I’ve had hardly three hours’ sleep.I almost forgot that Lena and Mark have invited Natalia and me for lunch today. I scowl and reach for my phone.‘Good morning, sister… How are you? Umm… I’m not feeling well. I was thinking…’‘I won’t hear “no”, Jul. It’s Sunday. You can go to bed earlier, straight after the lunch. What time is it now?’ She says more to herself. ‘It’s ten. Sleep for another hour and Mark will pick you up at 12.’I turn off the phone and grab my head with both hands, looking at the ceiling. The weird and persistent feeling of being trapped grates me from inside. I roll off the bed, pick my jeans and a wrinkled T-shirt up off the floor, get dressed and leave. I walk to the mall and find a little restaurant with an outside terrace. I order eggs and coffee and light a cigarette. My food arrives, but I can’t eat. I try to avoid the thoughts of last night’s dream, but its disturbing images rule the roost in my head. The stiffness in my chest presses on.
