eclipse

Author's Name: John Banville

Alexander Cliff, a famous actor, takes refuge in his childhood home to escape the shame of his painful collapse on stage. There, in the haze of time, the living, and the dead, he remembers, reflects, dreams, and walks doubtfully back to himself. “The situation dawned on me at once: on the floor beneath the window sill lay a dead chick. It must have fallen from the roof, or failed to fly and crashed to the ground, breaking its neck. A glassy haze covered its vision, and a pallor hung over its feathers. The gull—I have no doubt that it was one of the parents—opened its beak again in that strange way, soundlessly. Perhaps it was a threat, warning me not to come near, but I am inclined to think it was a sign of great distress. Even gulls must have expressions of pity or joy that companions can recognize. Perhaps they see our features as blank and inexpressive as we see theirs.” A man drugged by inexplicable misery, for example, I'm sure would have been to her nothing but another dead-eyed fool staring pitilessly at a scene of immeasurable loss. The bird was a male, I think; yes, I think a father. I left him to his silent prayers and, driven by this chance, went down to the sea.