Read Online Samurai Summer by Åke Edwardson - Free Book Online Page A

I’d thought about how you can go just as far in a sailboat as you can in an airplane—even with that boat, if you could get it out of the lake. Anywhere in the world. That boat might be able to sail from this puny little puddle all the way to Japan. The sail had caught some wind now—wind that might have blown in all the way from the sea. The boat looked like it was about to take to the air.
    “Hi there, Romeo!”
    I turned around again.
    “Aren’t you going to take your girl back with you, Romeo? Are you just going to leave her all alone by the rock?”
    It was Weine.
    “What’s her name?”
    “None of your business.”
    “Maybe I should go ask her myself.”
    Weine had two other guys with him. They stood behind him and snickered whenever he said anything. I didn’t understand why.
    “Go ahead,” I heard from behind me. Seemed like everyone was talking behind me today. I turned around. It was Kerstin.
    “Go ahead and ask me then,” she said and looked straight at Weine.
    Weine’s face looked dumber than usual.
    “Forgotten how to speak?” asked Kerstin.
    You could see the wheels turning inside Weine’s skull. I was a spectator watching from the sidelines, even though I was standing right between them.
    “Aw, what the hell,” said Weine, and he started walking back toward the beach.
    His gang looked at him for a moment before following him.
    Kerstin stood next to me.
    “Guess he didn’t want to know my name after all.”
    “He’s an idiot.”
    “You shouldn’t say that about people.” She looked at me. “There are real idiots you know. People who can’t help it.”
    “Sure, there’s one right over there,” I said, and I noddedtoward Weine who was walking quickly across the narrow strip of sand. The other two stumbled after him.
    “No,” Kerstin smiled, “he’s just stupid.”
    I laughed. It felt good. She was sharp. You had to be on your toes with her. Weine didn’t stand a chance. And yet it was only words.
    I couldn’t see Sausage anywhere and no one else had seen him either. I asked but nobody knew.
    “I think he was going to do some diving over on the other side,” said Micke. “But that was a while ago.”
    There was a jetty on the opposite side of the headland where the water was deeper. Anyone who wanted to do real diving had to go over there. Once Sausage had learned to dive, that was all he ever wanted to do. He had become more daring. He’d throw himself way out.
    The counselors had just said that it was time to get our things together and march back to the penitentiary. The sun had begun to go down.
    I started to walk toward the other side of the headland.
    “Where are you going, Tommy?”
    Normally I wouldn’t have answered, but this time I turned around.
    “Sausage isn’t here. I’m going to get him.”
    “His name isn’t Sausage.” The counselor had put her hands on her hips. “He’s hardly a sausage is he?”
    I had a bad feeling that something had happened to him.
    “Run and fetch him then,” said the counselor.
    I continued toward the jetty behind the headland. Then I started to run between the pine trees as I heard cries. Sausage cries. I rounded the headland and saw the jetty and the beach.
    Weine and one of his idiots were standing there knee-deep in the water, and between them Sausage was trying to kick himself free. His cries were abruptly cut off when his head was plunged beneath the water.
    Weine hadn’t seen me. He was too busy trying to drown Sausage. I ran past the last pine tree. This time just words wouldn’t be enough against Weine, but I didn’t have a sword. It was lying wrapped in my towel. I hadn’t been able to smuggle it with me when the counselor was looking at me.
    Weine glanced up when I started wading through the water.
    “Let go of him!”
    He let go of Sausage. The other idiot had already let go.
    Sausage sounded like he was about to throw up. He tried to get up but fell back into the water.
    I raised my fists.
    “Don’t