Helena had been forced to take her seat when the door had shut and silence had ensued. I tried my best to keep thinking that this was a silly little place, a figment of my imagination. It was all a dream, unimportant, not real life. But no matter how much I pinched myself and tried to zone out, the atmosphere pulled me back in, leaving me with the foreboding sense that this was as real as the beating of my heart.
A woman walked up the outside aisle with a basket of earphones. They were taken by the person at the end seat and passed along the rows like a church collection. I looked to Bobby questioningly and he demonstrated, plugging the headphone set into a socket in the chair in front. He placed them over his ears as a man stood before the microphone on stage. He began speaking Japanese, not a word of which I could understand, but I was so transfixed by the scene before me I failed to remember to put my earphones on. Bobby elbowed me and I jumped, quickly placing them over my ears. A heavily accented English voice offered the translation. I had missed the beginning of his announcement.
“…this Sunday evening. It’s rare that so many of us all gather together. Thank you for the wonderful turnout. There are a few reasons why we are here tonight…”
Bobby elbowed me again and my headphones came off. “That’s Ichiro Takase,” he whispered. “He’s the rep president. It changes person every few months.”
I nodded and the headphones went back on again.
“Hans Liveen wishes to speak to you about the plans for the new mill scheme, but before we address that we will deal with the reason why so many of you have attended this meeting. Irish Representative Grace Burns will speak to you about this.”
A woman who appeared to be in her fifties stood from her seat and made her way to the microphone. She had long wavy red hair, her features were pointed as though chiseled from a rock, and she was dressed in a sharp black business suit.
I removed my headphones.
“Good evening, everybody.” Her accent placed her from the north of Ireland, Donegal. Many of the non-Irish English speakers put their headphones back on for the translation. “I’ll make this brief,” she said. “I was approached this week by many people from the Irish community with news that a newcomer from Ireland had information on various villagers’ families. Despite the rumors, this of course isn’t unusual, given Ireland’s size. I was also told that an item belonging to this person, I understand that it’s her watch, has gone missing,” she said in her matter-of-fact tones.
People who understood English immediately gasped, although the majority of them were surely aware of this rumor already. A few seconds later, there was a second gasp as the interpreters translated. Murmuring began in the hall and the Irish representative held her arms up to silence everyone. “I understand this news has had an effect on the entire village. News like this disrupts our attempts for normal living and we are keen to put the rumors to rest.”
My heart began to beat a little less dramatically.
“We’ve called the meeting tonight to assure you that the matter is in hand and it will be dealt with. As soon as it is, we will immediately inform the community, as we always do, as to the outcome. I believe this newcomer is among us tonight,” she announced, “and so I wish to address this person.”
Instantly my heart began to palpitate again. People around me looked about, murmuring, jabbering excitedly in foreign tones and eyeing one another suspiciously, accusingly. I looked to Bobby in shock. He gaped back at me.
“What will I do?” I whispered. “How do they know about the watch?”
The nineteen-year-old in him shrugged, eyes wide.
“We all think it’s best to deal with this privately and quietly so that the person can remain anonymous-”
There was a heckling of boos from the crowd, some people laughed, and my skin crawled.
“I see no cause or need for dramatics,” Grace continued in her official, no-nonsense tone. “If the newcomer could just present us with the alleged missing item, then this will be dropped and forgotten once and for all so that the congregation can get back to spending their valuable time in their usual greatly productive ways.” She smiled cheekily and there were chuckles from around the room. “If the person in question could familiarize themselves with my office tomorrow morning and bring the watch with them, then this can be dealt with swiftly and privately.”
More boos by members of the audience.
“I’ll take a few questions on this and then we will move on with the more important matter of the plans to build farther past the wild farm.” I could tell she was being deliberately blasé about the whole thing. An entire village had turned out to hear about me, about how I knew intimate details of people here and their family members. In a few sentences she had brushed it all under the carpet. People looked around at each other unhappily and I sensed a storm brewing.
Many people raised their hands and the representative nodded to one. A man stood. “Ms. Burns, I don’t think it’s fair that this matter be dealt with privately. I think it’s clear from the turnout tonight that this issue is more important than the manner of how you have chosen to address it, which is a deliberate attempt at playing down the significance.” There were a few claps. “I put forward that the person in question, whom I know to be a woman, show us the watch right now, right here, tonight so that we can see it with our own eyes and therefore allow the matter to be dropped and for our minds to be put at rest.”
There was a healthy applause to this suggestion.
The representative looked uncomfortable; she turned to look at her colleagues. Some nodded, some shook their heads, others looked bored; some shrugged and left it up to her.
“I’m concerned only with the welfare of the person in question, Mr. O’Mara,” she addressed him. “I hardly see it fair that she has arrived here only this week and is also faced with this. Her anonymity is vital. Surely you can appreciate that.”
This wasn’t so strongly supported by people, but there was a light round of clapping from a few dozen and I silently thanked them and cursed Grace for confirming my sex.
An elderly woman standing beside the man speaking from the audience shot up out of her seat. “Ms. Burns, our well-being is more important, and the well-being of all the villagers. Isn’t it more important that if once again we have heard rumors of somebody’s belongings going missing we have a right to know if it’s true?”
There were noises of support from among the crowd. Grace Burns held her hand up to her forehead to block the harsh stage lights in order to see the person belonging to the voice. “But, Catherine, it will be revealed to you tomorrow after the person has come to me. Whatever the outcome, it will be dealt with appropriately.”
“This doesn’t just affect the Irish community,” a Southern American male voice called out. Everybody looked around. The voice came from a man standing at the back. “Remember what happened the last time there were rumors of things going missing?”
There were mumbles of agreement, and nods.
“Everybody here remember a guy called James Ferrett?” he shouted now, addressing the hall.
There were loud murmurs of yes and heads nodded.
“A few years ago he told of the very same thing happening to him. The representatives did the same thing then as they are doing now,” he addressed the crowd, who were unfamiliar with the story. “Mr. Ferrett was encouraged to follow the same procedure as our anonymous woman tonight and instead he disappeared. Whether it was to join the rest of his belongings or whether it was the work of the reps, we will never know.”
There was an uproar at this but he shouted over the noise. “At least let us deal with it now before the person in question has a chance to escape once again without us learning about what is happening. It’s not as though any harm will come to her and it’s our duty to know!”