Rememberthe restaurant

I told you about?

- We could go there next time.

- The seafood place.

- The seafood is excellent.

- Yes, good idea.

Dad, I'm going out on the terrace.

- What are you going to do there?

- Nothing, I'm bored.

Can I?

Yes.

Close the doorthough, please.

And you, Elisa? Are you bored?

The father had a bit too much

to drink at lunch

and will soon fall asleep,

and a few minutes later

Elisa will be raped.

Then she'll lose her memory

and the conversation between

the friend and her dad won't matter.

The father's friend is a jeweller.

He lives in an expensive

part of town.

They're people with money.

You can see it

in her father's friend.

In the aftershave he uses,

in his clothes,

in the type of haircut he has,

in his hands,

in the food he orders,

and even in the way he sighs.

When he sees Elisa crying,

he whispers in her ear.

If you stop crying,

I'll give you a silver bracelet.

- How are you?

- Fine.

The brother comes back inside.

He doesn't notice what's happened.

Nobody could have noticed.

The brother comes in

and the father wakes up.

He makes room for him on the sofa.

And as he has to move,

he stands up completely

and invites his friend to the bar.

The friend accepts, stands up,

and the two of them leave.

I'll be back soon.

Then, later on, when it's dark,

seeing that her father

has not returned,

they go down to the bar

to ask him for money

to go eat at the usual restaurant

The next day, Elisa feels

a slight pain in her stomach,

as if something

had made her sick,

She's gone with herfather

and brother

to collect her little sister

from their cousirs house.

Then, as always,

they go back to the station,

where the father

will say goodbye,

until the next time

fifteen days later.

- Bye, bye.

- Bye, Dad!

Yes, press the button.

- See you, son.

- Thanks. Bye.

Bye.

Bon voyage. Bon voyage.

When the train starts,

they open the biscuits

their dad gave them,

like every Sunday

when they go back to mum's house,

and they eat them,

and no one looks at them,

as if it were not so uncommon

for three kids to travel alone.

- Hello, Mum.

- Hello, Mum.

- Hello, sweetie.

- Hello.

Let's go, quickly,

I'm badly parked.

- Your hands are cold.

- Yes, I've been waiting long.

- So, was it good?

- Yes.

- You fell asleep, I suppose?

- Yes.

- So you had a good time?

- Yes, very good.

When their mother asks them

if they had a good time,

how the Communion went,

and what they did with their dad,

the brother explains that they went

to the amusement park

and the robotmuseum.

The little sister says she went

to her cousirs house

and that they stayed up late.

But Elisa is silent,

she doesn't say anything.

And when her mother asks...

What about you, Elisa?

Elisa?

I saw Dad's friend.

He said he'd give me

a silver bracelet.

How come you're awake?

Are you okay?

What?

Are you okay?

Yes, Mum.

Sure?

Sure.

Then get dressed.

Elisa stays in bed a while,

although she doesn't sleep any more.

All week, whenever her mother

goes in to wake her for school,

Elisa is already awake and

her mother asks her if she's okay.

Come on.

- Did you pick up the sandwiches?

- Yes.

- Good. Have a nice day.

- Thanks, mum.

- Do you have basketball today?

- I don't know yet.

Well, you let me know.

- Bye, Elisa, have a good day.

- Bye.

You too, Mum.

A proportion of the water

which falls on the ground as rain

evaporates.

Some of it filters into the ground

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