The Dinosaur Feather

who would want to go too. It’s tragic that Johannes has died.’ A vertical furrow appeared on her forehead. ‘We’re really going to miss him.’
    ‘Check with the family,’ Søren said abruptly. ‘Johannes’s mother is still alive, so you should contact her.’
    ‘Ah, Johannes’s mother,’ Stella Marie exclaimed. ‘I heard that Johannes came from a rich family, but that he had turned his back on it. Susanne Winther told me when she was going out with him. And one day, while I was clearing up after a Red Mask party, a delivery guy turns up with two sofas,would you believe it? I was convinced it had to be a mistake, but the guy insisted. Two sofas from Kampe Furniture to be delivered to Stella Marie Frederiksen. Sponsorship. At that point I didn’t know that Johannes’s family owned Kampe Furniture, but Susanne told me. I didn’t get a chance to tell Johannes until our next party and he nearly had a heart attack when he heard it. We never found out how his mother knew about the Red Mask, and I don’t think Johannes ever asked her. But that night he kept saying, “My mum loves me!” He was ecstatic! He made us all laugh because it was so touching.’
    ‘What happened to those sofas?’ Henrik asked.
    ‘They’re in our van with the rest of our gear. The bar, the lights and so on. They’re ultra cool. Black leather, obviously. We don’t really do chintz.’ She laughed.
    Once again Søren had the feeling that a minute twist to the kaleidoscope had resulted in a completely different picture.
    When they were back in the car, Henrik said: ‘Are you absolutely sure you can trust Susanne Winther?’
    ‘Yes,’ Søren said.
    ‘Would a repressed and downtrodden housewife send two sofas?’
    ‘Perhaps it’s not that straightforward, Henrik. There might be a positive side to Johannes’s mother. Things aren’t always black and white.’
    Henrik was driving. Søren buried his face in his hands.
    ‘Hey, are you okay?’ Henrik said. His anger seemed to have evaporated.
    ‘Do you know what my life has been like?’
    ‘Er, no.’
    ‘Things were just as they looked. A led to B, B led to C, D and E.’
    ‘Right, and that’s not how it is?’
    ‘No,’ Søren said. ‘Sometimes you’ve got no idea how your life ended up the way it did, there’s only the end product, E, and the starting point, A, and the rest is unknown. The path between the two points is lost.’
    ‘Søren,’ Henrik said gently. ‘I don’t follow.’
    ‘That’s how I operate,’ Søren carried on regardless. ‘I need to be able to retrace my steps and understand what happened. I want life to be like that!’ He slammed his hand on the glove compartment. ‘But sometimes it isn’t, is it? And do you know what that means?’ Søren didn’t wait for Henrik’s reply. ‘It means that not everything is what it seems. Many things are. But not all.’
    ‘I still don’t follow,’ Henrik said, amicably.
    ‘It’s okay,’ Søren said. ‘I just need to change my life.’
    ‘You need to talk to someone about . . . about Maja,’ Henrik said out of the blue. ‘You really do.’
    Søren nodded. They drove on in silence.
    ‘My parents died when I was five years old,’ Søren said suddenly.
    ‘I know. You grew up with Knud and Elvira. I knew that.’
    ‘Yes, yes, of course,’ Søren clutched his forehead. ‘I’m all over the place right now. I really am.’
    ‘You need to talk to someone about Maja,’ Henrik repeated. ‘If it had happened to my daughters, Christ, I couldn’t have sat here today, no way—’
    ‘Do you think it was enough?’ Søren interrupted him.
    ‘What do you mean?’
    ‘My parents dying. When I was five. Unexpectedly. Do you think that’s enough to traumatise a child?’
    ‘It depends on the circumstances.’ Henrik sounded confused.
    ‘And that’s precisely what I don’t understand,’ Søren said in a hoarse voice. ‘Of course, losing your parents is tragic. But for God’s sake, I can’t even remember them. And Knud and Elvira loved me. I couldn’t have had better parents or a better upbringing and I’m not just saying that.’ He looked out of the side window. ‘And yet it’s as if something inside me is all crumpled up. Completely tangled. I’m scared.’
    ‘What are you scared of?’
    ‘I’m scared of . . . Vibe is like a sister to me, for fuck’s sake!’ Søren threw up his hands in despair. ‘She has been, ever since I met her at that disco. My sister was my girlfriend