Out Stealing Horses by Per Petterson

Author:Per Petterson [Petterson, Per]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi, azw3
Tags: Norway
Publisher: Random House UK
Published: 2004-12-31T13:00:00+00:00

I open my eyes. My head feels heavy on the pillow. I have been asleep. I raise my hand and look at my watch. Only half an hour, but it is unusual. After all, I had only just got up, and late too. Was I so worn out?

It’s broad daylight outside. I sit up with a jerk as I swing my legs over the edge of the bed, and then I suddenly feel so dizzy that I fall forwards and cannot stop, there is a flash behind my eyes as I flop down, one shoulder first. I hear myself give a strangely loud groan when I hit the floor. And there I am. In pain too. I’ll be damned. I breathe cautiously, making as little effort as possible. It isn’t easy. It is too soon for me to die. I am only 67, I am fit. I go walking with Lyra three times a day, I eat healthily, and I have not smoked for twenty years. That should do it. In any case I do not want to die like this. I should have made a move by now, but I dare not try, because I might not be able to, and what then? I do not even have a telephone. I have postponed that decision, do not want to be accessible. But then obviously others are not accessible to me either, I admit that. Especially at this moment.

I close my eyes and lie quite still. The floor is cold against my cheek. It smells of dust. I hear Lyra breathing by the stove in the kitchen. We should have been for a walk long ago, but she is patient and does not nag. I feel a bit sick. That should tell me something. It tells me nothing. I just feel sick. Then I get irritated and squeeze my eyes hard shut to fix my gaze inwards and roll round until my knees are beneath me and with one hand on the door-frame I ease myself carefully up. My knees are shaking, but I succeed. I keep my eyes shut tight until any hint of dizziness has gone, and then I open them and look straight down at Lyra, who stands before me on the kitchen floor with those clever eyes looking attentively up into mine.

‘Good dog,’ I say without feeling stupid. ‘Now we’ll go out.’

And that’s what we do. I go into the hall, my legs shaking slightly, and put my jacket on and button it up without too much trouble and go out onto the doorstep with Lyra at my heels and put on my boots. And with great attention I listen to my own body to find out if anything has gone amiss in the finely tuned machinery which even an old body is, but it’s not easy to know for sure. Apart from a faint feeling of sickness and a sore shoulder, everything seems normal. Maybe a little more light-headedness than usual, but that’s probably not so strange now I am on my feet after having been out for the count.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.