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Authors: Johan Harstad
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replaced by something worse. A relapse. It was
as if his emergency anesthesia had worn off, and now there was just excruciating pain again. And the only thing that helped
was thinking about how he would soon be as far away from this two-timing city as he could be.
The rain had picked up in strength, and Antoine shivered as he walked the short distance to the Eiffel Tower, paid a couple
of euros, and took the stairs up to the first observation level. In a way he was lucky with the weather, because there were
hardlyany tourists there now. The first level was also the best for his purposes, because here there was very little for the tourists
to aim the telescope at, aside from the neighboring buildings.
Which just so happened to be exactly what Antoine was planning to do.
He took out his bag of two-euro coins, slid the first one in, and adjusted the focus. He pointed the telescope at the third
floor of one of the apartment buildings on avenue de Suffren.
She was home. Simone was sitting in her room playing her guitar.
If he really concentrated, it almost felt as if he weren’t standing half-drenched on the first landing of the Eiffel Tower
but in the warmth of her room. He stared at her hands, stroking the strings, and imagined that he knew which song it was.
Every once in a while she would set down her guitar and put her head in her hands. Antoine hoped she was doing that because
she suddenly realized that she missed him. But it could just as easily been because she was having trouble with one of the
chords. Or because she had a headache …
Suddenly everything went black.
For a moment he was gripped by panic, but then he snapped out of it and realized that his time on the telescope had expired.
He put in a new coin, and Simone came back into sight in the window.
She was wearing his favorite sweater. The blue one, which, along with her hair, made her face even more magnificent. He had
been with her when she bought it on a freezing day in January. They were out walking around after school and she was cold,
so they hurried into one of the big department stores. Theywere actually just planning to warm up a little, but then she felt like trying on some clothes, and he didn’t have any other
plans. As if he ever had any other plans when he was with her. Being with her
was
the plan. He was the one who’d found the sweater and …
Blackness. Again.
He put in a new coin.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! What was this?
Someone had just walked into Simone’s room.
Antoine pressed his eyes even closer to the telescope. A branch from one of the trees lining the street outside her building
hid the right side of her room, and he could only see half of the person.
Surely just her mother. Or her father.
No. It wasn’t one of her parents. He’d have recognized them by now. And she was putting her arm around his neck….
Was she kissing him?
What the hell?
Everything went black again.
Antoine desperately took his eyes off the scope and stuck his hand into his bag of coins. But he was too eager. It slipped
out of his hands, and all the coins rolled across the deck.
Without paying any attention to the guards, who were laughing at him, Antoine got down on his hands and knees and swept the
money into a pile. He pushed a coin into the machine and took up his post again. Now he could see the other person clearly.
He didn’t recognize him, had never seen him before, but he still knew immediately who it was. Noël.
The new guy
.
Asshole!
For a brief second Antoine seriously consideredwaiting outside her building and murdering the guy when he came out. But it wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t even worth touching.
Simone sat down to play the guitar again, and the guy wormed his way in behind her. He put his arms around her and laid his
head on her shoulders. She kept singing for a while before suddenly stopping, turning her face to his, and kissing him. The
guy wrapped his arms more
as if his emergency anesthesia had worn off, and now there was just excruciating pain again. And the only thing that helped
was thinking about how he would soon be as far away from this two-timing city as he could be.
The rain had picked up in strength, and Antoine shivered as he walked the short distance to the Eiffel Tower, paid a couple
of euros, and took the stairs up to the first observation level. In a way he was lucky with the weather, because there were
hardlyany tourists there now. The first level was also the best for his purposes, because here there was very little for the tourists
to aim the telescope at, aside from the neighboring buildings.
Which just so happened to be exactly what Antoine was planning to do.
He took out his bag of two-euro coins, slid the first one in, and adjusted the focus. He pointed the telescope at the third
floor of one of the apartment buildings on avenue de Suffren.
She was home. Simone was sitting in her room playing her guitar.
If he really concentrated, it almost felt as if he weren’t standing half-drenched on the first landing of the Eiffel Tower
but in the warmth of her room. He stared at her hands, stroking the strings, and imagined that he knew which song it was.
Every once in a while she would set down her guitar and put her head in her hands. Antoine hoped she was doing that because
she suddenly realized that she missed him. But it could just as easily been because she was having trouble with one of the
chords. Or because she had a headache …
Suddenly everything went black.
For a moment he was gripped by panic, but then he snapped out of it and realized that his time on the telescope had expired.
He put in a new coin, and Simone came back into sight in the window.
She was wearing his favorite sweater. The blue one, which, along with her hair, made her face even more magnificent. He had
been with her when she bought it on a freezing day in January. They were out walking around after school and she was cold,
so they hurried into one of the big department stores. Theywere actually just planning to warm up a little, but then she felt like trying on some clothes, and he didn’t have any other
plans. As if he ever had any other plans when he was with her. Being with her
was
the plan. He was the one who’d found the sweater and …
Blackness. Again.
He put in a new coin.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait! What was this?
Someone had just walked into Simone’s room.
Antoine pressed his eyes even closer to the telescope. A branch from one of the trees lining the street outside her building
hid the right side of her room, and he could only see half of the person.
Surely just her mother. Or her father.
No. It wasn’t one of her parents. He’d have recognized them by now. And she was putting her arm around his neck….
Was she kissing him?
What the hell?
Everything went black again.
Antoine desperately took his eyes off the scope and stuck his hand into his bag of coins. But he was too eager. It slipped
out of his hands, and all the coins rolled across the deck.
Without paying any attention to the guards, who were laughing at him, Antoine got down on his hands and knees and swept the
money into a pile. He pushed a coin into the machine and took up his post again. Now he could see the other person clearly.
He didn’t recognize him, had never seen him before, but he still knew immediately who it was. Noël.
The new guy
.
Asshole!
For a brief second Antoine seriously consideredwaiting outside her building and murdering the guy when he came out. But it wasn’t worth it. He wasn’t even worth touching.
Simone sat down to play the guitar again, and the guy wormed his way in behind her. He put his arms around her and laid his
head on her shoulders. She kept singing for a while before suddenly stopping, turning her face to his, and kissing him. The
guy wrapped his arms more
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