13
Swedish Marbles
In the years before they studied me for research papers and medical journals I was left alone. But the gift my father gave me was too delicious to resist, the hook that grabbed the interest of the reader. Enquiries were made and my father accepted. I became an object of scrutiny. Had I been aware of my father’s plans? they asked. I was aware of the noises of construction. Our house was often silent, it thrummed with it. Workmen came and fixed water pipes that creaked; light switches that hissed were replaced. Everything was done to keep the house quiet. The windows were triple glazed, so that it seemed we were looking at a picture of a window to the outside world. We were a little lost there, I think, the two of us. It could be stifling and calming in equal measure. I
