catch it.
‘Joel!’
He opened his eyes. Berra, one of the regulars, had turned around on his chair and was looking at him.
‘Are you sitting there dreaming?’
‘No, I just…’ Joel spread his hands in a gesture that might mean anything.
‘Give me a number.’
‘Err…twenty-seven.’
Berra shook his head. ‘They’re not running that many horses yet. We can’t agree here, so you have to decide.’
‘What are the alternatives.’
‘Doesn’t matter. Just give me a number.’
‘Five, then.’
Berra looked down at the papers in his hand and raised his eyebrows.
‘
Five?
’
‘Yes?’
The others at the table were guffawing. Berra scratched his head, looking as if someone had just come up with incontrovertible proof that two and two made five. He looked sceptically at Joel.
‘But that’s Black Riddle. Definitely…long odds, if I can put it that way.’ Berra pursed his lips, made his decision and turned back to the others. ‘OK, let’s fill it in.’
The others protested, but Berra stuck to his guns, and since they couldn’t agree anyway, Black Riddle it was. Joel heard something about ‘Three hundred kronor straight down the toilet’ and ‘Better hedge our bets’. He placed his knife and fork neatly on the plate, stood up and held out a hundred-kronor note to Berra.
‘Can I join in?’
Berra looked at the note, at Joel, at the others. Joel folded the note between his fingers so that it wouldn’t look threatening. ‘If I’m sabotaging the system, I can at least make a contribution.’
‘No,’ said Berra, and the others shook their heads in agreement. ‘We were only joking. If you want to join in that’s fine, but you don’t have to feel…’
Joel moved the note closer, and Berra took it. ‘But in that case we’ll hedge our bets on a couple more, because Black Riddle…well, you know.’
‘No,’ said Joel. ‘I’m in if you
don’t
hedge your bets.’
Berra looked at the others, who shrugged. It didn’t make any difference, after all; they wouldn’t have been able to hedge their bets anyway without Joel’s fresh capital. Berra waved the hundred-kronor note at the coupon. ‘So what shall we put it on, then?’
‘You know better than me.’
Berra nodded and a new discussion began. When Joel had pulledon his jacket, Berra pointed at the lines and said, ‘Don’t you want a copy?’
‘No. Let me know if I win anything.’
‘There’s not much chance of that with Black Riddle, but…sure.’
Joel set off home. As soon as he started down the hill from the square, the feeling came creeping up on him again. He placed his hand over his heart. Wasn’t it beating faster than usual?
Fear.
It was a form of fear. He hadn’t felt like this for a long time. He had read a series of articles in
Dagens Nyheter
last summer about panic attacks. They were most common among young people, but could affect a person at any age. The fear itself wasn’t dangerous, but the premonition led to panic, which led to…
A rose is a rose is a rose…
The tower blocks stood out like darker silhouettes against the grey sky. From where Joel was standing, the buildings were almost exactly in a line. He stopped, looked. Tilted his head to one side, squinted.
What the hell…
The sides of the buildings stood next to one another, two lines running from the ground to the sky. Joel blinked hard and looked again. No. He wasn’t seeing things: the lines were not parallel. They weren’t parallel because the closest block, his block…was at an angle. Only a degree or two, but enough to make the two sides next to one another form a very long, upside-down V instead of two Is.
He took a few steps back, a few steps forward, to the side, but however he looked, the phenomenon remained. The building was listing towards the east. When he stood at his kitchen window watching the sunset he had been standing on a sloping surface, about to fall over backwards.
People on their way home from the subway
‘Joel!’
He opened his eyes. Berra, one of the regulars, had turned around on his chair and was looking at him.
‘Are you sitting there dreaming?’
‘No, I just…’ Joel spread his hands in a gesture that might mean anything.
‘Give me a number.’
‘Err…twenty-seven.’
Berra shook his head. ‘They’re not running that many horses yet. We can’t agree here, so you have to decide.’
‘What are the alternatives.’
‘Doesn’t matter. Just give me a number.’
‘Five, then.’
Berra looked down at the papers in his hand and raised his eyebrows.
‘
Five?
’
‘Yes?’
The others at the table were guffawing. Berra scratched his head, looking as if someone had just come up with incontrovertible proof that two and two made five. He looked sceptically at Joel.
‘But that’s Black Riddle. Definitely…long odds, if I can put it that way.’ Berra pursed his lips, made his decision and turned back to the others. ‘OK, let’s fill it in.’
The others protested, but Berra stuck to his guns, and since they couldn’t agree anyway, Black Riddle it was. Joel heard something about ‘Three hundred kronor straight down the toilet’ and ‘Better hedge our bets’. He placed his knife and fork neatly on the plate, stood up and held out a hundred-kronor note to Berra.
‘Can I join in?’
Berra looked at the note, at Joel, at the others. Joel folded the note between his fingers so that it wouldn’t look threatening. ‘If I’m sabotaging the system, I can at least make a contribution.’
‘No,’ said Berra, and the others shook their heads in agreement. ‘We were only joking. If you want to join in that’s fine, but you don’t have to feel…’
Joel moved the note closer, and Berra took it. ‘But in that case we’ll hedge our bets on a couple more, because Black Riddle…well, you know.’
‘No,’ said Joel. ‘I’m in if you
don’t
hedge your bets.’
Berra looked at the others, who shrugged. It didn’t make any difference, after all; they wouldn’t have been able to hedge their bets anyway without Joel’s fresh capital. Berra waved the hundred-kronor note at the coupon. ‘So what shall we put it on, then?’
‘You know better than me.’
Berra nodded and a new discussion began. When Joel had pulledon his jacket, Berra pointed at the lines and said, ‘Don’t you want a copy?’
‘No. Let me know if I win anything.’
‘There’s not much chance of that with Black Riddle, but…sure.’
Joel set off home. As soon as he started down the hill from the square, the feeling came creeping up on him again. He placed his hand over his heart. Wasn’t it beating faster than usual?
Fear.
It was a form of fear. He hadn’t felt like this for a long time. He had read a series of articles in
Dagens Nyheter
last summer about panic attacks. They were most common among young people, but could affect a person at any age. The fear itself wasn’t dangerous, but the premonition led to panic, which led to…
A rose is a rose is a rose…
The tower blocks stood out like darker silhouettes against the grey sky. From where Joel was standing, the buildings were almost exactly in a line. He stopped, looked. Tilted his head to one side, squinted.
What the hell…
The sides of the buildings stood next to one another, two lines running from the ground to the sky. Joel blinked hard and looked again. No. He wasn’t seeing things: the lines were not parallel. They weren’t parallel because the closest block, his block…was at an angle. Only a degree or two, but enough to make the two sides next to one another form a very long, upside-down V instead of two Is.
He took a few steps back, a few steps forward, to the side, but however he looked, the phenomenon remained. The building was listing towards the east. When he stood at his kitchen window watching the sunset he had been standing on a sloping surface, about to fall over backwards.
People on their way home from the subway
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