217 292
Almost Everything Very Fast
217
“Do you want to kill me? Is
that what you want? Then
by all means, do it! It’s not a
bad thing, not to me! Then
I’ll go to heaven! Because
I want to go soon anyway!
Because, you see, Mama
and Papa and Julius are
there! They’re waiting for
me! They want me to come
to them! Because they love
me! They love me! They’ll be
happy when I’m dead! Then
we’ll be together again!”
The shape-shifter slapped
her.
Anni lunged forward and
slapped him back.
They stared at each other
in silence. An owl screamed
above
them,
shadows
crawled below, somewhere
snow slipped from a branch.
His hand still lay against her
cheek, her own still touched
his beard, which didn’t feel
scratchy at all, but soft. She
said, “I’m Anni,” and the
shape-shifter, more tenderly
than anyone ever had
before, muttered, “Anni.”
Then he introduced himself,
and Anni’s tongue leapt,
rolled, arched itself as she
repeated, “Arkadiusz Kamil
Driajes.”
_____