The Desire Read Online Free Page B

Ray began touching them. Rubbing their heads, patting them on the shoulders. Allan began to do the same, but he didn’t want to. He had secretly hoped they would remain in the car the entire time. He felt a growing revulsion inside and a fear of catching something contagious. Lord , he prayed, help me be more like Ray .
    Suddenly, Ray bent down and picked up one of the children, a little boy, and carried him in his arms. “And how are you today, young man?” he asked. The boy giggled and smiled.
    Other children began lifting their arms toward Allan, wanting him to do the same. A part of him felt intense compassion for them, but another part raised a red flag. This isn’t safe. You ’ll catch some serious disease. You don’t have immunities for this place, or these people . After these thoughts, a wave of nausea hit him. He took a deep breath, but the smell was overwhelming. Allan suppressed all this and picked up a little girl who had been staring at him the entire time. She hadn’t said a word.
    She had the biggest, brightest eyes, and she was light as a feather. She couldn’t be more than three or four years old. “You have the prettiest eyes,” Allan said. He pulled three Hershey’s Kisses out of his pocket and showed them to her. She seemed puzzled, so he opened one partway. She smelled it, then opened it the rest of the way and popped it in her mouth.
    The look on her face was priceless, and her smile melted his heart.

6
    A s Henok led them through an opening at the back of the dump, Allan buried his nose in his forearm against the stench. Ray did the same. Henok kept walking forward. As they followed, Allan was certain he’d lose his breakfast any moment, but somehow it stayed down.
    Henok turned and noticed the difficulty they were having. “I’m sorry. I forget how it is for those who never come here. We can turn back.”
    Allan was happy to hear that, but Ray said, “No, keep going. We need to see this.”
    Allan had seen—and smelled—enough.
    â€œAre you sure?” Henok said.
    â€œYes,” Ray said. He set the little boy down. “I can’t carry you anymore. I’m afraid I’ll drop you.” They were standing before a massive heap of garbage about thirty feet high, and it was clear Henok intended them to climb it.
    Allan released the little girl. The boy took her hand and led her away, but he did not leave the dump as Allan expected. Instead, he led her around the base of the hill several yards away, then they both began to climb.
    â€œWhat’s he doing?” Ray asked.
    â€œCome back,” Allan said. “Don’t go up there.” The children looked at them for a moment but continued to climb. “Where are they going?”
    â€œTo get food,” Henok said matter-of-factly. “It’s what they do every day.”
    â€œChildren that young?” Ray asked.
    Henok didn’t answer. He took a few steps up the base of the hill, then stopped. “We must be very careful as we climb. It is extremely dangerous. Do your best to follow my handholds and footsteps.”
    â€œIt doesn’t look that steep to me,” Ray said. “If the children can do it . . .”
    â€œThat’s not the danger,” Henok said. “There are many needles buried in the trash. If you fall, and one pierces your skin, you could catch AIDS or TB or many other bad things. My eyes are trained to spot them. So do as I do and go only where I go. Once we’re over this hill, you should be all right.”
    The men climbed single file. Allan had a thought and almost said it. How about if he stayed at the bottom of the hill until they got back? But he kept following Ray. As they neared the top, he kept hearing beeping sounds. Lots of them. When they reached the crest, he saw the source. Bulldozers spread throughout the dump were moving massive piles of trash. And garbage trucks of every size