The Fox by Palsdottir Solveig

Author:Palsdottir, Solveig [Palsdottir, Solveig]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

22

In the cold light of morning Sajee huddled on the bench in the kitchen and stared into the distance with dazed eyes. Selma sponged her back and shoulders.

‘There, my dear. Isn’t that better?’ she asked gently, laying the flannel aside to help her into a clean shirt.

Ísak was away and there had been only the two of them there since the second accident. This was the second time Sajee had fallen so badly on the stairs. She had been terrified after yet another nightmare. This time she seemed to have practically thrown herself into the darkness, as this fall had been harder and the consequences much more serious. As before, she had landed on her face, leaving it damaged and bruised. The old injuries had torn themselves open, and new ones had been added to them. The only explanation for her dangerous sleepwalking were nightmare memories of something glittering and the woman in blue who loomed over her. Then there was a vague recollection of a red flood, and that had to be the steps.

Selma pulled up a chair and sat in front of her. A towel, a blood-spotted nightdress and a hairbrush lay on the table.

She inspected Sajee’s face, placing a broad thumb under her chin and pulling her forward.

‘Let me see how it looks today,’ she said. ‘The stitches look fine. The swelling has increased, but that’s only to be expected. I’ll put some antiseptic cream on there.’

She hummed a tune as she took a tube of ointment from the pocket of her apron, unscrewed the lid and squeezed some of the contents onto two fingers.

‘There, there. I’ll be as gentle as I can so it doesn’t hurt,’ she said softly. ‘You’ll have to be strong.’

A shudder of pain crossed Sajee’s face.

‘It hurts and I feel terrible,’ she groaned. Her words were unclear and she struggled to move her swollen lips.

‘Stop that moaning. It’ll all be over soon,’ Selma said as she screwed the top back on the tube. ‘Now I just have to made sure there’s no infection in those cuts. I’ll make you a healthy drink every day and before you know it, you’ll be as good as new. If you behave, the Hidden Lady will leave you in peace.’

‘But you said the Hidden Lady was nonsense I had dreamed up,’ Sajee whispered, shivering. She was chilled after being washed and didn’t know what to believe. Selma’s words and deeds could change direction as easily as the wind in this cold place.

‘Nonsense, and not nonsense,’ Selma said seriously. Frown lines formed around her grey eyes, her lips pursed and her breathing came more heavily. ‘There’s nothing we can be sure of in these matters and I’ve often noticed things that seem unearthly here at Bröttuskriður, without saying too much about it. I just know that it’s best not to pry into things that aren’t your business, and to leave the dead in peace.’

‘But I…’ she began, before Selma quickly cut her short.

‘To think that you disobeyed me by sneaking down into the basement, snooping into what’s no business of yours.

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