Laughter
I laughed so hard I thought my ribs would crack. Matka Lasu laughed too, though, judging by her face, initially surprise brought the mirth to her lips. Drying his eyes and glancing back and forth in an effort to get the punch line of the joke, Tranoc broke into titters. My teacher pointed at me and then at him. She said something neither of us could understand and fell on her side with renewed hilarity. His titters ripened to gulping guffaws, and I, the original source of the contagion, was infected all over again. I fell into his lap and, as helpless as a noodle, I held my aching sides and howled. I couldn’t open my eyes. I couldn’t utter a comprehensible word. Several times our paroxysm dimmed to simple snickering. Then we’d look at each other or someone would snort, and we’d be on fire again. When the laughter finally died we all lay on the floor unable to move except to gasp for each new breath.
“Oh that was fun!” Matka Lasu declared wiping her eyes on a hankie from her pocket. “Masha brought us laughter! There’s no greater gift than that.” She blew her nose and shook her head and chuckled again.
“What were we laughing at?” His leftover grin looked about to smother in all that facial hair.
“Does it matter?” Sitting up she crossed her legs and fluffed her dress down over her knees. “At the joy of having you back. At the absurdity of it all. At life.” She held up an imaginary glass. “To life!”
“To us.” He clinked his phantom glass to hers then tapped it against mine.
“Including Masha.” I toasted the head of the stairs.
“To everything and everyone that makes life worth living. To all the joys that make the sorrows bearable and to the sorrows that help us to appreciate the joys.” Forgetting her glass, she kissed each of us. “To the people I love so much.” I held Heidi up to her, and she kissed the doll too. “Now, let’s have some breakfast.”
Excerpt from Forest Song: Finding Home, pp 296-297
Available in paperback and Kindle from http://www.amazon.com
To see and hear Vila reading this excerpt, click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRswnLeK7Ss
“Oh that was fun!” Matka Lasu declared wiping her eyes on a hankie from her pocket. “Masha brought us laughter! There’s no greater gift than that.” She blew her nose and shook her head and chuckled again.
“What were we laughing at?” His leftover grin looked about to smother in all that facial hair.
“Does it matter?” Sitting up she crossed her legs and fluffed her dress down over her knees. “At the joy of having you back. At the absurdity of it all. At life.” She held up an imaginary glass. “To life!”
“To us.” He clinked his phantom glass to hers then tapped it against mine.
“Including Masha.” I toasted the head of the stairs.
“To everything and everyone that makes life worth living. To all the joys that make the sorrows bearable and to the sorrows that help us to appreciate the joys.” Forgetting her glass, she kissed each of us. “To the people I love so much.” I held Heidi up to her, and she kissed the doll too. “Now, let’s have some breakfast.”
Excerpt from Forest Song: Finding Home, pp 296-297
Available in paperback and Kindle from http://www.amazon.com
To see and hear Vila reading this excerpt, click http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRswnLeK7Ss