Trafika Europe 8 - Romanian Holiday

Almost Everything Very Fast

“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.”

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