Run by Ann Patchett

Author:Ann Patchett [Patchett, Ann]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Retail
ISBN: 9780061796050
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2012-09-13T16:26:20+00:00

Chapter 7

WHEN KENYA OPENED HER EYES IT WAS TO A FLOOD OF ASTONISHING SUNLIGHT. So bright was this room, so radiant, that for the first few moments she was awake she did not consider her mother or the Doyles at all. She did not think of where she was or what had happened. She could do nothing but take in the light. It had never occurred to her before that all the places she had slept in her life had been dark, that her own apartment had never seen a minute of this kind of sun. Even in the middle of the day, every corner hung tight to its shadows and spread a dimness over the ceiling and walls. Draw the curtains back as far as they could possibly go and still the light seemed to skim just in front of the window without ever falling inside. No matter what time of day it was she had to switch on the overhead bulb to do her homework, or her mother would shout at her, Your eyes! But in the light that soaked this room a girl could read the spines of the books on the very top shelf. “The Double Helix,” she said aloud. “A Separate Peace.” She stretched her arms down the comforter and admired them. She spread her fingers wide apart and took her fingernails under consideration. Every bit of her was straight and strong and beautiful in this light. She glowed. She felt it pouring into her and yet she could tell by her skin, which looked ashy most mornings where she lived, that it was pouring out of her as well. It was just like the leaves they had studied in science class. She was caught in an act of photosynthesis. The light was processed through her and she was improved by it. She wondered if there wasn’t some way that light was divided and somehow, even though it didn’t seem logical, more of it wound up in better neighborhoods. How had she slept so deeply in the presence of all this sun? She sat up and pulled the blankets up with her. The room was cold but not as cold as it got when the radiator shut down at home. It shut down more reliably than it came on. Besides, there were plenty of nice things to offset the chill. For example, it was a very comfortable bed, something she hadn’t taken the time to notice when she had collapsed into it so late the night before. It was a very fine pillow. She knew she had been tired beyond any tired she had achieved through running in her life, but that didn’t account for her good night’s sleep. She swept her gaze around the room. She saw the pictures of Mrs. Doyle and Dr. King, the maps tacked into the wall, the enormously high windows through which light poured in to saturate every surface. She saw that lovely statue with her arms open wide

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