"Richard Paul Russo - Watching Lear Dream" - читать интересную книгу автора (Russo Richard Paul)

He looked up at the night sky. Besides the stars there was only a tiny, distant
moon high in the east, hardly more than a small bright coin in the sky. The only
moon this world had. He'd been on worlds with large, almost brilliant moons
that, when they were full, lit the night almost like day. He missed that. He
missed the roar and the pressure of ships rising from a launch field taking him
into space. He missed the sight of a vast, densely populated city at night as he
descended over it, the combination of moving and stationary colored lights
giving the impression of a living organism pulsing in the dark. He missed so
much, but he especially missed the woman whose simulacrum stood beside him now.

She almost smelled like Teresa.

"Stay with me tonight, Samuel."

He turned to her, and her eyes were bright, almost glowing. Maybe they were
glowing, some strange effect that resulted from her creation. How could he stay
with her She wasn't really Teresa, she wasn't really human.

"Stay with me," she said again.

How could he not? Samuel put his arms around her, feeling his breath catch and
his heart hesitate, and pulled her tightly to him.

He slept lightly and fitfully, always at least partially aware of her presence
beside him, even as he slept. And for the first time in years he dreamed
intensely, dreams so vivid and overwhelming it seemed they would never end.

In the morning they ate breakfast at a small outdoor cafe on the river. Strong
hot coffee, fresh rolls and fresh fruit, thick pieces of sweet cheese. The river
was quieter in the early morning light, and comforting.

She wasn't Teresa. He knew that now even more than before. But she was close
enough. If this went on for long, the differences would become unimportant. No,
that wasn't right. The differences were already unimportant; eventually they
would cease to exist for him.

"What do we do now?" she asked. She was smiling, as if it didn't matter what he
answered. As if she already had something in mind.

"I don't know."

And now she laughed. There was something reckless about her. Teresa, too, had
been reckless; it was one of the things that had attracted him to her. If it had

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been up to him to take the initiative, their affair would never have begun.