A Panther in Jerusalem
Published in Issue #34 Translated from Hebrew by Yardenne Greenspan(Excerpt from a Novel)
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Outside of Room 6, Nahum’s empty bed sticks out like a monument. I glance at the beds on both sides of it. On one side is Yitzhak, who, though he’s also been here for over two months, is certain to get out eventually. His wife, Sarah, would simply never have it any other way. On the other side is Dov. What’s going to happen to him? I notice that Nahum’s bed is much closer to his than to Yitzhak’s, and I hope it isn’t some sort of sign.
I sit down in the red chair, waiting for Dov to wake up. The Knight in the Panther’s Skin, which I left here three days ago, is lying closed on the bedside table, and I wonder if he even looked at it.
Yaffa comes in to check his vitals, and I ask her how he’s doing.
“Let’s take a look,” she says as she wraps the blood pressure cuff around his left arm and inflates it. “Ninety-five over sixty, Mr. Gaponov,” she says, looking concerned. “We don’t like that. I’m going to add some more fluids for you. How do you feel?”
Dov doesn’t answer, only signaling with his eyes that there has been no meaningful change.
“Want me to ask the doctor to up your morphine dosage?” she asks.
Dov shakes his head. “No, that’s fine, thank you,” he says meekly. “I want to maintain my clarity of mind as much as possible.”
“Fine,” says Yaffa, “but if you change your mind, just call me.” She places her hand on his shoulder for a moment and looks into my eyes with an expression I can’t...
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