Shadows in the Twilight by Henning Mankell Read Free Book Online Page A

chunks of text, and wrote a new version
between the lines. Joel squatted down and stroked the
elkhound while Simon was busy writing.
    In the end, Simon threw down his pencil, turned to
look at Joel, and smiled.
    'That's better,' he said. 'Now the book finishes as it
ought to do.'
    'Are you allowed to make whatever changes you like
in books?' Joel wondered.
    'Allowed and allowed,' said Simon, scratching at his
beard. 'I don't bother about such minor matters.'
    Joel sat down on a stool by the table. Simon peered at
him. It occurred to Joel that Simon might not have heard
about the accident. Simon didn't speak to many people,
apart from Joel.
    Simon could well be the only person in the whole of
the little town who had heard nothing about the accident.
    Joel told him what had happened. Simon frowned and
listened. Joel moved his stool further back from the
table, as Simon smelled unusually awful today.
    Maybe that could be a good deed? he thought.
    Making sure that Simon took a proper bath.
    But he rejected the thought. It could be a dangerous
suggestion to make. Simon might start throwing hens
around.
    'I have to think up a good deed,' said Joel. 'If you've
benefited from a miracle, you have to do a good deed.'
    'I suppose you must,' said Simon slowly. 'What
you've told me was awful!'
    'I don't have any pain at all,' said Joel. 'I didn't even
bite my tongue.'
    He suddenly noticed that Simon had tears in his eyes.
    He had never seen that before.
    Joel felt a lump in his throat.
    'Awful,' Simon muttered. 'Awful, awful . . . '
    'It was my own fault really,' said Joel. 'I wasn't
looking where I was going.'
    A hen fluttered up onto the table and deposited a large
lump of bird poo in the middle of the page Simon had
just rewritten. Joel couldn't help but giggle.
    Simon wiped the tears from his eyes, and smiled as
well.
    'She's given it her seal of approval,' he said.
    'A good deed,' said Joel, still giggling. 'How do you
think up a suitable good deed?'
    'We must have a think,' said Simon. 'I think it's best
if we put our glasses on.'
    Joel had forgotten all about that. Simon's Thinking
Glasses.
    They looked like ordinary glasses. The only difference
was that the lenses were painted black. When you
had them on, you couldn't see anything.
    Simon stood up and looked round the room.
    'I wonder where I've put them,' he mumbled. He
turned to look at Joel. 'Where would I usually put my
glasses?' he asked.
    'On a shelf,' suggested Joel, recalling where his dad
usually put his glasses.
    Simon nodded.
    'A shelf,' he said. 'Where is there a shelf?'
    Joel looked round. There were no shelves in the room.
    'In the pantry,' he suggested. 'There are shelves in
there.'
    'You're right,' said Simon. 'There are shelves in the
pantry.'
    He vanished into the pantry. Joel could hear the
clashing of dishes and the clattering of pans. The
clinking of empty bottles and the rustling of paper bags.
Then Joel heard a triumphant yell, and Simon
reappeared with two pairs of glasses in his hand.
    'Now we can think,' he said. 'And if that doesn't help,
we can take the Seven-Windowed Wagon and drive out
to the Four Winds Lake.'
    The Seven-Windowed Wagon was his ancient lorry.
Simon claimed he'd named it after the king's finest
coach.
    They each put on the glasses. They were really old
motorbike goggles that fitted tightly on all sides.
Everything was black, even though they hadn't closed
their eyes.
    'So, let's have a think,' said Simon.
    There wasn't a sound. The elkhound was snoozing
under the table. A hen was pecking in a corner.
    Joel tried to concentrate on thinking up a good deed.
    In fact, he was finding it very hard not to start
giggling again.
    That was something he'd noticed recently. Whenever
something serious was happening, he found it very hard
not to start giggling. It was as if an invisible hand had
started tickling the soles of his feet.
    As soon as he thought about it, he started giggling.
    I mustn't giggle, he told himself sternly.
    That set him off