Breaking Light by Karin Altenberg Read Free Book Online

his bookshelves, his index finger trailing the leather spines. ‘Have you met him yet?’
    â€˜Who?’ Gabriel was not too concerned about Mr Bradley.
    â€˜Mr Bradley, of course.’
    â€˜No, but Mrs Bradley says I
really
should.’ He picked up the tumbler and smelt it. ‘Was he a nice man, when you knew him?’
    â€˜Leave that alone!’ shouted the uncle and snatched the glass out of the boy’s hand.
    â€˜Sorry, Uncle Gerry; I didn’t mean to …’
    â€˜Ach, never mind, boy. You shouldn’t touch the stuff, though; your soul’s not strong enough for it.’ He reached out to appease the boy, but he had moved away and was again squatting by the fire, playing with the poker.
    â€˜Is
your
soul strong enough?’ he wanted to know. He had not appreciated, until now, that he failed in this aspect too.
    â€˜Me? I haven’t got one.’ Uncle Gerry laughed – but his eyes stayed the same.
    â€˜Why not? Did you never have one?’ A tooth was coming loose somewhere in the trench of his mouth and he wriggled it with his tongue.
    â€˜Oh, yes, I suppose I did once, and Lord knows I tried to hold on to it … but I finally sold it for a bottle of booze after Monte Cassino.’
    â€˜Why?’
    â€˜Eh? Never mind – it’s just a figure of speech …’ His voice trailed off as he turned to sip at the last of the drink.
    They were both quiet for a while. Gabriel felt the repulsive taste of blood from the loosening tooth.
    â€˜All right – let’s get you back to your mother; she will be worried by now.’
    â€˜But—’
    â€˜Come on – put your mac on.’
    â€˜Will you speak to Mother, Uncle Gerry?
Please
.’
    â€˜Yes, I’ll have to speak to her about this.’
    They walked the track back to the Mortford road, which was slower than going across the moor. It had stopped raining butit was getting late and Gabriel was beginning to tire. He was falling behind and stumbled on stones and fallen twigs. They were passing through a plantation where a senate of bearded firs stood silent and ancient under a new moon. Uncle Gerry had stopped somewhere ahead and was waiting for him in ghostly contrast at the end of the dark colonnade of trees. He took his nephew’s hand in his and pulled him along. They walked like that for a while without talking, floating through the night, each one drawn to his own thoughts, until they were startled by the call of a hunting owl. Gabriel was not afraid of birds but drew closer to his uncle just the same.
    â€˜Gabe?’
    â€˜Yeah?’
    â€˜I was thinking that you and Michael could come over to my cottage sometimes after school … No one needs to know. You can help me feed the chickens and suchlike.’
    â€˜Oh, thanks – that’d be grand.’ He smiled in the dark and squeezed his uncle’s hand a bit harder.
    *
    It was almost midnight when they reached the cottage in the lane behind the church. As they stepped on to the path leading up to the porch, the door opened and a rectangle of light fell over them. From inside the light, a dark figure with fuzzy contours seemed to reach out and topple towards them, as if over-thrown by its own shadow. Gabriel held back and pulled at his uncle’s hand, but realised at once that the shape was Mother, lit from behind by the overhead electric light in the front room. He was too exhausted to prepare himself for the reprimands he was sure would come or to be surprised when they didn’t. Once inside the front room, he could see that Mother’s face was puffedand raw, but he had no time to reflect on it as he was ushered upstairs to bed. Then Uncle Gerry was in the narrow room, helping him off with the boots and unbuttoning the shorts and finding the pyjamas under the pillow. The room was chilly and Gabriel shuddered as he was helped into the flannel jacket that was