The Book of Lies by Agota Kristof

Author:Agota Kristof [Kristof, Agota]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: prose_contemporary

***

Lucas says to the child, "We're moving. We'll be living in town, in the main square. I bought the bookshop."

The child says, "That's good. I'll be closer to school. But when Yasmine comes back, how will she find us?"

"In a town this size she'll find us easily."

The child asks, "Will we not have a garden and animals anymore?"

"We'll have a little garden. We'll keep the dog and the cat, and some chickens for the eggs. We'll sell the other animals to Joseph."

"Where will I sleep? There's no Grandmother's room there."

"You'll sleep in a little room next to mine. We'll be right next to each other."

"Without the animals and the produce from the garden, what will we live off?"

"We'll live off the bookshop. I'll sell pencils, books, paper. You can help me."

"Yes, I'll help you. When are we moving?"

"Tomorrow. Joseph is coming with his wagon."

Lucas and the child settle into Victor's house. Lucas repaints the rooms. They are light and clean. Lucas installs a bathroom in the small room next to the kitchen.

The child asks, "Can I have the skeletons?"

"Of course not. What if someone came into your room?"

"No one will come into my room. Except Yasmine when she comes back."

Lucas says, "All right. You can have the skeletons. But all the same we'll hide them behind a curtain "

Lucas and the child clear the garden, which was neglected by Victor. The child points to a tree.

"Look at that tree, Lucas. It's completely black."

Lucas says, "It's a dead tree. It should be cut down. The other trees are losing their leaves, but that one is dead."

Often in the middle of the night the child wakes up, rushes into Lucas's room, into his bed, and if Lucas isn't there, he waits for him in order to tell him his nightmares. Lucas lies down next to the child, and holds his little, thin body tightly until the child stops trembling.

The child tells him his nightmares, always the same ones, which recur regularly to haunt his nights.

One of these dreams is the river dream. The child, lying on the surface of the water, lets himself be carried off by the stream while watching the stars. The child is happy, but slowly something approaches, something frightening, and suddenly that thing, the child doesn't know what it is, explodes and screams and howls and blinds.

Another dream is the dream of the tiger lying next to the child's bed. The tiger appears to be asleep; it seems soft and gentle, and the child has a great desire to stroke it. The child is afraid, but his desire to stroke the tiger grows and the child can no longer resist this desire. His fingers touch the tiger's silky fur, and the tiger, with a swipe of its paw, rips his arm off.

Another dream is the dream of the desert island. The child is there playing with his wheelbarrow. He fills it with sand, transports the sand somewhere else, empties it again, and so on, for a long time.

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