I need help with this short story! Here’s the story:

Corlette ‘The Hand’

He had fallen asleep on his young wife’s shoulder, and she proudly bore the weight of the man’s head, blond, ruddy-complexioned, eyes closed. He had slipped his big arm under the small of her slim, adolescent back, and his strong hand lay on the sheet next to the young woman’s right elbow. She smiled to see the man’s hand emerging there, all by it self and far away from its owner. Then she let her eyes wander over the half-lit room. A veiled conch shed a light across the bed the color of periwinkle.
"Too happy to sleep," she thought.
Too excited also, and often surprised by her new state. It had been only two weeks since she had began to live the scandalous life of a newlywed who tastes the joys of living with someone unknown and with whom she is in love. To meet a handsome, blond young man, recently widowed, good at tennis and rowing, to marry him amonth later: her conjugal adventure had been little more than a kidnapping. So that whenever she lay awake beside her husband, like tonight, she still kept her eyes cosed for along time, then opened them again in order to savor, with astonishment, the blue of the brand-new curtains, instead of the apricot-pink through which the first light of day filtered into the room where she had slept as a little girl.
A quiver ran through the sleeping body lying next to her, and she tightened her left arm around her husband’s neck with the charming authority exercised by weak creatures. He did not wake up.
"His eyelashes are so long," she said to herself.
To herself she also praised his mouth, full and likable, his skin the color of pink brick, and even his forehead, neither noble nor broad, but still smooth and unwrinkled.
Her husband’s right hand, lying beside her, quivered in turn, and beneath the curve of her back she felt the right arm, on which her whole weight was resting, come to life.
"I’m so heavy…I wish I could get up and turn the light off. But he’s sleeping so well…"
The arm twisted again, feebly, and she arched her back to make herself lighter.
"It’s as if I were lying on some animal," she thought.
She turned her head a little on the pillow and looked at the hand lying there next to her.
"It’s so big! It really is bigger than my whole head."
The light, flowing out from under the edge of a parasol of bluish crystal, spilled up against the hand, and made every contour of the skin apparent, exaggerating the powerful knuckles and the veins engorged by the pressure on the arm. A few red hairs, at the base of the fingers, all curved in the same direction, like ears of wheat in the wind, and the flat nails, whose ridges the nail vuffer had not smoothed out, gleamed, coated with pink varnish.
"I’ll tell him not to varnish his nails," thought the young wife. "Varnish and pink polish don’t go with a hand so…a hand that’s so…"
An electric jolt ran through the hand and spared the young woman from having to find the right adjective. The thumb stiffened itself out, horribly long and spatulate, and pressed tightly against the index finger, so that the the hand suddenly took on a vile, apelike appearance.
"Oh!" whispered the young woman, as though faced with something slightly indecent.
The sound of a passing car pierced the silence with a shrillness that seemed luminous. The sleeping man did not wake, but the hand, offended, reared back and tensed up in the shape of a crab and waited, ready for battle.The screeching sound died down and the hand, relaxing gradually, lowered its claws, and became a pliant beast, awkwardly bent, shaken by faint jerks which resembled some sort of agony. The flat, cruel nail of the over long thumb glistened. A curve in the little finger, which the young woman had never noticed, appeared, and the wallowing hand revealed its fleshy palm like a red belly.
"And I’ve kissed that hand!…How horrible! Haven’t I ever looked at it?"
The hand, disturbed by a bad dream, appeared to respond to this startling discovery, this disgust. It regrouped its forces, opened wide, and splayed its tendons, lumps, and red fur like battle dress, then slowly drawing itself in again, grabbed a fistful of the sheer, dug into it with its curved fingers, and squeezed, squeezed with the methodical pleasure of a strangler.
"Oh!" cried the young woman.
The hand disappeared and a moment later the big arm, relieved of its burden, became a protective belt, a warm bulwark against all the terrors of night. But the next morning, when it was time for breakfast in bed-hot chocolate and toast-she saw the hand again, with its red hair and red skin, and the ghastly thumb curving out over the handle of the knife.
"Do you want this slice, darling? I’ll butter it for you."
She shuddered and felt her skin crawl on the back of her arms and down her back.
"Oh, no…no…"
Then she concealed her fear, bravely subdued herself, and, beginning her life of duplicity, of resignation, and of a
here’s the last sentence of the story, it cut off at the end..

lowly, delicate diplomacy, she leaned over and humbly kissed the monstrous hand.

http://moodle.parkrose.k12.or.us/mod/resource/view.php?id=679
here’s the last sentence of the story, it cut off at the end..

lowly, delicate diplomacy, she leaned over and humbly kissed the monstrous hand.

http://moodle.parkrose.k12.or.us/mod/resource/view.php?id=679
here’s the last sentence of the story, it cut off at the end..

lowly, delicate diplomacy, she leaned over and humbly kissed the monstrous hand.

http://moodle.parkrose.k12.or.us/mod/resource/view.php?id=679

Technorati Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Related Posts
  • Tennis Elbow 2009 - Gameplay 1 Gameplay of the tennis game "Tennis Elbow 2009" from www.managames.com . I play as a volleyer (on down part of the screen), and the CPU plays as a power baseliner. He kinda bashes me, but it's only because I lack training at the net... Once you're familiar with the controls,......
  • Tennis Elbow Cure Part II By Todd Scott tinyurl.com While tennis elbow is currently incurable, there are countless ways of treating this common problem. Some opt for physical therapy and surgery, while others use braces and wraps made specifically for helping those who suffer from tennis elbow. Among the activities that can cause tennis elbow are tennis and......
  • Wheel Chair Tennis Tips : Wheelchair Tennis Elbow Tips Tennis elbow is common in wheelchair tennis just as it is in regular tennis so learn how to prevent or deal with this affliction from a wheelchair tennis expert in thisfree sports video clip. Expert: Mike Schlappi Contact: www.mikeschlappi.com Bio: Mike Schlappi is a two time world champion in wheelchair......
  • Tennis Elbow Doctor in San Jose, California describes how he treats Tennis Elbow cases. Tennis elbow is a painful condition of the muscles and tendons that enable you to extend your wrist and fingers back. It primarily occurs because of repetitive use, poor tennis technique, and not enough rest. This video displays a technique used by Doctors of Chiropractic which resolves your tennis elbow......
  • I got tennis elbow 1 yr ago but it hasn't completely healed yet.help? Hey, I got tennis elbow 1 year ago(due to playing badminton excessively).I had to take ultrasound radiations,massages and had to wear a band on my arm which restricted movements.Thing is,I had it on my right elbow(I'm right-handed) and had to give numerous exams the month after that(writing was very painful......
  • How to Tape Tennis Elbow with RockTape Kinesiology Tape How to apply RockTape kinesiology tape (from www.theratape.com) for tennis elbow or lateral epicondylitis. RockTape is a new type ofkinesiology tape engineered to enhance athletic performance in addition to providing therapeutic benefits. When applied following PowerTaping principles, it can reduce fatigue, improve endurance and enhance muscle activation. RockTape has a......
  • question about tennis elbow? hello i think i strained my elbow, my arm is just weak, but NO PAIN AT ALL, its like i have no strength on my arm. . anyways... my doc said it was no big, he was like dont worry about it, its not a tennis elbow, i think its......
Related Websites
  • Six Days Seven Nights [/caption] Robin Monroe (Anne Heche) is a successful young woman working for a women’s lifestyle magazine and she is happy with her long-term boyfriend Frank (David Schwimmer). Frank surprises her with a romantic vacation (6 days, 7 nights) plan and they fly to Tahiti. They need to get on a......
  • 500 More Useless Facts [/caption] Most American car horns honk in the key of F. The name Wendy was made up for the book "Peter Pan." Barbie's full name is Barbara Millicent Roberts. Every time you lick a stamp, you consume 1/10 of a calorie. The average person falls asleep in seven minutes. Studies......
  • Tennis Elbow 101 pt 2 If you have determined that the cause of your tennis elbow pain is that you have poor technique when swinging your tennis racquet, then you need to keep in mind that bad habits from a lifetime of playing are not going to be easy to remove. It is going to......
  • 5 Tips to Prevent Tennis Elbow Although tennis may not be a full contact sport, it is still possible to get injured. One of the most common injuries that tennis players face is called tennis elbow. This is a repetitive strain injury that can be incredibly painful. The good news is that you can prevent it,......
  • Review SEALed with a Ring by Mary Margret Daughtridge SEALed with a Ring is third in a trilogy (so far) of books about the love stories of a team of Navy SEALS. This is the story of Davy and JJ. I decided to read it, instead of another Kay Hooper book, as a definite change of pace, because it......
  • Cleveland Launcher DST Draw Driver (Men's Right-Handed, 10.5 Degree Loft, Diamana Red 44 Ultralite Graphite Regular Shaft) User Reviews Send this to a friend Cleveland Launcher DST Draw Driver (Men's Right-Handed, 10.5 Degree Loft, Diamana Red 44 Ultralite Graphite Regular Shaft) Manufacturer: Cleveland Customer Rating: List Price: $299.99 Sale Price: $299.99 Availibility: Usually ships in 24 hours Free Shipping Available Buy Now Product Description 9 grams......
  • Review: The Sheikh's Blackmailed Mistress by Penny Jordan This was a pretty decent read. One of those books you read once and don't plan to revisit. There were some obvious contrite plot mechanisms and I felt the hero wasn't really a flesh and blood character, but one pulled out from a standard issue mold. I did enjoy......

Tagged with: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Filed under: Cure Tennis Elbow

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!