Rising Abruptly by Gisèle Villeneuve Read Free Book Online Page B

the special food, I’m sad.
    Sad. Why sad?
    Because it’s over. But of course it’s not. Sure, we must wait one whole long year for the excitement to begin all over again. But it will. When I’ll know for sure Mom is truly dead, it will be truly over. It’ll be over for real. Declared dead is not dead for sure. Your mom explained, it’s dead on paper only. One day, I swear I’ll know for sure. One day.
    I understand. But Rachel keeps her real thoughts quiet. Truly, she does not understand Jeanne’s desire. Rachel is certain that Colette is as dead as her own father. Over there in those terrible Himalayas that keep their bodies in the frozen hell. She shivers.
    You’re cold?
    A little.
    Me too. It’s not so warm anymore. Let’s get our coats. They must be dry by now.
    The candles have burned themselves out, leaving on the counter pools of hardened wax. Lying down on the floor and facing the big windows to forget the darkness behind them, Jeanne and Rachel are wrapped into their coats. Not sleeping, not talking.
    The wound on Rachel’s forehead is throbbing. She wishes she could sleep and wake up with the morning. Against the thick sheet of snow, she sees shapes moving, running, hiding. A man in a black coat. A wolf. A vulture flying into the glass, clinging to it, vanishing. Fear pushes her against the floor. Keeps her from swallowing. The fear of nothing and everything. Don’t be a crybaby, Jeanne told her many hours ago. Get tough, to prepare for the day when Jeanne will make you go into those terrible mountains. Prepare yourself, because when Jeanne wants something…
    Suddenly, Rachel hears a tiny noise behind her. She concentrates on the sound amplifying itself. A rustling of cellophane. Muffled steps. A creak and a crack. A pop. Silence. She listens and hears the sounds again. Rustling. Muffled. Creak crack pop. And again and again. Her heart beats so fast she could throw up ketchup and greasy cake. She wants to cough but holds on until her eyes are swimming with tears.
    Through clenched teeth, Jeanne whispers: You hear that?
    Yeah.
    Do you think he came in through the broken window?
    Probably. And Rachel recalls the strange shadows in the snow. A man in a black coat. But also, a wolf and a vulture. She knows there are no wolves and no vultures on Mount Royal. But the man in a black coat? She whispers: Jeanne? You think it’s the security man? Earlier, I saw…
    Don’t make a sound. Maybe he just wants to make himself a cup of coffee. To stay awake.
    He’ll see us. We should have cleaned up our mess. Now, he will have proof. We’ll be arrested.
    There’s no electricity, Rach. He’ll see nothing.
    Security men have flashlights.
    Not this one.
    Then, it’s not the security man. Jeanne? What if? It’s a thief? Or worse. And Rachel remembers the big knives hanging above the stove. Holding her breath, she calls out: What are you doing?
    Crawling away from those windows.
    Don’t leave me.
    The cousins crawl into thicker darkness in a far corner of the room.
    I’ll pee in my pants, Rach.
    And I’ll throw up. I can’t breathe. Listen.
    I hear nothing.
    It was just the wind.
    If you say so, Rach.
    As they relax, a popping sound louder than the previous ones makes them jump out of their skin. Then several pop-pop-pops in a row.
    Rachel speculates: Same sounds as our pipes at home when they’re farting inside the walls.
    The noise stops only to resume a few seconds later.
    Jeanne mutters: Sure. Must be the lodge trying to take off in the storm. Tomorrow, we’ll wake up in those mountains. So very far away.
    Exhausted, the girls lie down on the hard floor. Wrapped in their coats and getting used to the unexplained noises, they soon fall into a deep sleep. Toward dawn and through the morning, the cousins, without waking, huddle closer and closer together, as the cold takes over the lodge.
    At midday, Jeanne and Rachel are