"Kate Wilhelm - The Fountain of Neptune" - читать интересную книгу автора (Wilhelm Kate)

Resolutely she kept her gaze averted. A waiter came and greeted her
companion as an old friend, volubly, effusively, including her in his obvious
welcome.
 When a fast-paced dialog ensued, she felt her hands trembling again.
The waiter laughed, spread his hands, and bowed to her before he
withdrew, shaking with laughter.

тАЬWho are you?тАЭ she whispered.

тАЬI told you. Antonio Mercurio.тАЭ

She resisted the temptation to look at his feet clad in sandals, and he
laughed again. тАЬNo, no wings on my heels.тАЭ

тАЬIтАЩm going mad,тАЭ she said in the same low voice, hardly above a
whisper. тАЬI see illusions, hallucinations. I donтАЩt know whatтАЩs real, what isnтАЩt.тАЭ

тАЬReality has many faces,тАЭ he said. тАЬYou have completed the first two
parts. There is one remaining. You must admit the evidence of your
senses.тАЭ

She shook her head. The waiter returned with coffee and they spoke
words she could not understand. She gripped her coffee cup, welcoming
the heat.

тАЬWhat did you see in your pictures?тАЭ Mercurio asked when the waiter
left once more.

тАЬChanges, a sequence of changes. I hallucinated them to illustrate a
story in my head. There werenтАЩt any real changes.тАЭ

тАЬWas the sequence finished?тАЭ

тАЬI donтАЩt know.тАЭ

тАЬAnd at dawn, what did you see?тАЭ

She shook her head harder, risking blurred vision again.

тАЬWhen we leave, you must choose. Turn left and IтАЩll walk with you to
your bus and wait for it with you. Turn right, and we return.тАЭ

тАЬBack to the Fountain of Neptune.тАЭ

тАЬFontana di Netunne,тАЭ he said. тАЬAnd you must then tell me what you
saw at dawn.тАЭ
 Back to her apartment, probably a doctor, hospital. She pushed her
coffee cup back and rose from her chair, and they took the few steps to the
sidewalk where she paused, then turned right.