Читать книгу The Blue Tree - Tillmann Rautenberg - Страница 3

None were aware.

It happened neither slowly, nor fast.

Why, it was just a feeling. Another tired day.

„As you may have noticed it's a wonderful day today.“

„Yes.“

„A wonderful day is a good reason to go outside, where it is, frankly, very wonderful.“

„Yes.“

„I don't need to shine a light on any further reasons to go outside, because that will do the light of the sun on its own. I won't tell you how much your room needs the fresh air of behind the closed window, because the urge to breathe will push you to that thought somehow. Son, see you for dinner.“

As the mom had left the room, the son turned around on its mattress, blinked towards the window, at pure white brightness, and closed the eyes again.

„Boy, your mother was here not too long ago and spoke with you.“

„Yes.“

„I think she was very clear on her intentions for you to go outside.“

„Yes.“

„Would you clear me up on why you have made no progress on that?“

„Yes.“

„Son?“

„Yes?“

„I'm waiting.“

„Oh.“

The son noticed his fathers words in his dream as he tried to make sense of them. He tried to catch the meaning of them but could barely react. His dream was stronger.

„Son?“

Some noises reached him in his slumber as he fell deeper into his dream. What were they?

„Son?!“

He felt how his world was shaking but the images remained stable, so very clear, so alluringly real. He could almost touch them.

„Boy, come on, I gotta pull your blanke…“

Faint echoes, distant disturbances, a breeze of sudden cold air, an unconscious flickering but it became meaningless as he had touched them, as they grabbed him, the black roots, and pulled him deeper, towards another dream, of another world, of a black tree.

◆◆◆

Thus they dreamed.

„Mona, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I had no control, I wanted you so much, I'm so sorry.”

Mona was a black root, a shape of memories, it was her, he knew her. He feared her. It hurt.

She would not go away. She would grow nearer and appear as new again and again. He knew her.

„Mona, I'm sorry, please leave me be. Please leave me be. I never did that again“

The car seemed to be made out of roots, slightly moving roots but an incomprehensible motion, the car moved incomprehensibly, he could not evade.

She had hit the roots. The roots made her angry, even though the roots did nothing wrong. Why did the roots drop her precious thing? „Why, Lisa, why?“ Lisa cried.

He leaned over the roots and looked at his hand. They were full of red sap. He lifted the roots but they hung limp and lifeless. He screamed for help and other roots heard him.

They had all closed their eyes as they saw so many roots connected, one long line, root after root, wandering behind the fenced wall to their death as they dug a hole, slowly growing into their own grave.

He had left her behind.

She had left him behind.