The Book of Form and Emptiness by Ruth Ozeki

Author:Ruth Ozeki [Ozeki, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780399563645
Google: irA5zgEACAAJ
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2021-09-14T23:00:00+00:00

I’m A Librarian.

What’s Your Superpower?

She sniffed inside, but it was only black tea. “Good,” she said.

He shrugged, like, What did you expect? She went back to the couch where Benny was lying, watching her every move, and placed her fingertip in the middle of his forehead.

“Rest,” she said, tapping lightly, and he closed his eyes.

Suddenly he was very, very tired.

39

A big fat moon was rising at the eastern end of the alleyway, bathing the length of the street in a dull silvery light. She looked one way and then the other, but the alley was empty. Which way had he gone? Perhaps if she walked, she would meet someone who had seen him, and this thought terrified her. She was a news monitor. She knew the kind of people who lurked in the alleys at night. Knew the things they did.

Benny. She had to find him. She had to find him before something bad happened to him. She shouldn’t have waited so long. She should have gone after him immediately. She pulled her raincoat more tightly around her and started walking toward the moon. She passed the loading dock of the Eternal Happiness Printing Company. She heard a noise coming from behind the Thrift Shop dumpster, saw something move in the shadows. Two figures stepped into the pool of light beneath the streetlamp, and seeing they were women, Annabelle relaxed a little. They were tall and slim, wearing pink and platinum wigs, matching tube tops, and tiny hot pants that looked like American flags. They stood there for a moment, checking each other’s makeup.

“Excuse me!” Annabelle called, hurrying after them, and when she drew near, they turned, and she realized her mistake. “Oh, I’m sorry!”

The one in the platinum wig narrowed her eyes and looked down at her. “What’s the matter, sweetheart,” she drawled in a deep voice. “Not what you’re looking for?”

“Oh, no,” Annabelle said, blushing. “It’s not that. . . .” She stood there looking up at them, with their long legs and big wigs, bright lips and tiny patriotic skirts that barely covered their asses.

“I’m looking for a boy,” she explained.

They both studied her, thoughtfully, taking in the baggy pink sweatpants and oversized raincoat, and then, as if on cue, they collapsed into each other’s arms, laughing.

“Oh, honey,” the pink wig sighed, dabbing her eyes. “Good luck with that!” They blew Annabelle a kiss, and she watched as they linked arms and strutted off on their silver heels, butt cheeks twitching in unison, one red-and-white striped, the other blue and spangled with stars.

She headed in the opposite direction. The moon was following her now, so bright it cast her shadow out long, making her look impossibly tall and slender. Cobblestones poked from broken patches in the asphalt, gleaming like wet ocean rocks. She peered into corners and darkened doorways that smelled of skunk and urine. Benny, she whispered. Are you there?

Furtive shadows flickered in and out between the buildings, rising up like ghosts against the concrete walls and then vanishing when she drew near.

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