hardly any rest.”
“I give up.”
“New section!”
Sophie and Alberto sat looking across the little lake. Alberto seemed to
be in some sort of trance. After a while Sophie ventured to nudge his
shoulder.
“Were you dreaming?”
“Yes, he was interfering directly there. The last few paragraphs were
dictated by him to the letter. He should be ashamed of himself. But now he
has given himself away and come out into the open. Now we know that we
are living our lives in a book which Hilde’s father will send home to Hilde as a
birthday present. You heard what I said? Well, it wasn’t ‘me’ saying it.”
“If what you say is true, I’m going to run away from the book and go my
own way.”
“That’s exactly what I am planning. But before that can happen, we must
try and talk with Hilde. She reads every word we say. Once we succeed in
getting away from here it will be much harder to contact her. That means we
must grasp the opportunity now.”
“What do we say?”
“I think the major is just about to fall asleep over his typewriter—although
his fingers are still racing feverishly over the keys ...”
“It’s a creepy thought.”
“This is the moment when he may write something he will regret later.
And he has no correction fluid. That’s a vital part of my plan. May no one give
the major a bottle of correction fluid!”
“He won’t get so much as a single coverup strip from me!”
“I’m calling on that poor girl here and now to rebel against her own
father. She should be ashamed to let herself be amused by his self-indulgent
playing with shadows. If only we had him here, we’d give him a taste of our
indignation!”
“But he’s not here.”
“He is here in spirit and soul, but he’s also safely tucked away in
Lebanon. Everything around us is the major’s ego.”
“But he is more than what we can see here.”
“We are but shadows in the major’s soul. And it is no easy matter for a
shadow to turn on its master, Sophie. It requires both cunning and strategy.
But we have an opportunity of influencing Hilde. Only an angel can rebel
against God.”
“We could ask Hilde to give him a piece of her mind the moment he gets
home. She could tell him he’s a rogue. She could wreck his boat—or at least,
smash the lantern.”
Alberto nodded. Then he said: “She could also run away from him That
would be much easier for her than it is for us. She could leave the major’s
house and never return. Wouldn’t that be fitting for a major who plays with his
‘universe-creating imagination’ at our expense?”
“I can picture it. The major travels all over the world searching for Hilde.
But Hilde has vanished into thin air because she can’t stand living with a
father who plays the fool at Alberto’s and Sophie’s expense.”
“Yes, that’s it! Plays the fool! That’s what I meant by his using us as