Theatre director discovers the art of the short story telling.
Giorgio Corsetti is an Italian theatre and opera director. He was on the Bhutanese journey because 1. has always wanted to visit Bhutan, and 2. he had a deadline for writing his next theatre show. Somehow instead, he began writing episodes to entertain us each evening. Here is one of them.
The Story of Huff and the Broken Rainbow by Giorgio Corsetti.
( Backstory: Yeshe works at a three star hotel in Bhumtang where a group of writers — mostly Australian and a couple of Italians,have spent the night).
The fact is: that night Yeshe was on duty. He was told he had to clean the Australian’s table. But sometimes miracles happen as everybody who respects karma knows. Abandoned on the table, diguised in a whisky bottle, a half litre of Arrà was waiting for him. On the way to his small room which he shared with five other workers, (good accommodation; a bit crowded which is why he stopped to drink on the path sitting with feet pointing to the abyss, in the dark, a small rain caressing his face, the bottle caressing his mouth). And he thought about elsewhere than here, about the feeling of being forgotten, about the desire to be everywhere in the world, and then he was afraid, he didn’t know if the door of the cage was open or closed, and if he even knew how to go out. Then he cried a little .. (Arrà thinking he said to himself) and kept dreaming of going to Australia, or maybe Italy… until the sun rose, hidden by clouds.
It is time to work, prepare breakfast, serve tea or coffee (incredible how much they pay for a small coffee). And the Austritalians are leaving. Listening to their voices his dreams of travelling continue…
so he must run, take the baggage (the red ones are the heaviest, possibly they belong to women). He is the last one to put in the last suitcase, and close the van, while looking so sadly at the bunch of luggage. That’s why he closes the door the wrong way, the second door first, the first second. Arrà God of chaos!
Under a gentle warm rain, more similar to a blessing in a church than a monsoon fury, the Itaustralian bus leaves full of bodies, and the van behind leaves full of suitcases.
At the first big bump on the road the doors of the luggage van burst open, and the last red suitcase falls down. The red is a special colour, made to attract attention… That’s why someone from the Invisible People sees it and with many subsonic cries, calls his companions. (The monkeys of the valley call themselves invisible to the tourists and like monkeys everywhere, are well equipped to steal).
The king of the monkeys, whose name is Huff (pronounced Hoof) gives the sign. From the road they take the red suitcases first, then follow the van, and slowly take all the others. It is quite amusing, for as the van jumps over the bumps and humps, the suitcases jump out, and two monkeys catch them in the air and throw them to their accomplices. It’s like a sport, and they are so good they could go to the Olympic Games. Back in the woods the Invisible People are very happy, this luggage promises to be much better than the last lot, much better than the German haul. And as they open the suitcases they find they were right, no mustard and wurstel sausage, but beautiful red and blue and green, white and yellow.
They are enjoying the party and trying on the clothes, pants, bras, jackets and shirts — they are delighted. Huff, the king, a nice old pal, looks at his many wives and is happy — finally they don’t argue over who wants what and who doesn’t likethis or that, so he doesn’t have to decide who is right and who is wrong.
Suddenly it rains very heavily — they are all very worried, for the rain is bad for Huff’s feet as he suffers from rheumatism. They all find the shelter in their favourite cave, the clothes are not very wet, and finally more good news, there are two half bottles of whiskey in two red suitcases: so they drink!!!
And then the second miracle of this story: in one suitcase a monkey finds strange shoes with fingers for toes. Huff, astonished, tries them and they fit perfectly!!!
It’s a big moment because the rain stops and a rainbow appears in the sky, and all the monkeys in the trees are jumping and shouting, a little drunk, I dare say. And the Invisible People, at last visible, fill the valley with dancing colours.
The Japanese bus (the other bus on the road of Bhutan) stops to take picture of the rainbow. And when the rainbow disappears a young Japanese girl says: “Look the pieces of the broken rainbow are dancing in the wood!”
© Story by Giorgio Corsetti 2016.
Photos by Jan Cornall except where indicated.
Giorgio was a participant on Writer’s Journey, Creative in Bhutan 2016. www.writersjourney.com.au
