Excerpts from
Kevin the Coward and Other Stories
By Bent Haller
from the narrative ”Ønskebarnet” (The Child They Always Wanted)
He began to hate his mother and father in earnest, and that did not bode well, for in fact they had given their utmost and they had done whatever they thought would be in his best interests, but now he loathed them. And when, in the garage, he found the big can of petrol they used for the motorboat he immediately knew how he was going to use it.
Early one morning, while his parents were still in bed asleep, he crept round the house. He splashed petrol over the curtains, the wooden floors, the sofa and the armchairs. It began to stink to high heaven, but mother and father did not wake up. When he had emptied the can he found a match and a piece of paper. He set fire to the paper and threw it into the room … and then WHOOOSH, there was such a fierce explosion that he was almost flung backwards.
It was as if a thousand cannons had roared and the flames raged everywhere, they were ten metres high, and he heard his mother scream. Everywhere was one large, terrifying sea of flames. Two burning figures, two live torches came running towards him…´
No. He put the petrol can down again, and the vision faded away. He would have to find something else, something less calculated.
Translated by Don Bartlett
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