...of them and us

"I'd like you to tell me now how they came not to speak to each other any more."

The child appeared in the doorway, saw that she was still there, and ran off again.

"I don't know. Perhaps because of the long silences that grew up between them at night, then, at other times, silences they found more and more difficult to overcome."

The same trouble that had closed Anne Desbaresdes's eyes the day before now made her hunch her shoulders forwards dejectedly.

"One night they pace back and forth in their rooms, like caged animals, not knowing what's happening to them. They begin to suspect what it is, and are afraid."

"Nothing can satisfy them any longer."

"They're overwhelmed by what is happening - they can't talk about it yet. Perhaps it will take months. Months for them to know."

[Moderato Cantabile, Duras, M.]