8
My Fence Is Electric
She had not had good experiences with love, so she bought the wire and wound it around her heart as a barrier. It was true that it caused her considerable pain, but it was a constant pain—a hurt she was in control of.
When he met her he paid no attention to it, clambering over the wire and straight into her heart.
‘Did you not see the fence I put up?’ she said.
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I thought you had put a wall up against the outside world for us to live inside.’
She stared at him for a while, wondering if he was really so sure of himself, or just foolish, or both.
‘I have one too,’ he said. ‘A fence. My fence is electric.’
It was the right thing to say. She let herself into his heart and, as she did so, she felt the tingle pulsing through her skin.
