is dark and the wind
crackles like a fire in the fireplace.
"Claire, Samantha, Samantha, Claire?" The Specialist's voice is
blurry and wet. It sounds like their father's voice, but that's
because the hat can imitate any noise, any voice. "Are you still
awake?"
"Quick," the babysitter says. "It's time to go up to the attic
and hide."
Claire and Samantha slip out from under the covers and dress
quickly and silently. They follow her. Without speech, without
breathing, she pulls them into the safety of the chimney. It is too
dark to see, but they understand the babysitter perfectly when she
mouths the word,
Up
. She goes first, so they can see
where the finger-holds are, the bricks that jut out for their feet.
Then Claire. Samantha watches her sister's foot ascend like smoke,
the shoelace still untied.
"Claire? Samantha? Goddammit, you're scaring me. Where are you?"
The Specialist is standing just outside the half-open door.
"Samantha? I think I've been bitten by something. I think I've been
bitten by a goddamn snake." Samantha hesitates for only a second.
Then she is climbing up, up, up the nursery chimney.
Flying Lessons
1.Going to hell. Instructions and advice.
Listen, because I'm only going to do this once. You'll have to
get there by way of London. Take the overnight train from Waverly.
Sit in the last car. Speak to no one. Don't fall asleep.
When you arrive at Kings Cross, go down into the Underground.
Get on the Northern line. Sit in the last car. Speak to no one.
Don't fall asleep.
The Northern line stops at Angel, at London Bridge, at Elephant
and Castle, Tooting Broadway. The last marked station is Morden:
stay in your seat. Other passengers will remain with you in the
car. Speak to no one.
These are some of the unlisted stations you will pass: Howling
Green. Duke's Pit. Sparrowkill. Stay in your seat. Don't fall
asleep.
If you look around the car, you may notice that the other
passengers have started to glow. The bulbs on the car dim as the
passengers give off more and more light. If you look down you may
find that you yourself are casting light into the dark car.
The final stop is Bonehouse.
2. June in Edinburgh in June .
June stole £7 from Rooms Two and Three. That would be trainfare,
with some left over for a birthday present for Lily. Room Three was
American again, and Americans never knew how much currency they had
in the first place. They left pound coins lying upon the dresser.
It made her fingers itchy.
She ticked off the morning jobs on her right hand. The wash-room
at the end of the hall was clean. Beds were made up, and all the
ashtrays were cleared out. Rooms One through Four were done, and
Room Five at the top of the house was honeymooners from Dallas.
They hadn't been at breakfast for three days, living on love, she
supposed. Why travel from Dallas to Edinburgh merely to have sex?
She imagined a great host of Texans, rising on white wings and
fanning out across the Atlantic, buoyed up by love. Falling into
bed at journey's end, exhausted by such travel. Nonsense.
She emptied the wastebasket in Room Three, and went thumping
down the stairs with the cleaning box in one hand, and the room
keys swinging in the other. "Here, ma," she said, handing the keys
and the box over to Lily.
"Right," Lily said sourly. "Finished up, have you?" Her face was
flushed, and her black hair snaked down the back of her neck.
Walter was in the kitchen, his elbows plunged into soapy water,
singing along with Radio Three as he worked, an opera program.
"Where are you off to?" Lily said, raising her voice. June
ducked past her.
"Dunno exactly," she said. "I'll be back in time for tea
tomorrow. Goodbye, Walter!" she shouted. "Bake Lily a lovely
cake."
3.
Arrows of Beauty .
June went to St. Andrews. She thought it would be pleasant to
spend a day by the sea. The train was full and she sat next to a
fat, freckled woman eating sandwiches, one after the other. June
watched her mouth open and close, measuring out