Trafika Europe 1 - Northern Idyll

the wiser of us, the clearer thinker, the better judge of people.

He always gave his rhino its full title – “Rhino-keros,” pronouncing it like a Greek word, and I thought that sounded more impressive too, more poetic. Alik and I came away from that sports center after the interview talking incessantly, in no hurry to part, and headed over to the park. It was summer, hot, and two plump schoolgirls aged ten or so were playing in the river, dancing up and down, shoving each other under the water and, without noticing it, moving away from the bank until the bottom suddenly disappeared, one grabbed the other, they clutched at the air and disappeared from view. Like two greyhounds, in our T-shirts and jeans, we raced into the water and trampling, on something hard, without being able to see it from above, I groped around and pulled out the first one and El pulled up the second; – their eyes were bulging out of their sockets, they had both swallowed plenty of water and seemed about to start shrieking but then, completely unlike little kids, just didn’t, as if they had grown up in those few seconds they were down there, they seemed stunned, although only a short time before they had been squealing and grunting like piglets.

Goggle-eyed and at a loss for words except to babble his thanks, as taken aback as the girls, their big brother arrived,

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