Read Online Every Seventh Wave by Daniel Glattauer - Free Book Online

unearthly, untouchable being! Release her. Bring her back down to Earth. Let our family continue to live. Don’t do it as a favor to me or my children. Do it for Emma, for her sake. I beg you!
    And now I come to the end of my embarrassing, distressing cry for help, my excruciating appeal for mercy. Just one final request, Mr. Leike. Don’t betray my confidence. Leave me outside your shared narrative. I’ve abused Emma’s trust, I’ve gone behind her back, I’ve read her private, intimate correspondence. I’ve atoned for this. I could never look her in the eye again if she knew I’d been spying. She could never look me in the eye again if she knew what I’d read. She’d hate both herself and me in equal measure. Please, Mr. Leike, spare us that. Don’t tell her about this letter. Once more, I beg you!
    So now I’m going to send the most excruciating letter I have ever written.
    Yours sincerely,
    Bernhard Rothner

CHAPTER EIGHT

    Three days later
    Subject: Emmi?
    Emmi?
    (I’m not expecting an answer. I just want you to know that I’m asking the question every single second.)
    Two days later
    Subject: (no subject)
    Maybe you despise me for every sentence I’ve ever written to you. Maybe you hate me for every word I’m sending now. But what else can I do? How are you, Emmi? I’d love to be there for you. I’d love to be able to do something meaningful for you. I’d love to know what you’re thinking and feeling. I’d love to think and feel with you. I’d love to shoulder half of your burdens, however unpleasant they may be.
    Two days later
    Subject: (no subject)
    Should I not write to you anymore?
    The following day
    Subject: (no subject)
    What does this mean, Emmi? Does it mean:
    You don’t even know yourself whether you want me to write to you.
    You don’t care whether I write to you or not.
    You’re absolutely sure you don’t want me to write to you.
    You’re not reading my emails anymore.
    Three days later
    Subject: The north wind
    O.K., Emmi. I get it, I won’t write anymore.
    If … the north wind … you know … always.
    Always, always, always, always, always!
    All my love,
    your Leo
    Five hours later
    Re:
    Hi Leo,
    Are you asleep?
    Three minutes later
    Re:
    EMMI!!! THANK YOU!!!
    How are you? Please tell me! I can’t think about anything else. I ought to be finishing off a research report, but I’ve been sitting in front of the screen for hours, staring at the toolbar with the envelope icon and waiting for a four-letter miracle. It’s here. I can’t believe it. EMMI. You’re back!
    Thirty seconds later
    Re:
    Can I come and see you?
    One minute later
    Re:
    I beg your pardon, Emmi? Did I read that right? You want to come to my place? To my home? Flat 15? Why? When?
    Twenty seconds later
    Re:
    Now.
    Fifty seconds later
    Re:
    Dear Emmi,
    Are you serious? Are you feeling O.K.? Do you need to talk? Of course you can come over. But it’s two o’clock in the morning. Wouldn’t it be better if we met up tomorrow? We’d have more time, and clearer heads. (I would, at least.)
    Twenty seconds later
    Re:
    Can I come over, yes or no?
    One minute later
    Re:
    It sounds a little threatening, but yes, of course you can, Emmi.
    Thirty seconds later
    Re:
    Do you have any whisky, or do I have to bring my own?
    Forty seconds later
    Re:
    I’ve got whisky. The bottle is three-quarters full. Is that enough for you? Emmi, you couldn’t by any chance let me know what mood you’re in, could you? Just so I can prepare myself.
    Twenty seconds later
    Re:
    You’ll find out soon enough. See you soon!
    Forty seconds later
    Re:
    See you soon!
    The following evening
    Subject: Nadir
    Dear Emmi,
    I don’t imagine you’re feeling any better today, neither better than yesterday, nor better than me. Furiously heaping some of the damage onto the person who might have caused it in the