The Five Gates of Hell (1991)
“A bottle of eucalyptus oil stood in a basin of hot water in the corner of the room.
‘It should be ready by now,’ Dad said, ‘but you’d better test it first.’ Nathan moved over to the washbasin. It was one of the holy objects, this bottle of oil. It was ancient, made of ribbed green glass, green as seaweed. It had six sides and a cork stopper. Dad must’ve lost the original top. He’d found a cork that almost fitted and then he’d whittled it down. Now, years later, it looked as if it belonged.
... The oil was fine: not too hot, not too cold. He let the water out of the basin and brought the bottle over to the bed. Dad took off his nightclothes, the blue sweater with the holes in, the torn pyjama jacket, and lay face down, his head turned sideways on the pillows. He flinched as the oil ran across his back, then he relaxed and said, ‘It’s all right.’ It had been hard to touch Dad the first time. Everything looked so injured that he couldn’t work out where to start.MoreLess
‘It should be ready by now,’ Dad said, ‘but you’d better test it first.’ Nathan moved over to the washbasin. It was one of the holy objects, this bottle of oil. It was ancient, made of ribbed green glass, green as seaweed. It had six sides and a cork stopper. Dad must’ve lost the original top. He’d found a cork that almost fitted and then he’d whittled it down. Now, years later, it looked as if it belonged.
... The oil was fine: not too hot, not too cold. He let the water out of the basin and brought the bottle over to the bed. Dad took off his nightclothes, the blue sweater with the holes in, the torn pyjama jacket, and lay face down, his head turned sideways on the pillows. He flinched as the oil ran across his back, then he relaxed and said, ‘It’s all right.’ It had been hard to touch Dad the first time. Everything looked so injured that he couldn’t work out where to start.MoreLess
Read book The Five Gates of Hell for free
Write Review:
User Reviews: