between my cheek and the floor.
“Oh, what the hell!” I said, and sighed. “I don’t know. I suppose my life isn’t that bloody awful.”
“No?”
Now she sounded both amused and surprised.
“Well,” I said, “I mean, it depends entirely on what expectations you have, doesn’t it?”
“I think it sounds pretty good,” she said.
I sighed again.
“Yes, but ten million kronor? Come on, I’d have thought you’d get a bit more for that sort of money…”
I got up on my knees, looked out through the window, and caught sight of the potted plant on my neighbor’s balcony. It was barely recognizable. The leaves were drooping over the edge of the pot, and there was something brown sticking up from the middle. I went and got a glass of water from the kitchen and tried to reach it with a few quick throws. Most of the water missed, and I wasn’t sure if I was doing any good at all or just making the situation worse for the poor plant. I lay back down on the floor, took several deep breaths, and suddenly felt a fresh wave of tears rising up inside me.
“And I can’t help thinking about Sunita,” I said. “It seems so incredibly tragic.”
“Sunita?” Maud said.
“Yes, it was all a long while ago now, but I still find myself thinking about it the whole time. It still hurts…”
Instinctively I put my hand to my heart. As if she could see me. As if it could somehow emphasize the pain I felt.
“Sunita?”
“Yes.”
“Who’s Sunita?” Maud said in an entirely different tone of voice.
“Sunita. She was the great love of my life. We could have—”
Maud interrupted me.
“Hang on. We don’t have any information about…”
“What?” I said.
I rolled onto my stomach and leaned my elbows on the floor. Down the line I could hear her get out of bed and tap at her computer.
“I haven’t got anything about a Sunita,” she said.
I got up on my knees, rubbed my eyes, and tried to think straight.
“You’re kidding?!” I said. “You mean to say that you’ve managed to miss Sunita?”
I stood up, my body felt sluggish. Every step I took seemed jerky, like an ultra-rapid film sequence. But I couldn’t help feeling a glimmer of hope. Had they really missed Sunita? Was it even possible that they hadn’t taken account of the greatest sadness in my life? Maybe there had been more mistakes.
“She broke my heart, for God’s sake,” I went on, in as reproachful a voice as I could muster. “That’s affected my whole life. There’s not a day goes by without me…I mean…Have you really not taken that into account?”
I could hear Maud’s breathing speed up as she clicked between various documents.
“Er…Not as far as I can see.”
“Holy shit,” I said. “No wonder the invoice ended up being so expensive.”
“When was this?” she asked.
I wondered if she was typing on her laptop. Had she logged in from bed? Or was she taking notes the old-fashioned way with pen and paper?
“1998,” I said. “To 2000. January 5, 3:25 p.m. We first met in ’97, but didn’t start seeing each other until the following year. Okay, hang on a minute, something like this has to be taken into account, even retrospectively, surely?”
I heard her moving at the other end.
“You’re sure you’re not getting mixed up with some film you’ve seen?”
“Are you kidding?” I said. “This is the biggest tragedy of my life.”
She tapped at her computer again.
“But this has to be taken into consideration!” I said.
I was pacing up and down in the apartment now.
“This could…Bloody hell!” I said.
She was breathing hard. I could tell things were serious this time.
“Yes. I think it would be best if you came back in again,” she said.
On my second visit to W.R.D. a man came down and met me in the vast entrance hall. Everyone seemed extremely troubled by the mistake with Sunita. I was assured that a thorough internal investigation would be carried out, and led to believe that such
“Oh, what the hell!” I said, and sighed. “I don’t know. I suppose my life isn’t that bloody awful.”
“No?”
Now she sounded both amused and surprised.
“Well,” I said, “I mean, it depends entirely on what expectations you have, doesn’t it?”
“I think it sounds pretty good,” she said.
I sighed again.
“Yes, but ten million kronor? Come on, I’d have thought you’d get a bit more for that sort of money…”
I got up on my knees, looked out through the window, and caught sight of the potted plant on my neighbor’s balcony. It was barely recognizable. The leaves were drooping over the edge of the pot, and there was something brown sticking up from the middle. I went and got a glass of water from the kitchen and tried to reach it with a few quick throws. Most of the water missed, and I wasn’t sure if I was doing any good at all or just making the situation worse for the poor plant. I lay back down on the floor, took several deep breaths, and suddenly felt a fresh wave of tears rising up inside me.
“And I can’t help thinking about Sunita,” I said. “It seems so incredibly tragic.”
“Sunita?” Maud said.
“Yes, it was all a long while ago now, but I still find myself thinking about it the whole time. It still hurts…”
Instinctively I put my hand to my heart. As if she could see me. As if it could somehow emphasize the pain I felt.
“Sunita?”
“Yes.”
“Who’s Sunita?” Maud said in an entirely different tone of voice.
“Sunita. She was the great love of my life. We could have—”
Maud interrupted me.
“Hang on. We don’t have any information about…”
“What?” I said.
I rolled onto my stomach and leaned my elbows on the floor. Down the line I could hear her get out of bed and tap at her computer.
“I haven’t got anything about a Sunita,” she said.
I got up on my knees, rubbed my eyes, and tried to think straight.
“You’re kidding?!” I said. “You mean to say that you’ve managed to miss Sunita?”
I stood up, my body felt sluggish. Every step I took seemed jerky, like an ultra-rapid film sequence. But I couldn’t help feeling a glimmer of hope. Had they really missed Sunita? Was it even possible that they hadn’t taken account of the greatest sadness in my life? Maybe there had been more mistakes.
“She broke my heart, for God’s sake,” I went on, in as reproachful a voice as I could muster. “That’s affected my whole life. There’s not a day goes by without me…I mean…Have you really not taken that into account?”
I could hear Maud’s breathing speed up as she clicked between various documents.
“Er…Not as far as I can see.”
“Holy shit,” I said. “No wonder the invoice ended up being so expensive.”
“When was this?” she asked.
I wondered if she was typing on her laptop. Had she logged in from bed? Or was she taking notes the old-fashioned way with pen and paper?
“1998,” I said. “To 2000. January 5, 3:25 p.m. We first met in ’97, but didn’t start seeing each other until the following year. Okay, hang on a minute, something like this has to be taken into account, even retrospectively, surely?”
I heard her moving at the other end.
“You’re sure you’re not getting mixed up with some film you’ve seen?”
“Are you kidding?” I said. “This is the biggest tragedy of my life.”
She tapped at her computer again.
“But this has to be taken into consideration!” I said.
I was pacing up and down in the apartment now.
“This could…Bloody hell!” I said.
She was breathing hard. I could tell things were serious this time.
“Yes. I think it would be best if you came back in again,” she said.
On my second visit to W.R.D. a man came down and met me in the vast entrance hall. Everyone seemed extremely troubled by the mistake with Sunita. I was assured that a thorough internal investigation would be carried out, and led to believe that such
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