Sacrifice by Karin Alvtegen Read Free Book Online

realised. No one could avoid them, and what else could the readers do with all the fear that was constantly being forced upon them but hide it away in some nook and let it lie there, to be mixed with a suspicion of foreigners and a general feeling of hopelessness?
    The fact that people bought newspapers that used placards like this was the triumph of the primitive ur-brain over the intelligence of the cerebral cortex.
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    A red van came driving at high speed from the direction of Storgatan, but she didn’t pay it much attention. Painted on the side was BÖRJE'S CONSTRUCTION in big letters. If she remembered correctly, the woman had introduced herself as Åse. The van slowed to a stop with the engine running. The woman behind the wheel was in her fifties and leaned across the passenger seat to roll down the side window.
    â€˜Monika?’
    She grabbed the handle of her suitcase on wheels and walked towards the van.
    â€˜I thought it might be you. Hi, I’m Monika.’
    The woman shifted back over to the driver’s seat and hopped out. She held out her hand to Monika and introduced herself.
    â€˜I’m sorry you had to wait, but believe it or not my car wouldn’t start. Jesus, what a hassle. I had to takemy husband’s van instead, and I hope it’s okay. I’ve tried to shove the worst of the junk off the seats.’
    Monika smiled. It would take a lot more than a van to dampen her spirits.
    â€˜No problem at all.’
    Ã…se took her bag and tossed it in the side door of the van. Monika glimpsed a metal rack with carpenters’ tools on it and a firmly secured table saw with a round blade before Åse slid the side doors shut.
    â€˜It’s a good thing there are only two of us. I tried to get hold of some others from around here, but luckily they’d already organised lifts, otherwise they’d have to lie in the back of the van.’
    â€˜So, there are others going from here?’
    â€˜Five of them. All I know is that some are from the Council and some from KappAhl, I think, or one of the big department stores, anyway I can’t remember.’
    Monika opened the door and climbed into the passenger seat. A green pine air-freshener dangled from the rear-view mirror. Åse followed her gaze and sighed.
    â€˜I dearly love my husband, but he has never had particularly good taste.’
    She opened the glove box and tossed the pine tree inside. The aroma still lingered, and she rolled down the window before she put the car in gear and drove off.
    â€˜Okay.’
    The word was accompanied by a relieved sigh.
    â€˜Finally, we’re on our way. A couple of mornings like this a year are liable to shorten your life expectancy.’
    Monika looked out the side window and smiled. She already felt like calling Thomas.
    * * *
    The course venue looked like it had once been a boarding-house. Yellow with white corners and a newly built annexe next door with all the hotel rooms. The journey here had been full of laughter and wise insights. Åse had proven to be both witty and funny, and perhaps humour was a necessary trait, considering she was head of a treatment centre for drug-addicted girls in their early teens.
    â€˜I don’t really know how I stand it, hearing all the things some of those girls have been through. But every time I realise that I’ve had a hand in helping some of them move on and break their addiction, it’s all worth it.’
    The world was full of heroic people.
    And those who wished they were heroic.
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    On the schedule they had received in the mail, it said the course would begin with a reception and the introduction of the leaders and participants. The rest of the afternoon they would learn how to motivate their co-workers by ‘understanding people’s basic needs’. Monika could feel her interest flagging. She wanted to go home, and as soon as she got her key and checked into her room she