"The Social Worker had mentioned other "youngens "but that night Chintana saw no sign of any more. "Maybe the incresiating cold "or the peculiar threat of a storm "or Belinda Kite's birthday "had turned parents from wrestling with seat belts and car seats-- "--from those oh so "many lists of baby sitters tacked conveniently by a phone. "Chintana rubbed the violet line on her thumb as a woman with topaz clamped on her ears burst past her towards a small bathroom tucked under the main stairs. " 'Such a hateful whore,' the woman sputstuttersobbed to Chintana, "to no one in particular, "diving for the comforts of lock and running water. "Whereupon Chintana's thumb abruptly began to sore a little "and she felt bleak, "as if a thousand "vengeances upon vengeances were dicing her suddenly "into hail. "Though the cause was none too mysterous "--the front door just stood wide open. "Though when it had been flung so Chintana would never remember. "The porch lights were extinguished too, oddly, "and what's more a shadow now cut across the threshold, "though without moon or stars in the Texas sky this was an awful impossibility, "for here reaching towards her it seemed was a shadow cast by nothing "other "than the darkness itself. "Most would've denied the sight with a turn, "a cry, "flight, "but maybe because Chintana too, day out and night in, could so easily consider doing the same, "what would leave these rooms drenched in silence, "and blood, "she welcomed him. " 'The orphans' "was all he said. "And Chintana showed him the way. Excerpted from The Fifty Year Sword by Mark Z. Danielewski All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
