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THE BROTHER

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Alexander placed the handset back in its cradle. The wooden walls around him seemed suddenly darker, his untidy desk smaller. The voice of his assistant was muffled, further away than seemed correct. He could see her stand before his desk, watching him, a look of concern on her tight, long face. Her lipstick was too red. He knew she was asking what was wrong but he hadn't heard her ask. He stood up in a sharp and violent motion that caused her to take a step back. He glared at her for several seconds, a puzzled look flitting across his face. I must go,' he finally mumbled. He heard her ask where. He lifted his coat from the back of his chair and put it on. As he looked round again to the front of the desk he saw her again and remembered her question. I must go out of the city. I must go to my fathers.' He spoke softly, whispering and sighing in one breathy sweeping sound. He stepped roughly past her and down the wooden stairs. His shoes sounded louder than usual to him as he made his way to the door and onto the street.

No longer in the stifling heat of his office but in the biting cold of the street an awareness gripped him. There was one thought alone in his mind, getting out of the city and to his fathers. He ran along the cobbled street and across the road to the car park. He noticed nobody on the way, not the person he barged past or the person who called out to him in the friendliest manner. In the full car park he saw only his own car and ran straight to it. When he was sitting in the car the world returned to him. For some minutes he had been alone in a world he didn't recognise but now familiarity returned to him. He recognised his car and the other cars around him. He saw the people wandering around the car park and he saw that he was trembling. The reason for his departure from the real world returned to him. His hands shook violently as he placed the key in the ignition and started his car. He moved slowly and carefully, concerned that his fragile state may lead to an accident. He moved slowly from the car park and onto the road, slotting into the permanent traffic jam. He was in a hurry but didn't regret the slow pace; he couldn't trust himself to drive quickly. The buildings stood high on either side of the road and cast shadows across the street. There was not a street that

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