Purgatorium Read Online Free PDF Page A

animated expression as if he were listening to a favorite niece telling a story.
    I take a seat on the other end of the bench and smell bergamot tea, still steaming.
    “If I may say, you’re acting quite the lost soul,” he says to me in an impeccable British accent
    His way with words alone leads me to believe that he is a man of tasteful elegance and sophistication.
    “Pleased to meet you. Sealtiel ’s the name.” He has the same green eyes like mine. “It’s quite pleasant out today,” he continues. “Quiet, too. Makes you wonder where everyone’s disappeared off to. One cannot even hear the birds chirping.”
    I look around, suddenly overwhelmed by the silence.
    “Strange, wouldn’t you agree?” he asks. I nod.
    “Have you noticed that even your shadow has escaped you?”
    I look down, alarmed to see I’m casting no shadow.
    “I see you nipped yourself this morning. Very strange.”
    All I can do is nod dumbly.
    “You seem slightly out-of-sorts,” Sealtiel continues, his green eyes curious. He notices my watch. “Exquisite timepiece . May I examine it?”
    I’m about to refuse when he puts a finger on my lips and says, “Don’t say anything that will get you in trouble later.”
    He takes off my watch as I sit there, frozen. I don’t want any trouble.
    Sealtiel seems excited, almost childlike while he handles my watch. He toggles between the different display options before returning it to its original settings. He turns the piece over to look at the back and smirks.
    “It’s a powerful thing, love,” Sealtiel says wistfully. “It can never be taken, only given, much like this watch . To other people, acts of love may seem meaningless, but to the recipient? Love is everything. That, my friend, is more valuable than gold.”
    Sealtiel uneasily hands the watch back to me and takes my newspaper from where it sat on the bench, finding the crossword section.
    “I love these!” Sealtiel says. He studies the clues for a moment. “You wouldn’t happen to know a nine-letter word for A Season in Blank by Dominick Dunne, would you?”
    Annoyed by Sealtiel’s strange behavior, I ignore the question. I look at the ace in Sealtiel’s pocket, wondering what the deal is with the playing cards.
    Fashion trend, maybe?
    “The 550-foot High Roller is the tallest Ferris wheel in the world,” Sealtiel says. “It has 28 glass-enclosed, air-conditioned gondolas that can each hold up to 40 people. A full revolution just takes a few minutes too. Simply fantastic.”
    I look up at the Ferris wheel. I had not noticed how tall it was.
    “You cut yourself?”
    I don’t answer.
    “Never thought of you as someone who made mistakes. Interesting.”
    I am now troubled not only at my mistake, but by someone else knowing about it. I give him a sour look so he’ll quit talking to me, which of course he ignores.
    “Do not associate with a man given to anger, or go with a hot-tempered man, or you will learn his ways and ensnare yourself.” Sealtiel laughs giddily for a moment, then replaces the paper with his cup and saucer and takes another sip of tea.
    I look out at the park, trying to clear my head of this loony tune. I notice a deer in the distance, just in front of the trees.
    25 minutes
    “Truly an amazing sight to see,” Sealtiel says, glancing at my watch and not the deer. A gust of wind interrupts the calm of the moment and the newspaper blows away, its pages scattering. Two sections are caught against the huge, dead tree. The wind calms. I look over and see Sealtiel is holding on to the same newspaper. Not a paper in sight against the tree.
    How did he do that? I must be seeing things.
    He takes his pen and goes back to the crossword puzzle. “Purgatory,” he says triumphantly. “Nine letters!” He grins like he just won a million dollars. I look away to deny him satisfaction.
    “Here’s a good one: ‘What year is it?’”
    1999 , I think, and look at him oddly knowing he can’t be that dumb. I