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THE OTHERS
“Tom Roehn confessed.’
Annika looks at the policemen in silence. After those words, it’s perfectly quiet. On the opposite side of the fence, the snowdrift has stopped its drift, and is now only snow: white, and cold. She feels guilty. For not responding, and letting the officers down. To her, they look disappointed.
Should she fling her arms around their necks? Shake their cold hands? Perhaps shower them with kisses? Even a ‘thank you’ would sound strange, because the truth isn’t a gift. Annika has never asked for it, and might be better off now, if they had kept it to themselves.
What do you do with the truth? Does it have a purpose? Or do you merely receive it, take it to the attic, and bury it underneath old photos, in the creaking drawer of a dusty shelf, where you forget it u
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Andi’s gentle eyes are wide open. He didn’t expect to see Helen ever again: not after the protest he dragged her to, six months ago. Everything thereafter made things even worse. He is no longer a policeman, and therefore: all the more surprised to see her at his door. Past midnight, in this state, and on Benji's side, who shouldn’t be here at all, but at home, dreaming of a future.‘Jesus!’ it sputters from Andi's lips.Helen is dripping with water, and cold. The freezing cold has her shivering, like autumn-leaves. Maybe she can't even speak. Her teeth are clattering louder than hooves, when Andi takes a step to the side to invite her in: to the flickering fire in his parlor, where the warm flames draw dancing shadows on the walls, and the cracking wood in the stove would drown out the entire world.
As the moon began to rust VIII: The unburdening
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As the moon began to rust Chapter II: Her burdens
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As the moon began to rust Chapter III: Her straw
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- As the moon began to rust Chapter III: Her straw
