TE23 Double Feature

Sandrine Collette

The Forests

Blind Boy was on his hind legs licking her fingers. She gave a pale smile. So Corentin blinked, his head spun briefly. It came out in a breath.

Augustine who was trembling.

Who managed a few words, her voice softer than a murmur.

Mathilde.

What happened here? asked Corentin in one breath.

Just then, Augustine opened her eyes wide, it was as if she suddenly realized he was there— had she been thinking, until now, that he was Mathilde? Could she still see with those faded irises of hers that were the color of the gray sky?

The old lady said, I saw it.

Oh, not much. Just a tiny fraction of an instant of the catastrophe, maybe the moment when it all started. When everything had been carried away, when the fire went over—she couldn’t find any other words. If she’d seen more, if she’d found the words, she would be dead. She had just reached for the handle of the door leading from the cellar, and something held her back. She’d gone back to the far end to put away some boxes. She didn’t know what had happened. She’d felt this dull, terrifying earthquake, and in a sort of 75

She stifled a cry and held out her fleshless arms to him.

* * *

The two women were the only ones left. Two sole survivors in the Forests, Mathilde and Augustine—Augustine with her hand firmly held, Corentin would not let her go. 74