Read Online Four Doors and Other Stories by A. G. Billig - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: A. G. Billig
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love at first sight but still, it was love. He had fallen for her lively spirit, her wits, her ambition, and her openness. She fancied him for his good looks, his wonderful body, his passion. After a while, they were inseparable. They enjoyed climbing the mountains, taking long strolls in the park, eating ice cream, dancing and making love for hours and hours. To cut a long story short, they were happy.
So happy that, once the autumn came, they got married. A small wedding—just family and close friends, with no white, princess garment and no tuxedo. Actually, Mary had a stout figure and thought a mid-length, straight dress made of cream brocade would suit her best. As for him, he wanted to make her smile like the first time they had met. Thus, he adorned his best office suit with a pair of new Converse sneakers. Right after the ceremony was over, the newlyweds packed their bags and moved to Mary’s hometown. He had just graduated from college and got a job as an engineer at the nearby nuclear power station. The man had grown up in a similar small town and, during his first year of marriage, he did not miss the life of the big city. Moreover, he loved his job and he loved getting back home every evening to his Mary, who was always greeting him with tender caresses and exquisite food. She had landed a job as a nurse in a state-run dispensary and seemed to have forgotten her old ambitions.
Right where the small town began, the path wound by some shabby cottages, inhabited by gypsies. Rumor said that they had come a long time ago, from a distant realm, travelling by water and by land. They were rarely seen on the streets, except for the Sunday fair, where they came to trade handmade copper kitchen utensils in different sizes for groceries, bread, meat and cotton. Once they had closed their deals, they simply vanished while the other merchants would sigh with relief. They were a bad omen, wise men said.
He knew it too, but mocked Mary whenever she begged him not to take the shortcut.
“This is rubbish! Childish stuff! What can they do to me? Come on, grow up! It’s the same thing as if you told me you still believed in Santa Claus!”
Nevertheless, whenever he passed by their yards, he would quicken his pace. The toothless old ladies, the big-bellied greybeards, and the naked children that he usually saw inside put awkwardness into his very soul. Only on this occasion, something was different. For the first time, he was seeing one of their young women. In fact, very young, barely out of her teens. A lithe creature with long, dark hair, perfect, white teeth like small pearls and a bright, green gaze that marked his heart. He kept on walking, without turning his head. Nevertheless, there she was, in front of his eyes, raising up her frail arms and hanging out the washing. He tried to banish her out of his mind. All of a sudden, he was getting superstitious.
She might cast a spell on me , he thought. He suddenly realized that he had never seen a young female gypsy. He remembered the talk he had heard once, while waiting in line at a store. Somebody had said that the power of these people lived within their women. The young ones, able to breed. They were so beautiful that all men who laid eyes upon them fell in love. In order to preserve their power and to avoid quarrels with the small-town inhabitants, the gypsy sage had forbidden them to be out in the open. Whoever trespassed the interdiction was heavily punished. How they were punished remained a mystery.
Mary overwhelmed him with her kindliness. She had cooked dinner but he was not hungry. He had spent long minutes in the shower, thinking about the young gypsy woman. He told his wife that he was feeling tired and went to bed.
He woke up, sweating in the middle of the night. Mary was asleep next to him. Same short, curly hair as when they met. Her cheeks had filled out though and her features seemed to have lost their edge. Her calm, steady breath soothed him. What on
So happy that, once the autumn came, they got married. A small wedding—just family and close friends, with no white, princess garment and no tuxedo. Actually, Mary had a stout figure and thought a mid-length, straight dress made of cream brocade would suit her best. As for him, he wanted to make her smile like the first time they had met. Thus, he adorned his best office suit with a pair of new Converse sneakers. Right after the ceremony was over, the newlyweds packed their bags and moved to Mary’s hometown. He had just graduated from college and got a job as an engineer at the nearby nuclear power station. The man had grown up in a similar small town and, during his first year of marriage, he did not miss the life of the big city. Moreover, he loved his job and he loved getting back home every evening to his Mary, who was always greeting him with tender caresses and exquisite food. She had landed a job as a nurse in a state-run dispensary and seemed to have forgotten her old ambitions.
Right where the small town began, the path wound by some shabby cottages, inhabited by gypsies. Rumor said that they had come a long time ago, from a distant realm, travelling by water and by land. They were rarely seen on the streets, except for the Sunday fair, where they came to trade handmade copper kitchen utensils in different sizes for groceries, bread, meat and cotton. Once they had closed their deals, they simply vanished while the other merchants would sigh with relief. They were a bad omen, wise men said.
He knew it too, but mocked Mary whenever she begged him not to take the shortcut.
“This is rubbish! Childish stuff! What can they do to me? Come on, grow up! It’s the same thing as if you told me you still believed in Santa Claus!”
Nevertheless, whenever he passed by their yards, he would quicken his pace. The toothless old ladies, the big-bellied greybeards, and the naked children that he usually saw inside put awkwardness into his very soul. Only on this occasion, something was different. For the first time, he was seeing one of their young women. In fact, very young, barely out of her teens. A lithe creature with long, dark hair, perfect, white teeth like small pearls and a bright, green gaze that marked his heart. He kept on walking, without turning his head. Nevertheless, there she was, in front of his eyes, raising up her frail arms and hanging out the washing. He tried to banish her out of his mind. All of a sudden, he was getting superstitious.
She might cast a spell on me , he thought. He suddenly realized that he had never seen a young female gypsy. He remembered the talk he had heard once, while waiting in line at a store. Somebody had said that the power of these people lived within their women. The young ones, able to breed. They were so beautiful that all men who laid eyes upon them fell in love. In order to preserve their power and to avoid quarrels with the small-town inhabitants, the gypsy sage had forbidden them to be out in the open. Whoever trespassed the interdiction was heavily punished. How they were punished remained a mystery.
Mary overwhelmed him with her kindliness. She had cooked dinner but he was not hungry. He had spent long minutes in the shower, thinking about the young gypsy woman. He told his wife that he was feeling tired and went to bed.
He woke up, sweating in the middle of the night. Mary was asleep next to him. Same short, curly hair as when they met. Her cheeks had filled out though and her features seemed to have lost their edge. Her calm, steady breath soothed him. What on
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