"Ellen Datlow - SciFiction Originals vol 3" - читать интересную книгу автора (Datlow Ellen)

moist as they picked up the arm and turned it. The arm hurt.
"This bruising is terrible!" Shiny Head stood up and turned toward Hard Mouth. "Woman, don't you
understand? You are causing your daughter terrible pain. This could cause permanent damage. Do you
understand?" Shiny Head turned toward Kind Lips. "Does she understand anything?"
Kind Lips nodded and looked up at Hairy Head. Kind Lips moved fingers at Hairy Head for a long time.
Hairy Head said, "She understands."
"Forgive me, Minister Amin, but I'm certain that she signed more."
"Yes. She did." Hairy Head seemed to struggle his words out from a great pain. "My second wife believes
the child can speak. The reason she pinches her is to make her give voice. She's trying to force the child to
cry out."
Shiny Head frowned as he looked first at Hard Mouth, then down at the child. After a moment he looked
up at Hairy Head. "How long has this been going on? Some of these bruises are weeks old."
Hairy Head disappeared from view. His voice came from a distance. "Since the child was born." Hairy
Head's face came back into view. He looked at Hard Mouth with angry eyes.
"In the birthing hostel, woman, the priests told you that your daughter cannot speak. Do you expect this
scrap to change the world? I told you your daughter cannot speak. I was even there when the girl brought you
your baby. I saw what she told you."
Hairy Head touched fingers to lips and then held the hand down as a fist. " 'Silent her,' the girl signed to
you. Do you remember?"
Hard Mouth looked afraid, but Hard Mouth also looked angry. Hard Mouth began moving fingers at Hairy
Head, but Hairy Head slapped down Hard Mouth's hand.
"No!" shouted Hairy Head. "You did not hear her cry! You could not have heard her cry! What you heard
was her twin brother, your son, Rahman. That's all you heard."
Again Hard Mouth lifted a hand and again Hairy Head slapped it down. "No! If you thought you heard two
babies cry, the priests explained it was a trick the drugs played on your ears." Hairy Head let out a sigh.
"You must stop this. Please stop this."
"Allow me, minister," said Shiny Head.
Hard Mouth's eyes filled with tears. Hard Mouth pulled away and went out of view. Shiny Head nodded at
Hairy Head. "It is a severe problem, but it's more common than one might think."
"What is it?"
"The women pray for an end to the Curse—I suppose all of them do. However, some of them believe so
strongly in the end of the Curse, they enter a world of fantasy and imagine all sorts of things. I once had a
patient whose eldest daughter imagined that she could speak. She was over twenty years old and would
stand there moving her lips—"
"Father Yadin," interrupted Hairy Head, "Please, get to the point."
Shiny Head rubbed its chin and frowned. "Usually this sort of thing only goes on for a few minutes or
hours. A few days at most, although I do know of a case that went on for over nine years."
Hairy Head glanced down at Silent. "My daughter is nine weeks old."
"Your second wife needs help, minister. It's a kind of help I'm really not qualified to give. With your
permission, I will make arrangements at a suitable facility."
"Suitable facility?"
"Yes."
"A madhouse?"
Shiny Head frowned. "The madhouse is an ancient figment from the father planet. I was speaking of a
specialized hospital where—"
"Impossible." Hairy Head rubbed its eyes, glanced at Kind Lips, and said to Shiny Head, "That is quite
impossible, father."
"I assure you the facility is very discreet and—"
"Discreet? My family and I are in the public eye, father. Outside my estate there is no such thing as
discretion, and damned little within it." Hairy Head took a deep breath and let it out in a sigh. "I apologize for