"The likelihood that something vanishes from the face of the earth for good, is next to none." "Everything comes back in the end, even if you don't think so." "Chapter Nine THE LAST BODY" "And your father, is he home yet?" "From Africa, wasn't it?" "No that's right, he won't be home for a while, I guess." "Come on, come on." "That's good." "Careful." "All the fathers seem to have come back in the end." "All except yours, of course." "Well." "That was all I guess." "Chapter One WAITING" "Die Beauty" "In a village by a river live four redhead girls and a blond." "Resigned mothers and absent fathers." "And a woman that the men can visit." "As long as they pay for it." "Time's up!" "By the river lives a man who women are drawn to." "But he doesn't get paid." "That so many children are redheads is nothing people speak of." "They say that redheads have a higher threshold for pain." "But I came out blond." "Hi." "I can almost ride my bike like you, without hands." "Ah." "No hands!" "No hands!" "But you can't look like that." "This is good." "This time my dad will stay." "(speaking German) Go honey." "I'll come later." "Are you home already?" "You are in Sweden now, understand?" "You..." "You look like..." "You look like a..." "You look like a whore in that." "Planning on going to the party?" "Have a little fun?" "Think that's what you need?" "As if you don't have too good of a life." "Excuse me." "Hey..." "They don't want any German cunts at the welcome-home party." "I'm getting one of these when my dad comes home." "Very nice." "You can keep it." "Bye." "See you later." "Bye." ""WELCOME HOME!"" "You could use a glass!" "Will you be home tonight?" "Papa's coming home." "Where are you going?" "It's burning, it's burning!" "Save some food for us, chubby." "Fat and redheaded, hard to believe she's mine." "Well..." "I'm no good at speeches..." "Didn't you understand what I said?" "I only meant to..." "And for you..." "As I promised, my darling." "Chapter Two SUBSTITUTES" "One... two... three!" "I want to see a dead person." "I want to see what a grown-up who drowned looks like." "Know what?" "It was supposed to be a didgeridoo." "Be careful with the flowers." "I'm doing my best." "Even the tooth fairy sees them more often." "What's the tooth fairy?" ""What's the tooth fairy?"" "Hey there, gardeners." ""What's the tooth fairy?"" "Here we have a parent who doesn't know what the tooth fairy is." "Well, yeah... should I?" "So, it's you." "Where have you been?" "Think you two can do whatever you please?" "Go sit down." "We're waiting for papa." "I'm going out." "Just for a little." "Look around." "Look at the other kids." "Do they look like this?" "Take it away." "Away!" "Like throwing pearls to the pigs, eh?" "Here you go." "Oh, thanks." "Take it easy." "I'll be back." "Leaving and coming back like some fucking..." "Australian shit-boomerang." "Here." "Here." "Here." "Here." "Here." "Here you go." "For God's sake." "Enough already!" "Want to know what's enough?" "That you are carefree while your son is drinking... and your daughter... is hanging out with whores." "And the tooth fairy?" "Want to talk about that now?" "You go to your damn Africa." "Wait and see." "I'll disappear for good." "How's that?" "Chapter Three HIGHER THRESHOLD FOR PAIN" "Bye bye now." "I'm leaving now darling." "Bye bye." "So, that time again, is it?" "Yup." "Have a great time in Africa." "Thanks." "In Africa everybody's starving to death." "All of them." "But in Sweden no one starves to death, right?" "Here you have to die some other way." "Cick?" "Sick?" "What, are you sick?" "No." "Cigarettes." "Whatever." "Next in line?" "My smokes." "Stubborn as a mule." "But it won't do you any good." "Now get out of here." "Now we have some thinking to do." "Statistically speaking, one person commits suicide every six hours." "And it could just as well be a store clerk this hour..." "Right?" "Chapter Four ONE MAN'S DEATH" "Well hello there." "What a shame." "She's not at home, I'm afraid." "Yes, right, of course..." "Come inside and wait." "She's coming soon." "She's coming soon." "Well, not that soon, but..." "Whoa, careful with that." "I've got it." "Not to worry, not to worry." "Here you go." "I want to see a dead person." "My dear, that's surely not..." "Yes, I do." "Especially someone drowned." "And one stabbed with a knife." "And maybe someone who ate poison." "How do you know if someone was murdered and not just died?" "Interesting." "Interesting questions my dear..." "but now it seems she's come home." "That's nice, so now you two can play." "No, I'm going home." "Hello." "I'm home." "Papa's home." "You're late." "You said you'd come." "Did I?" "Oops." "I must have forgotten." "Play it now." "Play beautifully like you did at the recital, so papa gets to hear." "Smell something burning boys?" "Fire somewhere?" "Ah... now I know." "It smells like burnt bacon." "What the hell are you doing?" "Five minutes!" "Damn it!" "Not a word about this, ok?" "I'm home." "Hello!" "Hello!" "If I'd known you wouldn't be working late..." "I mean, you could have said something..." "I could have made Tadori chicken." "Tandoori." "What?" "I was thinking..." "I'd stop working late." "I mean..." "I haven't actually been working late." "I guess I'll... move out." "It's for the best, I guess." "I suppose I could stay one more night." "Want to make that Tandoori chicken?" "Chapter Five WISHES" "My father has a jar with real human eyes at home." "Yesterday he took out the intestines of a really old man." "And the heart." "I can have a human brain if I want." "To keep in my room." "Coroner, that's like being a doctor." "And your father?" "Where is he, exactly?" "It was me that wanted him to go." "I wished it, and it came true." "What father would want to stay with you?" "What you wish for hard enough comes true." "That goes for dads." "All dads." "That goes for moms too." "Statistics say that most people will keep a secret once." "That makes for two." "A sales clerk and a pimp." "Dead bodies in water are like algae." "First there are a few, which doesn't seem so bad." "It even seems good." "But if..." "If the amount of algae increases unchecked, the water will wind up contaminated." "Understand?" "No." "Right, so, just one more thing." "No, not the piano." "It's the girls'." "Yes, but still it was me that bought it." "Paid for it." "It's not my fault." "Not only." "There." "It'll be fine." "Come now... don't make things so hard." "Chapter Six DECENCY" "Seeking someone driven and responsible, who wants a free and flexible work schedule." "Keep going." "Free and flexible..." "Come in." "It's about the ad in the paper." "The one for a bus driver." "So... you want to drive a bus now." "Tired of your current job?" "But do you have any experience?" "Never mind the formalities." "Just sign here." "Nothing to worry about." "It wasn't me that wished for it that mother would disappear." "Do you want to see a dead person?" "Here's a package for you." ""From grandma."" "How pretty." "It's really imaginative." "I thought I'd have an Opening." "Fuck." "(from grandma)" "My own mother..." "Judas bastard!" "I'm going to have an Opening in the garden." "Yeah?" "You think so?" "No, no, no, no..." "For your own sake, no." "I know what it would be like." "You would just be disappointed." "I'm home." "Well hello." "So?" "Yes well then... um... right." "You can leave that." "It's the kids'." "Your kids'." "I'm sorry." "It's... it's mine." "On Sunday I'll pick you up with the car and we'll have an outing." "That will be fun, eh?" "If we're not already busy this Sunday?" "One never knows such things." "In that case I'll come the Sunday after and we'll have an outing then." "That will be just as much fun." "Right?" "Don't blame me." "Every other weekend is not my fault." "I didn't decide that." "Chapter Seven VICIOUS CIRCLE" "Alright, I guess you're fully trained now then?" "Good luck then." "Good luck!" "The parlor." "But where are the bodies?" "The dining room." "Up here is the library." "But show me the body parts now." "You're doing a good job, I'll give you that much..." "Chapter Eight LEAVING THE VILLAGE" "No hands!" "No hands!" "Let's forget about it." "Right?" "Don't you worry about it." "We will not take this any further, right?" "Accidents happen so easily." "Just come by, and we'll make sure you get a new bus." "Jump on board now." "Nice, huh?" "No more whining." "You are coming with us, right?" "Of course, just jump on board." "Hey!" "Oops!" "You're coming, right?" "Well, well, well!" "Oh dear, oops..." "Daddy is a bit scared of water." "That doesn't make you less of a man you know." "Can I tell you something?" "Something about secrets?" "Or about wishes?" "Oh..." "Jesus." "He couldn't have meant for the boat to float off." "He must have thought that you're big girls now and that you can row." "There weren't any oars." "Well, well." "This should be an interesting scene." "Success my love!" "Success!" "Papa's not coming." "I know he's not coming." "Want to know a secret?" "I wished it." "We wished it." "And it came true, like you said." "Chapter Nine THE LAST BODY" "Ok, I think we'll load up the next one." "Well." "That was all I guess." "And your father, is he home yet?" "From Africa, wasn't it?" "No that's right, he won't be home for a while, I guess." "Come on, come on." "That's good." "Careful." "All the fathers seem to have come back in the end." "All except yours, of course." "Something that seems to have disappeared may be closer than you think." "But still lost." "Forever." "Epilogue NO HANDS" "People like you really shouldn't play with such dangerous things." "The likelihood that something vanishes from the face of the earth for good, is next to none." "Everything comes back in the end." "Just when you learnt to live without it."