The Story Sisters. Alice Hoffman

Читать онлайн.
Название The Story Sisters
Автор произведения Alice Hoffman
Жанр Историческая литература
Серия
Издательство Историческая литература
Год выпуска 0
isbn 9780007374991



Скачать книгу

sat out in the hall on the third floor, guarding the bedroom door. “Thanks, Gigi,” Elv would say when Claire came back into the room. “Now I can breathe.”

      When Claire asked what was in the pipe, Elv said, “The antidote to humanity” and laughed. “Seriously, it’s nothing. It’s chalk dust.”

      Even though school was in session, Elv often didn’t come home until dawn. She didn’t mind getting wet as she ran across the damp lawn; she was burning up under her skin despite the change in the weather. At the hour when her sisters got ready for school, she would creep into bed, naked and wet. If you shook her, she didn’t budge. If you talked to her, she didn’t answer. She was exhausted most of the time, but agitated. When she managed to go grab some sleep, she talked through her dreams, always in Arnish.

      Claire would perch at the foot of her sister’s bed on these school-day mornings, worried. She had begun to dread the future. Elv was being swallowed up. Claire wondered if the door to Arnelle could close when a person least expected it to, shutting her into that underground world. She whispered Elv’s name, but there wasn’t an answer. She traced a finger over the scars Elv had left on her own skin. Would she know how to rescue Elv if the time ever came? Would she stand there mutely and watch her sister be carried away or would she dare to be brave?

      

      MEG BEGAN TO hide everything she cared about. She kept it all in the guest room closet, which she secured with a lock she bought at the hardware store, keeping the small key in her backpack. Things had been disappearing: headbands, jewelry, clothes. Elv had burned her own belongings, and now she was taking whatever she wanted. Elise phoned Annie to say that Mary had come home to find Elv going through her closet. Elv had pried open a window and managed to climb into Mary’s bedroom. When Mary walked in to find her cousin loaded down with her belongings, Elv threatened to burn down the house if she told. Mary had had such a bad asthma attack afterward that Elise had rushed her to the hospital.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4AAQSkZJRgABAgEASABIAAD/7QnuUGhvdG9zaG9wIDMuMAA4QklNA+0KUmVzb2x1dGlvbgAA AAAQAEgAAAABAAEASAAAAAEAAThCSU0EDRhGWCBHbG9iYWwgTGlnaHRpbmcgQW5nbGUAAAAABAAA AB44QklNBBkSRlggR2xvYmFsIEFsdGl0dWRlAAAAAAQAAAAeOEJJTQPzC1ByaW50IEZsYWdzAAAA CQAAAAAAAAAAAQA4QklNBAoOQ29weXJpZ2h0IEZsYWcAAAAAAQAAOEJJTScQFEphcGFuZXNlIFBy aW50IEZsYWdzAAAAAAoAAQAAAAAAAAACOEJJTQP1F0NvbG9yIEhhbGZ0b25lIFNldHRpbmdzAAAA SAAvZmYAAQBsZmYABgAAAAAAAQAvZmYAAQChmZoABgAAAAAAAQAyAAAAAQBaAAAABgAAAAAAAQA1 AAAAAQAtAAAABgAAAAAAAThCSU0D+BdDb2xvciBUcmFuc2ZlciBTZXR0aW5ncwAAAHAAAP////// //////////////////////8D6AAAAAD/////////////////////////////A+gAAAAA//////// /////////////////////wPoAAAAAP////////////////////////////8D6AAAOEJJTQQIBkd1 aWRlcwAAAAAQAAAAAQAAAkAAAAJAAAAAADhCSU0EHg1VUkwgb3ZlcnJpZGVzAAAABAAAAAA4QklN BBoGU2xpY2VzAAAAAGsAAAAGAAAAAAAAAAAAAALyAAACSAAAAAUAYwBvAHYAZQByAAAAAQAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABAAAAAAAAAAAAAAJIAAAC8gAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAA4QklNBBERSUNDIFVudGFnZ2VkIEZsYWcAAAABAQA4QklNBBQXTGF5ZXIgSUQgR2Vu ZXJhdG9yIEJhc2UAAAAEAAAAAThCSU0EDBVOZXcgV2luZG93cyBUaHVtYm5haWwAAAZQAAAAAQAA AFcAAABwAAABCAAAc4AAAAY0ABgAAf/Y/+AAEEpGSUYAAQIBAEgASAAA/+4ADkFkb2JlAGSAAAAA Af/bAIQADAgICAkIDAkJDBELCgsRFQ8MDA8VGBMTFRMTGBEMDAwMDAwRDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAENCwsNDg0QDg4QFA4ODhQUDg4ODhQRDAwMDAwREQwMDAwMDBEMDAwMDAwM DAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwMDAwM/8AAEQgAcABXAwEiAAIRAQMRAf/dAAQABv/EAT8AAAEFAQEB AQEBAAAAAAAAAAMAAQIEBQYHCAkKCwEAAQUBAQEBAQEAAAAAAAAAAQACAwQFBgcICQoLEAABBAED AgQCBQcGCAUDDDMBAAIRAwQhEjEFQVFhEyJxgTIGFJGhsUIjJBVSwWIzNHKC0UMHJZJT8OHxY3M1 FqKygyZEk1RkRcKjdDYX0lXiZfKzhMPTdePzRieUpIW0lcTU5PSltcXV5fVWZnaGlqa2xtbm9jdH V2d3h5ent8fX5/cRAAICAQIEBAMEBQYHBwYFNQEAAhEDITESBEFRYXEiEwUygZEUobFCI8FS0fAz JGLhcoKSQ1MVY3M08SUGFqKygwcmNcLSRJNUoxdkRVU2dGXi8rOEw9N14/NGlKSFtJXE1OT0pbXF 1eX1VmZ2hpamtsbW5vYnN0dXZ3eHl6e3x//aAAwDAQACEQMRAD8A81d9E/Ar6R6F/wAidP8A/CtP /nti+bnfRPwK+keh/wDInT//AArT/wCe2KzzP6Km8kkkqylJJJJKUkkkkpSSSSSlJJJJKf/Q81d9 E/Ar6R6F/wAidP8A/CtP/nti+bnfRPwK+kehf8idP/8ACtP/AJ7YrPM7RU3kkklWUpJJJJSkkkkl KSSSSUpJJJJT/9HzZzXem5wB2jQujQE8SV9IdD/5E6f/AOFaf/PbF8+NbaOg5Li0Ct19e10e5xAs 3++N2yvczd7v9GvoPoX/ACJ0/wD8K0/+e2KzzPTzU3kkklWUpJJJJSkkkklKSSSSUpJJJJT/AP/S 8+9MO6XdaGfzVjWus3Hl4ds9m3Z7ff8Anr6I6H/yJ0//AMK0/wDnti+ei537HtaQ0t9QBrgGBwMu c5lmn2h29v6St38yvoXoX/InT/8AwrT/AOe2KzzPTzU3ljZd3WK8++ugvfTU3FsqBrhjzbdkVZWO 69tV3soorx7HbG+tT/OWfzi2UlWU41/VOpWYrMjGxXV/pw2yh7XC91QY5z/TDqvRpyfU2+n636rf V+i+1UX3/oJVdX6nYK2DpxbdYADudY2tr9nqv32nG9T0f8FXd9n/AJ71d7Kv0fq66p9Rz8fDraMi t9rbpbsrYbNPz98fmf1klOfldV6t9kxcyrEe2u1jnXYtcvyRPp+ia3Oqfjfo3Os+0Uu/wX6fGtu9 D7LkSq651Elwf021sBuwnfLj+nc/dtx9jf0VFPp/8Pk+hb6C16H1vprfUIrc0FgjbDSPb7DGz+qp pKaXTc7Ky/UGTiuxH17CJJc1wextvse+un+b3elazZ7LGK6kkkpSSSSSn//T4JjA3o2TY7bD7Wta 3c3cSAddm/1m+l/xXpW/9bX0J0P/AJE6f/4Vp/8APbF84uuu9B1PqO9HV3pbjsn97Z9Hcvo7oX/I nT//AArT/wCe2KzzPTzU3kkklWUwbfS55rbY0vBILQQTLdu4R/J3sVbPxem5ZZXm7XFmrGl5afeR WPouZ9N/s/roNvQsWx7n+paxz3+q8sLRufoHuf7Pf6tTa6Lq/wCasor9NNZ0DCsY1rnWF1Yhlm4b wfVbmmwWbd3qesz6aSm9SKKmtxqiB6TQ0VzJDQNrf5SKsuz6udNtDw8OPqavMiToR9Lbu9u72f6P /Bo+D0qjCtdayyyyx4Ic6xwJM7TrDW/nM3/9du/fSU3UkkklKSSSSU//1PNXfRPwK+kehf8AInT/