Nothing by Janne Teller Read Free Book Online

suddenly found ourselves in want of. There was no more light than came from the new moon and the small hexagonal lamp at the entrance to the church. And of course the two beams our flashlights cut in the dark.
    Dark. Darker. Afraid of the dark.
    I didn’t like being in the churchyard to begin with. At this time of night it was quite beyond endurance. The gravel crunched sharply beneath our feet however carefully we tiptoed. I kept counting to a hundred over and over inside my head, first forward, then backward, then forward again, and so on, and so on, and then once more again.
    Fifty-two, fifty-three, fifty-four …
    We had to search around in the dark beforeElise got her bearings and was able to lead us to her baby brother’s grave. Seventy-seven, seventy-eight, seventy-nine … And there it was: EMIL JENSEN, DEARLY BELOVED SON AND BROTHER, JANUARY 3, 1990 – FEBRUARY 21, 1992 , read the inscription on the headstone.
    I glanced at Elise and would have wagered she didn’t go in for the part about the dearly beloved brother. Nonetheless, I could easily see why he had to go on the heap. A baby brother was something special no matter what. Even if he may not have been all that loved.
    The stone was marble and very white and beautiful, with two doves on top and red, yellow, and violet flowers placed in front. I almost began to cry and had to look up at the sky and the stars and the new moon and think about what Pierre Anthon had said that same morning: that the moon took twenty-eight days to circle the Earth, whereas the Earth took a year to circle the sun.
    That made the tears go away, but I didn’t darelook at the stone and the doves again. Now Otto sent Elise and me off in separate directions to keep a lookout. He kept the flashlights. The boys would need them to see where they were digging, he said, and we had to find our way between the graves to the end of the church with only the light of the moon, which made everything seem ghostlike and almost blue. Elise stood guard at the rear entrance on the other side of the church, not far from the rectory, but very far from my own position. Talking to each other was obviously out of the question. We didn’t even have the comfort of being able to see each other.
    I tried to concentrate on studying the church. The stone walls were rough and white, there were carvings in the light-colored timber doors, and way up high were stained-glass windows, which at this time of night simply appeared dark. I started counting again. One, two, three …
    An odd, hollow sound came from the grave behind me every time one of the spades struckthe earth. A thud, and then a whishing sound as the soil slid from the spade. Thud, whish, thud, whish. To begin with, the two spades worked quickly in succession. Then came a sharp clash. The boys had hit the coffin, and now work progressed more slowly. I knew they were edging close around the casket in order to dig as little as possible. The thought sent shivers down my spine. I shuddered and tried not to think about it again. Instead I looked across at the fir trees and set out to count them.
    There were eighteen tall ones and seven smaller ones lining the path from the street up to the church. Their branches waved slightly in a breeze I couldn’t feel. But then again I was standing sheltered behind the wall of the churchyard. I took two small steps forward, one to the side and two back. And again, this time to the other side. And once more, in a little dance made up inside my head. One, two, step to the side. One, two, back. One, two, step to the side …
    I halted abruptly.
    I’d heard something. Like gravel being pressed gently underfoot. I stared down the path but could see nothing. If only I had the flashlight. There it was again.
    Cruuuunch.
    It was coming from the bottom of the path, down by the gate. I felt an irresistible urge to pee and was just about to run back over to the boys. But then I remembered what Otto had said and knew he’d cuff