The Dinosaur Feather

place to read Biology at the University of Copenhagen. That summer we moved. I sold the flat in Århus and bought two flats with the money; this one and the one Asger lives in, on Glasvej.
    ‘Asger began his studies and the same week I saw him walk past my windows, I spotted Lars. Of course, it had crossed my mind that he might still be working there, and yet I was genuinely shocked. It was nineteen years since we had last met and there had been no contact in between. It was almost four months before we met. Odd, really, given his office was only two floors above mine. It happened just before Christmas. The strange thing was that he appeared pleased to see me. He ran up to me from behind, twirled me around and kept saying how marvellous it was. He had no idea what had become of me, if I had even graduated. Oh yes, I replied. From the University of Århus. He never mentioned our son, as though he had truly wiped from his memory that he had got me pregnant. At that moment Asger turned up and Lars shook his hand.
    ‘“This is Asger, my son,” I said. “He’s in his first year.” I stared at Lars, but his face gave nothing away. He simply pressed Asger’s hand and welcomed him.
    ‘Professionally, I got very busy. The field of parasitology was growing rapidly due to a government increase in foreign aid. The focus of public attention turned to bilharziasis and I was made responsible for three huge research projects, of which two took place in Central Africa. Asger was happy. He cruised through his studies, taking to it like a duck to water. I was pleased for him, but also rather concerned. He had nofriends and he never went out. It was all about studying and preparing for the next exam and when he finally had time off, he would tinker with his growing number of tanks, attend conferences, read or collect insects. I tried encouraging him, but every time he smiled his silly smile. ‘People don’t interest me, Mum,’ he said. ‘I’m a scientist like you.’ What troubled me the most was that he always said it with an element of complicity, as though he and I were the same. I didn’t want to be someone with no friends because my work took up all my time. But the truth was this was precisely who I was.
    ‘One day, Asger finally made a friend. Erik Tybjerg, Anna’s external supervisor, would you believe it? Yes, you’re thinking that we’re all as thick as thieves and I suppose you’re right.’ She laughed briefly. ‘Asger was writing his dissertation and the two boys spent a lot of time together. Their friendship revolved around science, but all the same, it looked like a genuine friendship. Asger remained strangely content in the way he always was. Nothing upset him. If it hadn’t been for all those As he got, I would have started thinking there was something wrong with him.’ She smiled. ‘But he’s bright and knows everything about natural history. He knows practically nothing about anything else. I consoled myself that at least he seemed happy.’ She sighed, deeply, once more.
    ‘One day I dropped by unannounced. I knew he was recovering from flu, I had bought some cakes and I wanted to surprise him. As I walked down the street, I tried to recall when I last visited him. One thing was for sure: it was too long ago, and in that moment, I felt so bad for not visiting him more often. Asger used to tease me and say “My biologist mum is scared of bugs” – he thought it was hilarious.Of course I wasn’t. But I didn’t like them or what they represented.’
    ‘Which was?’ Søren probed.
    ‘Only nerds have tanks,’ Hanne said, bluntly. ‘You don’t live with snakes and scorpions!’ she scoffed. ‘I don’t share my home with the parasites I work with, do I?’
    Søren glanced around the austere flat and suddenly he couldn’t decide which was worse: bugs or loneliness?
    ‘And every time I was confronted with that side to my son, I felt guilty. I desperately wanted him to have friends. Other young men he could go out with, run a half-marathon with, whatever, what do I know? And I wanted him to get a girlfriend. Live with her, so I could visit them on Sundays, and he could start a family one day. But if he managed to persuade a girl to come home with him, she would surely leave the moment she saw all his bugs and reptiles. At the time, I knew he kept a small non-poisonous snake, four bird spiders and some mysterious-looking, over-dimensioned stick insects. I made no attempt to disguise my