42. THE EVENT WAS SOON FORGOTTEN

The event was soon forgotten as neither the moment nor the mood was for a conversation. A few kilometers after Kawakawa a particular noise coming from the engine put a strong doubt on the stone assumption.

The dashboard never indicated anything much except the rough amount of petrol in the tank. So, in doubt, Elle stopped Olympic by the side of the road and listened to the engine. The radiator! The radiator's belt!

Under a beating rain she went round to see the car's front grid. Smoke was coming out of it. She didn't manage to pull the handle to open up the bonnet from inside but she was sure of the diagnosis: the radiator's belt that cools the engine had gone. Luckily it was raining and the cold water on the car's bonnet could cool the hot mechanic a little bit.

Liyan was sound asleep inside the bag where she layed snug. The flute was well set in three parts in its box. Elle stayed thus a whole half hour watching the clouds going past the landscape. She delighted in seeing the various tones of green of this hilly countryside according to woodland or pastures and the various tones of grey above.

It was raining so hard that the earth was making furrows under the car as it crossed the road to get to the ditch on the other side. With the rain as her ally Elle thought she could drive for five minutes at a time, then stop for fifteen minutes and get to the next garage this way.

At long last, a house by the road. Running under the cloudburst Elle went to knock at the door. A young lady looking after a baby told her that the next garage was not very far.

It took ages however to get to the sign showing a petrol station ahead. The mechanic opened the bonnet, found a brand new radiator's belt to fit and wished her 'bon voyage'.