Dragon house by John Shors

Author:John Shors [John Shors]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Histoire
ISBN: 9781602856561
Published: 2010-01-01T06:11:44+00:00

THOUGH THE PIPE HAD LEFT HIS lips an hour before, Loc’s senses were still dominated by opium’s heavy hand. The drug simultaneously managed to slow his mind yet heighten his abilities to see and hear and smell. Colors and lights filtered into his brain as if his eyes had been fitted with magical lenses that enriched the hues before him. Sounds permeated his ears the way they might underwater. Scents of diesel fuel, flowers, and spices powerfully infused the air he drew into his lungs. His face and body glistened—his altered environs a womb that kept him warm and free of pain.

For the last eight of his twenty-nine years, Loc had visited opium dens each day. The discovery of these dark and quiet refuges had altered his life. With opium in his system, he no longer feared the streets. Nightmares ceased to torment him. Memories could be pushed away. Food and women became appealing, and he grew to crave each almost as much as his pipe.

Loc spent his days in opium dens, collecting his money, and in the company of women for hire. In the dens he was left alone and would bathe himself in the drug’s comforting waters. On the streets he protected a handful of children in exchange for most of their earnings. And in the grasp of women he momentarily became a god.

The children were the key to fulfilling his cravings, and Loc treated them accordingly. He’d beaten each multiple times, but never so badly that they’d been unable to work. Though sometimes he took joy in these beatings, he mainly hurt the children because he needed them to fear him. As important, he needed them to fear a world without him in it. And he often let them know what would befall them without his protection. A child had once run from him, and Loc had made an example of the incident, letting the city’s most deviant minds know that the boy was no longer under his protection. Three days later the child was found dead and broken. And in the months since, Loc had muttered the boy’s name whenever his children seemed ready to wander.

Loc knew that he was cruel but didn’t regret it. His cruelty allowed him to survive, to enjoy his pipe and his women. Without his cruelty, he’d be reduced to a creature on the brink of extinction. He saw such creatures each day—beggars and cripples so battered that they seemed to seek death. And while Loc sought oblivion, he enjoyed its comforts and had no interest in death.

Now, as Loc searched Ben Thanh Market, he wondered where Minh and Mai had gone. Though they’d never missed a payment, he had seen less of them on the streets, and their absence troubled him, as they provided most of his earnings. He tried to remember their favorite sites, but his mind lumbered like an old elephant. Had the girl told him where they’d be today? Had he hit the half boy the previous night?

Loc wandered outside, the sun seeming to penetrate his skull.

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.