The white elephant montain

On the other side of the Ebro River valley, the white hills are rolling. On this side, there is a white field with no trees, and the station is in the middle of two railway lines under the sun. Immediately adjacent to the station was a house shrouded in stifling shadows, with a string of bamboo bead curtains hanging over the open doorway of the bar to keep the flies away. The American and the girl who was with him were sitting at a table in the shade outside the house. It was very hot and the express train from Barcelona would not arrive for another forty minutes. The train stopped at this transit station for two minutes and then continued on its way to Madrid.

"What can we drink?" The girl asks. She had taken off her hat and put it on the table.

"It's hot as hell," the man said.

"Let's have a beer."

"Doscervezas," the man said to the inside of the door curtain.

"A large one?" A woman asks from the doorway.

"Yeah. Two large glasses."

The woman brought in two large glasses of beer and two felt coasters. She placed the coasters and beer glasses one by one on the table. She looked at the man and then at the girl. The girl was looking at the outline of the mountains in the distance. The mountains were white in the sunlight, while the countryside was a dry gray-brown patch.

"They look like a herd of white elephants," she said.

"I've never seen an elephant before," the man said, taking a swig of his beer.

"You are not going to have seen one."

"I might have seen one," the man said." Just because you say I wouldn't have seen one doesn't mean anything."

The girl looks at the beaded curtain." They had something painted on it," she said." What does it say on there?"

"AnisdelToro. it's a drink."

"Can we taste it?"

The man shouted "Hello" toward the beaded curtain. The woman stepped out from the bar.

"That's four reals."

"Give us two more human AnisdelToro."

"With water?"

"Do you want it watered down?"

"I don't know," said the girl." Does it taste good mixed with water?"

"It's good."

"Do you want to mix it with water?" The woman asked.

"Yes, with water."

"This wine is sweet and silky like licorice," the girl said, setting down her glass.

"Everything is like that."

"Yes," said the girl." Everything is sweet like licorice. Especially the ones one has been looking forward to for a long time, it's like ale."

"Oh, stop it."

"You're the one who started it," the girl said. I thought it was funny. I was having fun."

"Well, let's have some fun."

"Okay. I was just thinking. I said these mountains look like a herd of white elephants. Isn't that a good analogy?"

"Yes."

"And I offered to try this drink that I've never tasted before. Isn't that all we're doing - looking at the view and trying an untasted drink?"

"I think so."

The girl looked again at the mountains in the distance.

"These mountains are beautiful," she said." They don't really look like a herd of white elephants. I was just saying that when you look through the trees, the surface of the mountains is white."

"Do we want to have another drink?"

"Sure."

The hot wind blew the beaded curtain to the table.

"This beer is cool and silky and tastes pretty good," the man said.

"It tastes great," the girl said.

"That was really a very easy operation, Jig," said the man." It wasn't even an operation."

The girl gazed at the floor under the table leg.

"I know you don't care, Gig. It's really no big deal. Just one suck with the air."

The girl didn't make a sound.

"I'll go with you and stay by your side the whole time. They just inject the air and then everything is fine."

"Then what will we do afterwards?"

"Afterwards we'll be fine, just like before."

"What makes you think so?"

"Because this is the only thing that bothers us, this is the only thing that keeps us unhappy."

The girl looked at the bead curtain, reached out and grabbed two strings of beads.

"Then you think we can be happy and have no more troubles in the future."

"I know we will be happy. You don't have to be afraid. I know a lot of people who have had this procedure done."

"I know a lot of people who have had this surgery, too," the girl said." They've all been happy after the operation."

"Well," said the man, "if you don't want to do it, you don't have to force it. If you don't want to do it, I won't force you. But I know this kind of surgery is pretty handy."

"Do you really want me to do it?"

"I thought it would be the best way. But if you yourself do not really want to do it, I will never force it."

"If I do it, you will be happy, things will be the same again, and you will love me - won't you?"

"I love you now. And you know I love you."

"I know that. But if I go ahead and do it, then if I say that so-and-so is like a herd of white elephants, it will be peaceful and smooth again, and you will love it again?"

"I would like it very much. In fact, I like to hear you say that right now, but my mind is not focused on that. When upset, you know what I can become."

"If I go to surgery, you won't be upset anymore?"

"I won't be upset about it, because the surgery is very convenient."

"Then I'll decide to do it. Because I don't care about myself."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I don't care about myself."

"But I do care."

"Ah, yes. But I don't care about myself. I'm going to have the operation, and when I'm done, everything will be fine."

"If that's what you think, I don't want you to go to surgery."

The girl stood up and walked to the end of the station. Across the railroad, on that side, the Ebro River was lined with farmland and trees. In the distance, on the other side of the river, were the rolling hills. A cloud shadow swept across the grain fields; through the trees, she saw the great river.

"We could have enjoyed it all," she said." We could have enjoyed everything in life in comfort, but day after day, it became less and less possible for us to have a comfortable life."

"What are you saying?"

"I said we could have been comfortable and enjoyed everything in life."

"We could have done that."

"No, we couldn't."

"We could have had the whole world."

"No, we couldn't."

"We can go wandering around."

"No, we can't. The world is no longer ours."

"It's ours."

"No, it's not. Once they take it away, you lose it forever."

"But they haven't taken it away yet."

"Let's wait and see."

"Come back to the shade," he said. You shouldn't think that way."

"I don't have any ideas," said the girl." I only know the facts."

"I don't want you to do anything you don't want to do-"

"Or anything that's bad for me," she said." I know. Let's have another beer, shall we?"

"Okay. But you have to understand-"

"I understand," the girl said." Let's not talk about it anymore, okay?"

They sat down at the table. The girl looked across at the dry river valley and the mountains, and the man looked at the girl and the table.

"You must understand," he said, "that if you don't want to have the operation, I'm not insisting that you do it. I'll willingly suffer to the end, if it's important to you."

"Doesn't it matter to you? We can always deal with it."

"Of course it's important to me, too. But I don't want anyone but you. I don't want anyone else. Besides, I know the operation is very convenient."

"Of course you know it's very convenient."

"Call it what you want, but I do know that it is."

"Can you do something for me now?"

"I can do anything for you."

He didn't say anything, just looked at the travel bags stacked against the wall over at the station. The bags were labeled with all the hotels where they had spent the night.

"But I don't want you to go through with the operation," he said, "it's exactly the same to me whether you do or not."

"You say that again and I'll scream at the top of my lungs."

The woman stepped out with two glasses of beer lifting the beaded curtain and placing them on the wet coasters." The train will be here in five minutes," she said.

"What did she say?" The girl asked.

"She said the train would be at the station in five minutes."

The girl gave the woman a pleasant smile of thanks.

"I'd better go and put my travel bag over at the station," the man said. The girl smiled at him.

"All right. Come back as soon as you've put it away and we'll drink all the beer together."

He picked up the two heavy bags and walked around the station to take them to the other track. He looked down the tracks in the direction the train was coming from, but couldn't see it. As he walked back, he walked through the barroom and saw people waiting for the train drinking. He sipped a glass of anisette at the counter while surveying the people around him. They were all waiting in peace and quiet for the train to arrive. He lifted the beaded curtain and stepped out. She was sitting at the table and cast a smile at him.

"Are you feeling better?" He asked.

"I feel great," she said. There's nothing wrong with me again. I feel great."