The Crossing Place by Philip Marsden
Author:Philip Marsden [Philip Marsden]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780007397778
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Published: 1993-03-10T16:00:00+00:00
Tanya Markovska, who for a few days rented me a room in central Sofia, was a squat, kind old lady with ill-fitting teeth and a vermilion wig. She loved literature and had rows of leather-bound volumes – Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Byron, Proust, Dumas, though I never saw her reading.
Long ago Tanya Markovska had been widowed; her husband had disappeared during some purge or other. Since then, the outside world had become a place of unimaginable horror. She never went out. The sun that reached her was diffused and grey, creeping through the fine mesh of her curtains. Her life was lived through others.
On entering the crepuscular flat, I would wait for her flame-topped head to bob around my door. ‘So, you have come back, monsieur? It is very cold outside – yes? You will become ill!’
And as I left: ‘You are going out? But monsieur, it is dark! You will become lost … attacked!’
‘I’ll be careful.’
‘Where is the key?’
I would take it out of my pocket for her to see.
‘No, monsieur! Never take her from the pocket. Back in the pocket!’
Several trips to the Soviet embassy that week yielded no more news from the Brent Cross Armenian in London. With my Bulgarian visa about to expire, I would have to leave the country, to continue north by train to Bucharest.
Tanya Markovska was appalled. ‘Romania! You cannot go to Romania.’
‘Why not?’
‘Bandits! They are bandits and … and animals!’
‘Don’t worry, I’ll be all right.’ I bent down to clasp her hand and say goodbye.
But walking to the station, I realized that Tanya Markovska had coloured Romania with a little of her gloomy prejudice.
Download
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.
