Sweef | Donker poele – Jaco Jacobs | English Summary

Sweef en ander Verhale

Donker poele – Jaco Jacobs

Justin is a paper delivery boy who finds out that the author of his favourite books, June McCarthy, lives on the same street he does. McCarthy is just a pen-name. Having delivered Isabelle Meyer’s newspaper for two whole years, he’d never seen her face; however, when a dog tore up the refuse bags outside her house one day, Justin's eyes caught seven words on a stray piece of paper that had been blown around by the furious winds of the day. “Eyes seemed like cold, deep, dark water”. Justin realised that he recognised those words. He went back to the house the very next week and rummaged through her refuse bags himself, found some neatly shredded paper and put the pieces back together. Justin found out the secret of the lady living at house number 12. He presses the intercom button and asks the voice on the other side if the name “June McCarthy” rings a bell. Immediately, the woman lets him inside, and he sees his favourite author for the first time.

Her pale face, her long, straight hair. Justin is excited to be in June McCarthy’s house, but he’s there to get hush money out of her given the fact that his family is struggling financially. As they walk through her home, he sees his reflection in one of the mirrors, but not hers. Suddenly he feels his arms and legs growing weaker as the cold hands wrap around his neck, and his eyes get lost in the cold, deep, dark water of Isabelle’s. With her teeth breaking into his skin, she says, “So, you know my secret, huh?”

SummariesKeroshan PillayComment