Tonight, setting out the recycling, she got a chill and it took a good ten minutes to get rid of it. She had him hold her, and breathe warm at her neck. They lay in the bed under the ceiling light, because he said it would feel like warmth shining down on them. She thought of the waste of electricity. “Can you turn it off?” she said. “I’m cold, too.” “Please?” “You turn it off.” She was quiet. In a little while he got up and flicked the switch and then crawled in at her back, shivering. “I’d like to turn the heat on.” “Stay,” she said. “I’m dying.” “We’ll be warm now.” “It’s too bloody cold.” “Don’t go, please.” He lay there shivering, and she reached back to pull him closer. The cold air of the room seemed to be flowing in at his neck, so he pulled the blanket higher, burrowing in, breathing his own exhalation for the warmth. It wasn’t enough. He would never sleep like this, with the chill in his bones, and he wanted to be rested. They had an appointment early the next day with the Immigration Office to prove that they were a real married couple.
What do You think about Something Is Out There (2010)?
