have to ask her doctor to increase the dose of paroxetine the next time she saw him.
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me, darling.’ She kissed him on the lips. ‘I’d really like to, but right now it feels like I haven’t got the energy to do anything. Maybe it’s because I’ve got so much to think about at work.’
‘Well, in that case a holiday would be perfect. We wouldn’t have to be gone for long. A weekend, or so?’
He rolled over to face her, letting his hand slide up over her stomach.
‘I love you,’ he said.
Sofia was somewhere else entirely and didn’t reply, but she sensed his irritation when he suddenly threw the duvet off and stood up. She wasn’t keeping up with him. He reacted so quickly, so impulsively.
Mikael sighed, pulled on his briefs and went out into the kitchen.
Why was she feeling guilty? Why should she feel guilty about him? What gave him that right? Guilt must be the most repulsive of all human inventions, Sofia thought.
She swallowed her anger and went after him. He was loading up the coffee machine, and glared sullenly at her over his shoulder. She was suddenly overcome with tenderness towards him. After all, it wasn’t his fault he was the way he was.
She slid up behind him, kissed his neck and let her dressing gown fall to the floor. She’d let him take her against the kitchen worktop before she went into the shower.
It’s not the end of the world, she thought.
Mariatorget – Sofia Zetterlund’s Office
JUST AS SOFIA Zetterlund was done for the day and was ready to leave for home, the phone rang.
‘Hello, my name’s Rose-Marie Bjöörn, I’m calling from social services in Hässelby. Have you got a minute?’ The woman sounded friendly. ‘I was just wondering, is it true that you’ve had experience dealing with children suffering from war trauma?’
Sofia cleared her throat. ‘Yes, that’s right. What do you want to know?’
‘Well, we’ve got a family out here in Hässelby and the son could do with seeing someone who has a deeper insight into his experiences. And when I happened to hear about you, I thought it might be a good idea to get in touch.’
Sofia could feel how tired she was. Most of all she just wanted to end the call.
‘I have to say, I’m fairly booked up. How old is he?’
‘He’s sixteen, his name’s Samuel. Samuel Bai. From Sierra Leone.’
Sofia reflected for a moment.
That’s an odd coincidence, she thought. I haven’t thought about Sierra Leone for several years, and suddenly I’ve got two offers of work connected to the country.
‘Well, it might be possible,’ she said eventually. ‘How soon would you like me to see him?’
They agreed that he would come for a preliminary evaluation in a week’s time, and, after the social worker had promised to send Sofia the boy’s file, they hung up.
Before she left the office for the day she changed into a pair of red Jimmy Choos. She knew the scars on her heels would start to bleed before she even got in the lift.
Village of Dala-Floda, 1980
SHE INHALES FROM the bag she has filled with glue. First her head starts to spin, then every sound around her becomes twice as loud. Finally Crow Girl sees herself from above.
On the outskirts of Bålsta he pulls off the motorway. All morning she has been dreading the moment when he would pull over to the side of the road and turn off the engine. She closes her eyes and tries not to think as he takes her hand, puts it on that place, and she notices that he’s already hard.
‘You know I have my needs, Victoria,’ he says. ‘There’s nothing strange about that. All men do, and it’s only natural for you to help me relax so we can continue with the journey afterwards.’
She doesn’t answer, and keeps her eyes shut as he strokes her cheek with one hand and opens his fly with the other.
‘Help me out and don’t look so sulky. It won’t take long.’
His body smells of sweat, and his breath of sour milk.
She
‘I don’t know what’s wrong with me, darling.’ She kissed him on the lips. ‘I’d really like to, but right now it feels like I haven’t got the energy to do anything. Maybe it’s because I’ve got so much to think about at work.’
‘Well, in that case a holiday would be perfect. We wouldn’t have to be gone for long. A weekend, or so?’
He rolled over to face her, letting his hand slide up over her stomach.
‘I love you,’ he said.
Sofia was somewhere else entirely and didn’t reply, but she sensed his irritation when he suddenly threw the duvet off and stood up. She wasn’t keeping up with him. He reacted so quickly, so impulsively.
Mikael sighed, pulled on his briefs and went out into the kitchen.
Why was she feeling guilty? Why should she feel guilty about him? What gave him that right? Guilt must be the most repulsive of all human inventions, Sofia thought.
She swallowed her anger and went after him. He was loading up the coffee machine, and glared sullenly at her over his shoulder. She was suddenly overcome with tenderness towards him. After all, it wasn’t his fault he was the way he was.
She slid up behind him, kissed his neck and let her dressing gown fall to the floor. She’d let him take her against the kitchen worktop before she went into the shower.
It’s not the end of the world, she thought.
Mariatorget – Sofia Zetterlund’s Office
JUST AS SOFIA Zetterlund was done for the day and was ready to leave for home, the phone rang.
‘Hello, my name’s Rose-Marie Bjöörn, I’m calling from social services in Hässelby. Have you got a minute?’ The woman sounded friendly. ‘I was just wondering, is it true that you’ve had experience dealing with children suffering from war trauma?’
Sofia cleared her throat. ‘Yes, that’s right. What do you want to know?’
‘Well, we’ve got a family out here in Hässelby and the son could do with seeing someone who has a deeper insight into his experiences. And when I happened to hear about you, I thought it might be a good idea to get in touch.’
Sofia could feel how tired she was. Most of all she just wanted to end the call.
‘I have to say, I’m fairly booked up. How old is he?’
‘He’s sixteen, his name’s Samuel. Samuel Bai. From Sierra Leone.’
Sofia reflected for a moment.
That’s an odd coincidence, she thought. I haven’t thought about Sierra Leone for several years, and suddenly I’ve got two offers of work connected to the country.
‘Well, it might be possible,’ she said eventually. ‘How soon would you like me to see him?’
They agreed that he would come for a preliminary evaluation in a week’s time, and, after the social worker had promised to send Sofia the boy’s file, they hung up.
Before she left the office for the day she changed into a pair of red Jimmy Choos. She knew the scars on her heels would start to bleed before she even got in the lift.
Village of Dala-Floda, 1980
SHE INHALES FROM the bag she has filled with glue. First her head starts to spin, then every sound around her becomes twice as loud. Finally Crow Girl sees herself from above.
On the outskirts of Bålsta he pulls off the motorway. All morning she has been dreading the moment when he would pull over to the side of the road and turn off the engine. She closes her eyes and tries not to think as he takes her hand, puts it on that place, and she notices that he’s already hard.
‘You know I have my needs, Victoria,’ he says. ‘There’s nothing strange about that. All men do, and it’s only natural for you to help me relax so we can continue with the journey afterwards.’
She doesn’t answer, and keeps her eyes shut as he strokes her cheek with one hand and opens his fly with the other.
‘Help me out and don’t look so sulky. It won’t take long.’
His body smells of sweat, and his breath of sour milk.
She
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