Still Life by Edward Drobinski - HTML preview

Still Life

Page 208

Gregory responded by flickering dramatically and quoting Cicero.

Sir Flinchington bowed to a nearby tapestry.

The Archivist, now acting as defense, argued that Gregory's groans were not complaints but sacred utterances; ritual emissions from a being caught between illumination and annotation.

To settle the matter, Susie proposed a test. Gregory would be asked to illuminate a moment of sincerity. If he could do so without groaning, he would be absolved.

Finn unlocked the door to the Room of Sincerity. Inside stood a single chair, a single candle, and a single sentence waiting to be spoken.

Gregory descended.

Lady Sigh whispered, "Chance of emotional thunder."

Sir Flinchington bowed to the candle.

Susie spoke the sentence:

"I remember the sound of my mother's interruption more clearly than the lesson it disrupted."