For some reason, he paused... «The Pale-Faced Lie»
cat_on_the_shelf22 января 2022For some reason, he paused with the belt in the air. “Why were you so late, and why didn’t you let your mother know where you were?”
“I was at Joey Perea’s house reading their Encyclopedia Britannica,” I blurted out. It was the best lie I could come up with on my walk home. “We have a project due for school tomorrow. Mine is on Genghis Khan, the Mongolian warlord.”
Dad lowered the belt.
I talked fast, hoping to delight him with my knowledge of a brutal leader who perfected violence in a way he could appreciate.
“Genghis Khan pinned his own uncle on an anthill for three days in a hundred-degree heat and then tied his arms and legs to four horses that ran off in different directions. His uncle got yanked to pieces for challenging Genghis for leadership of the Mongol hordes. The great Khan tortured and killed all his rivals, not just his uncle. The carnage was amazing.”
“Carnage? What does that mean?”
“It means the slaughtering of lots of people in bloody battles.”
“Carnage,” Dad repeated softly several times, as if the sound soothed his twisted mind. His eyes calmed and the creases on his forehead smoothed out. I’d triggered a complete mood change by praising a vicious, conquering asshole, someone like him. Genghis Khan was the Emile Griffith of dictators. I often won Dad over with the cleverness of my pranks, but this time, I had impressed his violent side.
It was a lesson I wouldn’t forget.
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