The Eighth Life

Home > Other > The Eighth Life > Page 115
The Eighth Life Page 115

by Nino Haratischwili


  You can do it.

  Be everything we were and were not. Be a lieutenant, a tightrope walker, a sailor, an actress, a film-maker, a pianist, a lover, a mother, a nurse, a writer; be red and white, or blue; be chaos and heaven; and be them and me, and don’t be any of it. Above all, dance countless pas de deux.

  I have written down for you all the words that I possessed.

  *

  And suddenly your eyes found me. You recognised my face in the crowd. You squeezed your eyes tight shut, as if you were seeing a mirage, but I was still there when you opened them again. You took a step forwards, out of your enchanted world, into this ugly reality. Towards me. Because of me. So I could still hope. I couldn’t tell exactly what your face showed, but for now that step you took was enough for me.

  Just a few more metres, a few minutes — but what did that matter, what were they, when we had travelled through an entire century together? Your lips formed my name, and I nodded: yes, yes, here I am. In a moment I’ll be with you. And I saw you smile, raise your hand, and reach out to me from a distance.

  Watching all this, I thought that I had already dreamed this life, somewhere, sometime.

  Just a few more moments, and we’ll find each other.

  Book VIII

  Brilka

 

 

 


‹ Prev