"... new Atari. Enduro. Want to come over and try it out?"

"No, I have some stuff I have to .. ."

"How about you?"

"OK, do you have two joysticks?"

"No, but..."

"We can go home and get mine on the way. Then we can both play."

"OK. See you, Mattias."

"See you."

Two of the boys appeared to be on their way out. Perfect. One would be left behind without the others waiting around for him. He risked peeking out over the edge again. Two of the boys were leaving. The last one was putting on his socks. Hakan ducked down, remembering he still had the ski mask on. Lucky they hadn't seen him.

He picked up the halothane canister, put his finger on the trigger. Should he keep the mask on? If the kid got away, if if someone came into the changing room. someone came into the changing room. If. . . If. . .

d.a.m.n, it had been a mistake to take off all his clothes. If he needed to make a quick getaway. There was no time to think. He heard the boy close his locker and start toward the exit. In five seconds he would pa.s.s by the cabin door. No time to reconsider.

In the gap between the door and the wall he saw an approaching shadow. He blocked out all thoughts, unlocked the door, threw it open, and lunged.

Mattias turned around and saw a large, white naked body with a ski mask over its head come bearing down on him. Only one thought, one single word had time to flash through his consciousness before his body instinctively pulled back.

Death.

He was recoiling before Death, who wanted to take him. In one hand Death was holding something black. This black object flew up toward his face and the boy drew in breath to scream.

But before the scream had time to escape, the black thing was over him, over his mouth, his nose. One hand gripped the back of his head, pressing his face into the black softness. The scream turned into a choked whimper and while he howled his mutilated scream he heard a hissing sound as if from a smoke machine.

He tried to scream again but when he drew in breath something happened with his body. A numbness spread to all his limbs and his next scream was just a squeak. He breathed again and his legs gave way, many-colored veils fluttering in front of his eyes.

He didn't want to scream anymore. Didn't have the energy. The veils now covered his entire field of vision. He didn't have a body any longer. The colors danced. He melted into the rainbow.

Oskar held the piece of paper with the Morse code in one hand and tapped letters into the wall with the other. Tapping his knuckles for a dot, slapping the wall with the flat of his hand for a dash, like they had agreed.

Knuckle. Pause. Knuckle, palm, knuckle, knuckle. Pause. Knuckle, knuckle. (E.L.I) G.O.I.N.G. O.U.T.

The answer came after a few seconds.

I. M. C.O.M.I.N.G.

They met outside the entrance to her building. In one day she had . . . changed. About a month ago a Jewish woman had come to his school, talked to them about the Holocaust and shown them slides. Eli was looking a little bit like the people in those pictures. The sharp light from the fixture above the door cast dark shadows on her face, as if the bones were threatening to protrude through the skin, as if the skin had become thinner. And .. .

"What have you done with your hair?"

He had thought it was the light that made it look like that, but when he came closer he saw that a few thick white strands ran through her hand. Like on an old person. Eli ran a hand over her head. Smiled at him. "It'll go away. What should we do?" Oskar made the few coins in his pocket jangle. "Tjorren?" "What?"

"The kiosk. The newspaper stand."

"OK. Last one there is a rotten egg."

An image flickered to life in Oskar's head.

Black-and-white kids.

Then Eli took off and Oskar tried to catch her. Even though she looked so sick she was much faster than him, flew gazelle-like over the stones on the path, had crossed the street in a couple of strides. Oskar ran as well as he could, distracted by the thought.

Black-and-white kids?

Of course. He was running down the hill past the Gummy Bear factory when he got it. Those old movies that were shown at Sunday matinees. Like Anderssonskans Kalle. Last one there is a rotten egg. Anderssonskans Kalle. Last one there is a rotten egg. That was the kind of thing they said in those films. That was the kind of thing they said in those films.

Eli was waiting for him down by the road, twenty meters from the kiosk. Oskar jogged over to her, tried not to pant. He had never been down to the kiosk with Eli before. Should he tell her that thing? Yes.

"Do you know it's called The Lover's Kiosk?"

"Why?"

"Because ... that is, I heard it at a parents meeting ... there was someone who said-not to me of course, but-I heard it. He said that the one who has it, that he . . ."

Now he was sorry he had brought it up. It was stupid. Embarra.s.sing. Eli waved her arms around.

"What?"

"Uh, the guy who has it... that he invites ladies ladies into the kiosk. You know, when he . . . when it's closed." into the kiosk. You know, when he . . . when it's closed."

"Is it true?" Eli looked at the kiosk. "Do they have enough room in there?"

"Disgusting, isn't it?"

"Yes."

Oskar walked down toward the kiosk. Eli took a few quick steps to pull up alongside him, whispered "They must be skinny!" skinny!" Both of them giggled. They stepped into the circle of light from the kiosk. Eli rolled her eyes meaningfully at the kiosk owner, who was inside the kiosk watching a little TV. Both of them giggled. They stepped into the circle of light from the kiosk. Eli rolled her eyes meaningfully at the kiosk owner, who was inside the kiosk watching a little TV.

"Is that him?" Oskar nodded. "He looks like a monkey." Oskar cupped a hand around Eli's ear, whispered, "He escaped from the zoo five years ago. They're still looking for him."

Eli giggled and cupped her hand around Oskar's ear. Her warm breath flowed into his head.

"No they're not. They locked him up here instead!"

They both looked up at the kiosk owner and burst out laughing, imagining the stern kiosk owner as a monkey in a cage surrounded by candy. At the sound of their laughter the owner turned to them and frowned with his enormous eyebrows so that he looked even more like a gorilla. Oskar and Eli laughed so hard they almost fell over, pressed their hands over their mouths and tried to regain seriousness.

The owner leaned through the window.

"What do you want?"

Eli quickly became serious, removed her hand from her mouth, walked over to the window, and said, "I'd like a banana, please." Oskar chuckled and pressed his hand harder against his mouth. Eli turned around with her index finger in front of her lips and shushed him with feigned severity. The owner was still looking out of the window.

"I don't have any bananas."

Eli pretended disbelief.

"No banaaaanas?"

"No. Anything else?"

Oskar's jaws were cramping because of his repressed laughter. He teetered away from the kiosk, ran a few steps toward the mailbox, leaned on it, and let it out, convulsing with laughter. Eli came up to him, shaking her head.

"No bananas."

Oskar managed to get out: "He must have ... eaten them ... all himself." Then he pulled himself together and forced his mouth shut. He took out his four kronor and went up to the window.

"A bag of mixed candy, please."

The owner gave him a disapproving look but started picking out an a.s.sortment of candy with long tongs from the plastic bins, dropping them one by one into a small paper bag. Oskar glanced to the side to make sure Eli heard him, then said "Don't forget the bananas." The owner stopped short.

"I don't have have any bananas." any bananas."

Oskar pointed to one of the plastic containers.

"I mean the candy foam bananas."

He heard Eli giggle, and put his finger to his lips just like she had done earlier and shushed her. The owner snorted, put a few candy foam bananas in the bag, and handed it to Oskar. They walked back. Before Oskar had even had any himself he held the bag out to Eli. She shook her head.

"No thanks."

"Don't you eat candy?"

"I can't."

"No candy?"

"Nope."

"What a drag."

"Yes, no. I don't know what it tastes like."

"You haven't even tasted it."

"No."

"Then how do you know that..."

"I just know, that's all."

This happened sometimes. They would be talking about something, Oskar would ask her a question, and it would end with a "that's just the way it is" or "I just know, that's all." No further explanation. That was one of the things that was a little strange about Eli.

It was too bad he couldn't offer her any candy. That was what he had been planning. To be generous, offer her as much as she wanted. And then it turned out she didn't even eat candy. He popped a candy banana in his mouth and snuck a peek at her.

She really didn't look healthy. And those white strands in her hair . .. In some story Oskar had read, a person's hair went white after he had a big scare. Is that what had happened to Eli?

She glanced to the side, folded her arms around her body, and looked really little. Oskar wanted to put his arm around her but didn't dare. In the covered entrance leading to the courtyard Eli stopped and looked at her window. It was dark. She stopped with her arms wrapped around her body and stared at the ground.

"Oskar?..."

He did it. Her whole body was asking for it and from somewhere he got the courage to do it. He hugged her. For a terrifying second he thought he had done the wrong thing, her body was stiff, locked. He was about to let go when she relaxed into his embrace. The knot loosened and she coaxed her arms out, put them around his back and leaned trembling against him.

She leaned her head against his shoulder and they stood like that. Her breath against his shoulder. They held each other without saying anything. Oskar closed his eyes and knew: this was big. Light from the outside lamp filtered in through his closed eyelids and created a red membrane in front of his eyes. The biggest.

Eli nuzzled her head in closer toward his neck. The heat from her breath grew more intense. Muscles in her body that had been relaxed grew tense again. Her lips nudged his throat and a shiver ran through his body. Suddenly she shuddered and broke away, took a step back. Oskar let his arms fall. Eli shook her head as if to free herself from a nightmare, turned, and started walking to her door. Oskar stayed put. When she opened the front door he called out to her.

"Eli?" She turned. "Where's your dad?"

"He was going to .. . bring me food."

She doesn't get enough to eat. That's what it is.

"You can have dinner with us if you like."

Eli let go of the door and walked back over to him. Oskar quickly started to plan things out. He did not did not want his mom to meet Eli. Not the other way around either. Maybe he could make a few sandwiches and take them back to her place. Yes, that would be best. want his mom to meet Eli. Not the other way around either. Maybe he could make a few sandwiches and take them back to her place. Yes, that would be best.

Eli stopped in front of him, looking at him earnestly.

"Oskar, do you like me?"

"Yes. A lot."

"If I turned out not to be a girl... would you still like me?"

"What do you mean?"

"Just that. Would you still like me even if I wasn't a girl?"

"Yes ... I guess so."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Why do you ask?"

Someone was struggling with a stuck window, then it opened. Over the top of Eli's head Oskar could see his mom poke her head out of his bedroom window.

"Ooooskar!"

Eli quickly drew in toward the wall. Oskar balled his hands into fists and ran up the hill, stopping underneath his window. Like a little kid.