Kleinzeit

See You

Middle of the night. Sister in the bedroom asleep, taking a fortnight’s holiday from the hospital. Kleinzeit awake at the plain deal table in the bare sitting-room. Sister’s clock ticking on the wall, Sister’s Turkoman cushions heaped in a corner with her velvet elephant, woollen rabbit, shining helmet. Candle burning in a saucer on the plain deal table. Yellow paper pages piling up.

Hoo hoo, a hoarse whisper at the door. Anybody awake?

Is this a professional call or a social one? said Kleinzeit.

Social, said Death. I just happen to be in the neighbourhood, thought I’d look in.

Kleinzeit opened the door, they went into the sitting-room. Kleinzeit sat in the chair, Death sat on the cushions in the corner. They nodded at each other, smiled, shrugged.

Care for a banana? said Kleinzeit.

Thanks, said Death. I don’t eat bananas. How’s it going?

Can’t complain, said Kleinzeit. Couple of pages a day. Tomorrow I’ll start busking again.

You’re doing all right, said Death. I’ve a present for you.

What? said Kleinzeit. No tricks, I hope.

No tricks, said Death.

Where is it? said Kleinzeit. I don’t see anything.

Tell you later, said Death.

Kleinzeit lit a cigarette, sat smoking by candlelight There’s something I’ve wanted to do, he said. I don’t know if I can.

What? said Death.

Kleinzeit took a bottle of black ink and a fat Japanese brush out of the plain deal table drawer. He took a piece of yellow paper, dipped the brush in the ink, poised it over the paper.

You can do it, said Death.

Kleinzeit touched the paper with the brush, drew in one smooth sweep a fat black circle, sweet and round.

That’s it, said Death. My present.

Thank you, said Kleinzeit. He tacked the yellow paper to the wall near the clock. Let’s go for a walk, he said.

They went down to the river. The lights on the embankment were dark, but the street lights were still on. Night almost gone, the bridges black against a sky growing pale. Cold, the air, and wet. The river running lapping at the wall, ebbing to the sea. No moon to light the head of Orpheus wherever it was swimming. Death swung along at Kleinzeit’s side, its black back bobbing up and down. Neither said anything.

I’ll turn off here, said Death when they came to the third bridge. See you.

See you, said Kleinzeit. He watched Death’s small black going-away shape rising and falling as it swung off out of sight under the street lamps.