The mood livened up a little when Rex began to talk about something else, and even included me in the conversation. Little by little, we came out of the state of collective stupor and recovered our humor. The ghost of loss, however, fluttered above our heads. We were in mourning, for more than one reason.
After a while, the door opened again and Hilda moved aside so that a little whirlwind could come running in, straight toward me:
“Dad! Dad!”
His voice reactivated me with the force of an electric discharge. Andre hung onto the rail of my cot and tried to hug me, but he could not reach.
I could barely move, with my left arm useless and the pain that gripped every muscle of my back and chest, and it drove me mad not to be able to reach my son. I began to growl and whine with rage, forge
