The Crocodile Under Larch Bridge

Xavi plays the guitar under Larch Bridge every afternoon at four. He chooses the spot for one reason. The curved stone roof makes every note sound twice as big. Even a bad chord sounds like a church organ down there.

Today he arrives with his guitar case and finds a girl in his place. She sits on an upturned bucket with a milk crate in front of her. On the crate lie two big oven gloves, one green and one yellow. She is humming to them.

"Excuse me," says Xavi. "That is my pitch."

"I don't see your name on it," the girl says. She does not look up.

"I have played here for two years."

"And I have wanted to play here for two years. Today I am here first."

Xavi opens his mouth to argue. But a man in a long coat stops to hear the girl hum. Then he drops a coin on the crate. Xavi stares at the coin as if it is a personal insult.

"Fine," he says. "I will stand at the other end."

The other end of the bridge is a bad spot. The echo is weak, and a noisy road runs next to it. Xavi plays his best song twice, and nobody stops. He hears the girl at the far end, and she is laughing. A small crowd has formed around her.

He walks back to look. The girl, whose name is Sigrid, has pushed her hands into the oven gloves. The green glove is a crocodile with a huge mouth. The yellow glove is a very nervous duck. The crocodile tries to eat the duck, and the duck makes a speech to stop it. The children scream with joy.

Xavi hates how good it is. He also notices that the stone roof makes the duck sound brave.

The next day he arrives at three, one hour early, with a folding chair. Sigrid is already there, sitting on her bucket, and she smiles like a cat.

"You are early," she says.

"So are you."

"I live next to the bridge. I win."

For a week they fight over the pitch without saying much. One day he plays so loudly that the duck cannot be heard. The next day she turns the crocodile into a monster that chases his guitar. Nobody enjoys the contest more than the crowd. On Friday a woman gives Xavi a coin and whispers, "Please don't stop arguing."

Then a man in a green jacket arrives with a clipboard. He is from the city office, and he does not smile at anyone.

"I have a complaint," he says. "Two street acts in one pitch is against the rules. Under this bridge, only one act is allowed."

"Which one?" asks Sigrid.

"That is for me to decide. Come to my office on Monday with your act, and I will choose."

Xavi and Sigrid look at each other. Each of them thinks the other act is a danger to the pitch. Neither of them speaks until the man has gone.

"If I lose this spot," Xavi says finally, "I lose my best echo."

"If I lose it, I lose my best audience," Sigrid says. "Nobody stops on the other side of the road."

"We could play for him at the same time. As one act."

"A guitar and a crocodile?" She laughs, but she does not say no.

They have three days. They spend the first one in Xavi's garage. His father keeps old paint tins there, and a broken lawn mower. Sigrid brings the gloves in a shopping bag. Xavi brings his guitar and a big pot of glue.

"The gloves need eyes," he says. "At the moment the crocodile looks like a kitchen accident."

"You can't glue eyes on. They must move."

"Then I will sew buttons."

"You can't sew," she says.

"I can learn."

By the end of the afternoon he has sewn two big white buttons on the green glove. One of them hangs by a thread, and the crocodile looks dizzy. Sigrid claps her hands over her mouth and laughs until she cries. Xavi pretends to be angry, but he is laughing too.

On the second day the real work begins, and it is harder. Xavi plays a quiet song, and Sigrid says it is too sad for a crocodile. She hums a new tune, and Xavi says it has no rhythm. They both lose their patience. For an hour they sit at opposite ends of the garage. The only sound is a dripping tap.

"I have an idea," Sigrid says at last. "You always play the same chords. What happens if the crocodile hates them?"

"Why would he hate my chords?"

"Because they sleep. He wants them to wake up."

Xavi thinks about that. Then he plays the chords fast, with a funny jump at the end. The green glove snaps its mouth on the last note. The sound is perfect. The crocodile looks at the guitar, then at Xavi, and then it bites his sleeve.

"Again," Xavi says. "But slower."

On the third day they practise until the sun goes down. Sigrid learns that Xavi taps his foot when he is nervous. Xavi learns that she says "hmm" before every joke, so that the audience feels it coming. Each of them hides a small smile every time the other does something clever.

On Monday they walk into the city office with their instruments, the gloves and a plan. The man in the green jacket sits at a desk with a cup of coffee. He does not look pleased to see them. Sigrid puts the crocodile on her right hand, and Xavi sits on a chair and starts to play.

The show lasts four minutes. The duck gets lost in the office. The crocodile finds the duck and wants to eat it, but the duck sings a sad song instead. The crocodile stops, because it has never heard a duck sing. In the end the two gloves dance on the man's desk. The guitar plays so fast that the coffee shakes.

The man does not smile. He writes something on his clipboard and tears off the page.

"One permit," he says. "Both of you on it. One act, one pitch."

"Is that a yes?" asks Xavi.

"It is a yes. And please, no more arguing under the bridge." He turns his face away, but his shoulders are shaking.

They walk back to Larch Bridge in the late light. The stone roof glows gold. For the first time that week the place feels like it belongs to both of them. A small crowd is already waiting. A boy holds up a sign that says CROCODILE.

After the show, the hat is so full of coins that Xavi needs both hands to hold it. Sigrid sits on her bucket with the green glove still on her hand. She is out of breath. The crocodile turns slowly towards Xavi and opens its mouth.

"Excuse me," it says in a squeaky voice. "Does the guitar player want to hold my hand?"