I dreamt of slaughtered women, countless slaughtered women. Their bruised flesh oozed into a kind of mud, and I felt myself sinking in it.
"What are you screaming about?"
Tasos looked out from the open door of the bathroom, his razor poised above his lathered face. Sunlight streamed across the room.
"Did you dream someone was killing you? Don't worry. I'm the only one who will do it."
I came to in a wave of sour sweat. I sat upright , my whole body sore. There was caked blood on the crown of my head from yesterday.
Tasos shaved and began to dress. I went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. My eyes were swollen and my face was twisted with sleep, but there was a deeper distortion in the features , as if someone had marred them underneath. I washed, put on the gray dress. I noticed a faint stain under the right breast.
"Let's get it over with," Tasos said.
I put on my coat.
"You will pay for this," Tasos said as we left the building. "You will pay for everything."
