MAPPING THE TERRITORY (10)
The woman was mad, I had nothing to lose. The world at an end; I would tell her the truth.
'It's not that I'm glum,' I began to explain. 'I just feel numb, and I so hate the rain. I wish I could say there is nought to regret, but I've lost my cagoule and I fear getting wet.'
'My dear, do not fret. I, too, loath being damp. (All my joints start to ache, and I suffer from cramp.')
I tried again (this time, speaking plain).
'Thing is . . .
'The past has a habit of haunting me, and, the future just causes anxiety. Is it so bad to wish our world come to an end; that we all go together and don't have to fend for ourselves when the ones we have loved are no more?'
'Child, your attitude's proving a terrible bore.'
'Hey, but listen up, lady, I speak from the heart. This living, this living's a terrible art. The one thing we know is we're going to die; it's our one certainty (and the thing we deny).
'If that planet hits earth then our destiny's sure; we all burn together and grief is no more.'
I decided to leave it at that.
