Swallows Have Arrived Page #2

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Mate, grandmaster!

- My friend...

- Wait, wait!

Oh, God!

Again the black sun

has risen over the earth.

I have to live:

I have to walk, talk, smile

and lie, and lie...

The first torture is breakfast.

You eat and you are also lying,

because you don't taste the food

and you try to swallow

without chewing,

pretending that human things

are not alien to you.

Thanks, mum.

I don't want any more, I have to go.

But today is Sunday.

Where are you going?

I have to do some work

in the library.

Do libraries work on Sundays?

They do.

They have a day off on Mondays.

Let him go.

Alright.

I'm off.

Don't forget your briefcase.

Thanks.

Good morning.

You walk grinning agreeably,

trying to look like everybody else,

but you remain alien,

alien to this celebration of life.

And you don't have

to look back to know

that they're pointing at you,

and that your faithful

black sun is following you.

Pik! Pik!

- Hello, Skiff!

- Hello!

- How are you?

- I'm in a hurry. I'm going to work.

But today's Sunday.

We work on Sundays, too. I have

some work to do in the library.

I've just been to the library.

Look what book I got out.

"Alani ranks in China

during the Yuan dynasty".

Knight, Elite Officer,

Commissioner of the Assian troops,

Commissioner

of the Emperor's guard,

Superviser of the right

Assian guard, Great...

Skiff, tell me the rest later, OK?

I've got a very important meeting.

- When are you going to be home?

- Around 7, 8, 9 o'clock.

I've got such stuff to tell you.

There are some really

interesting facts here.

Good luck, Pik!

See you!

Hey, kid.

- Listen, kid, do you live here?

- Yes.

Listen, do you know uncle Volodya?

- You mean Voven?

- Aha.

Yeah, I know him.

- Could you call him for me?

- Sure.

And I'll keep an eye

on your bike for you.

Just make sure his mum

doesn't see, OK?

- And you won't nick it?

- I've got a car.

Voven's ma said you're a bastard.

Really?

Scram, Pik, scram.

OK, kid, thanks.

Hey, man, you haven't got any car.

So where is he, then, this bloke?

Show me, where is he?

What do you want, for God sake?

Get lost!

Leave him alone! How many

times do you need telling?

Leave him alone!

Rot in Hell!

Run! Run!

Get out of here!

Stop!

Stop!

That's it, you little runt,

now we've got you!

Are you trying to make us run,

you cripple?

Who were you with, you f***?

- Easy, you're killing me!

- Who were you with, you arsehole?

I don't know him.

Pick up your case.

The briefcase, pick it up!

Open it!

Shake it out!

What are you, a bookworm?

Yeah, a bookworm.

Charles Bo-DE-lair.

- Who's that?

- A French poet.

Looks like a junky

Alright. We let you go!

It's Sunday, the holy day.

You don't have a cigarette, do you?

You're a cheeky one, eh?

And a light, please.

I went to school no. 3, too.

Three years below you.

Don't come round here any more.

The Persian's been busted.

Have your tickets ready, please,

and your passes.

So, girls, what have you got

to show me?

Lads, tickets?

Have your tickets ready, please.

Your ticket, please, young man

Get it there.

It blocks the aisle.

My Pretty one!

- Is it a boy or a girl?

- Agirl.

What have you got?

And you, lady?

You took my seat.

It is the conductor's seat.

- Lads, what have you got?

- That's for two tickets, please.

We don't need the tickets.

We are leaving.

Your ticket, please, young man

I have a pass.

So show it to me.

Can I see it?

No, I won't show it to you.

- What do you mean?

- Why don't you believe me?

Look, show me.

Either buy a ticket,

or show me your pass.

I said I'm not going

to show you my pass.

- So get off, I'm stopping the tram.

- I have a pass.

- Why do I have to get off?

- Get off, please.

Leave him alone.

I'll pay for him.

You can't pay for him.

Get off, please.

I have a pass.

Look at him.

You put a pair of glasses on,

pretend to be an intellectual,

and you're too miserly to pay

three roubles for a ticket?

So, show me your pass,

or get off the tram.

Stop the tram!

Leave him alone.

Take this.

You should be ashamed

of yourself, young man.

Intellectual!

Lout!

Hooligan! Lout!

People like you...

Wretched intellectual!

Why the long face?

What's up now?

Murik, I need some money.

What did I tell you last time?

I told you not to come to me

with this obscenity again. Never!

Didn't I tell you that?

I'm telling you honestly

what I need the money for.

It's nice to know

you're not decieving me,

but I'm not giving you

any money, do you understand?

I went to the other end of town,

to Haly-Galy's.

Even though I was having

really violent withdrawal symptoms

as a rule they come

on the second day without...

I got off a stop

before I needed to.

I had to collect my thoughts

about what I was going to say

and to make sure

the house wasn't being watched.

I already owed Galya

for four doses,

and she had already

sworn three times

that I wouldn't get round her

like that again.

Listen, PiK.

Where do you think you are,

in heaven?

It's like you can't live

without the high

and you're too scared

to start thieving?

There's lots of you

and only one of me.

What am I supposed to do?

To pay the man with my body?

Listen, PiK.

Don't come back here again

without the readies.

I'll set the dogs on you.

Got it?

I could, of course,

have phoned beforehand.

That would also have been

less dangerous.

But, that would have meant

being left with nothing, for sure.

And with the surprise visit

I still had some chance.

It would be good

if Galya wasn't at home,

but Valya was,

Galya's younger sister,

who was also in the know,

but wasn't such a b*tch yet.

And it would be better still

if Valya wasn't there,

but Gerasim was,

Valya's fella, alone.

He's a f***ed up old Junky,

but a big heart.

And it would be ideal

if the whole gang was there.

Then it would be easy

to shoot up on the sly.

The artist presented a series of

works called "Temporary presence".

A compressor inflates

shapeless forms with the air,

turning them into men and women.

And in a second

the air is blown out.

The same air gives life

and takes it away.

You're watching

"The Culture news".

I stopped about a hundred metres

from the cherished house

and sat down on a bench to catch

my breath and have a look around.

Sitting was even

more difficult than walking.

To my left I saw a swing

and I suddenly and desperately

wanted to have a swing.

Picky-Wicky, brother.

How's it going?

That was Gerasim.

Only a person who

had taken a communion

from the holy spring

could look that magnificent.

Haly-Galy was, evidently, holding,

and I understood straight away

that I had a chance.

Well, well.

What brings you here, I wonder?

I'm waiting for Eskimo.

You haven't seen Eskimo, have you?

Eskimo?

No, I haven't seen him.

So, he's ripped me off, Eskimo,

that bastard, I'll carve him up.

I was surprised with my sincere

hatred towards the poor Eskimo,

who I hadn't seen

for a week or more.

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