Five Miles from Outer Hope by Nicola Barker

Author:Nicola Barker [Barker, Nicola]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harper Collins, Inc.
Published: 2011-10-27T06:00:00+00:00

Just four brief years old, dear Reader, and my, what a tangle.

Chapter 11

So they give you the regulation pep-talk, render you horizontal, stick these blessed little pins in your ears and then bugger off for half an hour. At first there’s a burning and your whole face turns scarlet. Then there’s a nasty, queasy interlude. Then an overwhelming taste of metal (like licking a newly sharpened knife, or getting a filling, or chewing down hard on silver foil).

After fifteen minutes – I’m staring listlessly up at the ceiling all the while – the acupuncturist returns briefly to give the pins a little twizzle. He peers down at my ears with an expression of intense satisfaction. ‘I think everything’s in order,’ he tells me (obviously ludicrously impressed by his own sterling efficiency), then scarpers off again with all the sharp-heeled and officious dispatch of Alice’s White Rabbit.

Some pins hurt much more than others when he moves them. I think they’re in deeper. There are eight of them in total: seven in the left ear, one in the right. As he touches them I bite my tongue, clench my fists and try my damnedest not to whimper.

As he’s leaving me again I turn my head slightly – but very carefully, anxious not to knock the pins into the pale, crochet-covered counterpane – and say, ‘By the way, I really like your dog picture…’

I indicate towards the bedside table, where, taking pride of place, is a black-and-white photo of an unappealing cross-breed: tongue out, head cocked, salivating regally. Impeccably framed. A visibly ancient thing but much beloved. A reproduction. Blown up. Touched up. But in terrible condition.

I don’t know if this evasive acupuncturist hears me. If he does, he doesn’t trouble himself to answer.

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