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

giggling uncontrollably. The giggles
just seemed to come bubbling up out of his mouth. As if
they'd been flowing over a mass of giggles he had
buried inside himself.
    Simon will be angry, he thought.
    It didn't help. He giggled away even so.
    But Simon wasn't angry. Joel had the feeling that
Simon was one of the very rare grown-ups who hadn't
forgotten what it was like to be nearly twelve years old.
    There weren't many who hadn't forgotten.
    His dad, Samuel, had forgotten. But not Gertrud.
    Miss Nederström had forgotten. But not Simon
Windstorm.
    'This is no good,' said Simon. 'We might as well take
our glasses off.'
    Joel loosened the strap round the back of his neck
securing the goggles.
    'We'll have to drive out to Four Winds Lake,' said
Simon.
    In normal circumstances Joel would have been overjoyed
to go with Simon to the mysterious lake hidden
deep in the forest. He loved clambering into the
passenger seat beside Simon.
    But not today.
    Today there was something holding him back.
    It was as if Joel had become scared of big motor
vehicles.
    If he was a passenger in the big lorry, he could hardly
be run over.
    But perhaps they might run over somebody else?
    No, he didn't want to go in the lorry today.
    'I haven't time,' he mumbled. 'I have an appointment
with my dad.'
    Simon nodded.
    'I'm sorry I can't help you,' he said. 'But perhaps the
bottom line is that you have to think of a good deed
yourself.'
    Joel left.
    It had stopped raining. Ragged clouds were scudding
over the sky.
    He took a wrong turning in the middle of the
labyrinth, and ended up outside Simon's house again.
    He felt angry, but set off once more. This time he
made no mistake. The fir trees became less dense, and
he emerged onto the main road.
    Now he was tired of thinking about good deeds. He
wished he'd been able to chase them off like you scare
off a swarm of mosquitoes by flapping and waving your
arms about.
    If only that idiot Eklund hadn't been driving so
carelessly, he thought. Then I wouldn't have had to
experience that miracle.
    I have no time to mess about with good deeds, Joel
thought. I have to find myself a good friend. And I want
to be a better football player.
    I haven't got the time.
    He trudged homewards, kicking the gravel so hard
that he hurt his toes.
    Joel felt sorry for himself.
    He didn't have a mother. Nor did he have any close
friends. All he had was Simon Windstorm, who smelled
something awful, and Gertrud, who didn't have a nose.
    There were so many things he didn't have.
    I'm like Gertrud, he thought. She doesn't have a nose,
and I don't have a mum. . .
    He suddenly stopped dead, in the middle of the road.
    Perhaps he'd just had a brilliant idea for a good deed.
    He couldn't help Gertrud to find a new nose.
    But it was obvious that she needed a man!
    She was thirty years old, and unmarried. She didn't
have any children.
    Perhaps he could help her to find a husband!
    That was it!
    The good deed he would perform was to find a man
for Gertrud. So that she didn't need to spend her
evenings all alone. A man she could marry.
    But where would he be able to find such a man?
    It didn't take him long to find the answer to that.
    The bar! Where Sara worked! Lots of men sat there
all day long, drinking beer. He'd heard Sara complaining
to Samuel that there were far too many unmarried
men spending all their time in the bar when they weren't
at work, drinking beer.
    He was in a hurry now. He ran down the hill leading
to the town centre. There was the ironmonger's, and
there was the shoe shop. And over there, on the corner,
was the bar.
    He'd been running so fast that he had to pause and get
his breath back.
    It suddenly dawned on him that he was standing in the
very spot where he'd set off over the street without
looking. The very same place where the accident had
been transformed into a miracle.
    That must mean that I'm doing the right thing, he
thought. Starting my good deed at the very same spot.
    The bar door opened and Nyberg, the