Ice Trilogy (87 page)

“Mi.”

It’s fun
to jum
p...
better than anything in the worl
d...
jump and forget everythin
g...
I jumped over the bench and forgo
t...
there’s no bench anymor
e...
dum dee du
m...
I jumped over the ditch and there’s no ditch anymor
e...
I jumped over Erika’s leg and then Erika left for Masterton and married a mechani
c...
I jumped over a rabbit and Anna cooked it in white win
e...
jump jump jum
p...
pink hills pink hills
dum dee du
m...
A square man has been hanging out in the bar since this mornin
g...
he goes and goes and goes around the world the square ma
n...
it’s hard to jump over the square ma
n...
because he only drinks bourbo
n...
jump jump jump and jump dee du
m...
I’m the Great Jumper of
pink pink hill
s
...
when I was born there was a twister in the
pink hill
s
...
I would have jumped over the twister, but it wasn’t near us it was in Terriaqua and Masterto
n...
we only had wind and the rain gutter bent and smashed the doghouse against the ba
r...
jump jump jump
pink hill
s
...
but Masterton got hit goo
d...
it’s fun to jump and very good for yo
u...
when you jump you fly and forge
t...
dum dee du
m...
but when you land you stand and remember what you jumped ove
r...
I’ll jump over the
pink hills
tomorro
w...
but I won’t jump over the square man from the ba
r...
he walks walks walks about the world that square ma
n...
Erika Norma Joseph dum dee dum de
e...
and who els
e...
the dog Fidel likes raw bone
s...
when he gnaws a bone I jump over hi
m...
oh how he scampers abou
t...
the wind crawls into my dres
s...
it’s fun to fly and fl
y...
when you fly you love yoursel
f...
and dum dee du
m...
pink hills
didn’t destro
y...
Kate tried to convince Mama to go to tow
n...
dum dee dum and dum dee de
e...
Sem Kuan the Korean bred chicks for
fried chicke
n
...
I jumped over hi
m...
when you fly it feels good to throw your head back dum dee dee du
m...
so your neck crack
s...
when you fly it’s fun to far
t...
but when you land you don’t fart, no one will understand how com
e...
dee du
m...
and you can blow your nose when you jum
p...
and sneez
e...
dum dee du
m...
and you can fart, blow your nose, and sneeze and sweat all at the same tim
e...
but the most dangerous is to sneeze because you have to close your eyes and dum dee dee dum du
m...
but I never jump with my eyes close
d...
it’s borin
g...
and the square man walks and walks about the worl
d...
dum dee dum and dum dee du
m...
that’s my favorite song about the square man from the ba
r...
jump farther and more and shake your head and dum dee du
m...
each time try not to break anythin
g...
Fidel liked to drag handkerchiefs out of pockets and dum dee du
m...
there are different jump
s...
I’m the Greatest Jumper of all countries and continent
s...
dum dee du
m...
horses are better than dog
s...
and dogs are better than cat
s...
it’s fun to jump over dog
s...
they don’t see yo
u...
you fly over a dog and whistle and dum dee du
m...
Fidel Fidel Fide
l...
but he doesn’t see yo
u...
he looks all aroun
d...
jump jump jum
p...
pink hills pink hill
s
...
dum dee du
m...
I don’t like spider
s...
it’s scary to jump over a spide
r...
but you have t
o...
you fly over spiders for a long long tim
e...
you fly fly and dum dee du
m...
but you jump fast over a snak
e...
because snakes are better than spider
s...
and rats are better than snake
s...
flying over a rat is fas
t...
dum dee du
m...
it sniffs and can’t figure out where you ar
e...
jumping over cats is even bette
r...
the cat can’t figure out where you are eithe
r...
but once you jump over the cat it understands everythin
g...
dum dee du
m...
but dogs never figure out you jumped over the
m...
I jumped through the
pink hills
toda
y...
and I have to jump farthe
r...
farthe
r...
over the highway to the gul
f...
where the ships ar
e...
and the cape where there’s a monument to lost ship
s...
there’s dum dee dum and dum dee de
e...
it’s fun to jump over stones because they don’t tal
k...
it’s hard to jump over the gas station where Erika works, Erika with her hair in roller
s...
it’s just that dum dee du
m...
when I jump over the gas station it doesn’t smell like gasoline but like shi
t...
it isn’t Erika’s shit or Erika’s husband Stephen’s shi
t...
jump over the Collinses’ farm and forge
t...
over the cows’ troug
h...
and over the tractor and forge
t...
dum dee dum and dum dee de
e ...
and the best is to jump over dumb old John and Sigur
d...
I jumped and forgo
t...
dum dee du
m...
landed and remembere
d...
dee dum running jumps are fu
n...
a running jump just right so the square man doesn’t se
e...
he just walks and walks about the world, that square ma
n...
I jumped over the school and shouted and spa
t...
dum dee dee du
m...
school is a bad plac
e...
they only jump in gym ther
e...
and they don’t jump well because they don’t like jumping and don’t kno
w...
don’t realize that jumping is grea
t...
it’s dum dee du
m...
I jumped over the teacher
s...
I jumped over the pupil
s...
jumped over the school desk on the left sid
e...
I jumped over math and physic
s...
jumped over drawin
g...
dee dee du
m...
I jumped over 18
6...
but I didn’t jump over singing because singing is like the win
d...
and you mustn’t jump over the win
d...
I’m the Greatest Jumper of all countries and continent
s...
dee dee dum du
m...
I jumped straight over the square man and I’m not scared of him anymor
e...
when I jump over something I’m not scared of it anymor
e...
it’s fun to jump just like that without a running star
t...
then dum dee du
m...
you have to hold the air in so it doesn’t burst your ches
t...
you hold hold the air while you fl
y...
you land and dum dee du
m...
you exhale the air and it already smells differen
t...
it’s already dum dee du
m...
it’s already after-jump air and no one needs i
t...
breathe out the after-jumping air quick as you can and run around and about and up and dow
n...
so dum dee du
m...
you always have to choose right quick who to jump ove
r...
right now I dee dee du
m...
I’m jumping over the cleaners and there it’s always dum dee du
m...
warm and dam
p...
when I land I sweat like dum dee du
m...
I like to sweat like dum dee du
m...
not when I fly but when I lan
d...
but when I fly I like to yawn and swallow the wind and dum dee dum dee du
m...
after I jumped over him the square man was small like a square on the bathroom floo
r...
and because dum dee du
m...
the green square smells like bourbon vomi
t...
and I jumped over 45% on the supermarket glas
s...
and dum dee du
m...
I jumped over 45
%...
and it doesn’t smell at all anymore and I don’t want to yaw
n...
when you jump over something everything starts to smell dee dee du
m...
you smell yoursel
f...
or not yourself but someone els
e...
when I jump over the streetlamp it smells like
cheeseburge
r
...
but when I jump over McDonald’s in Masterton it smells like Martin’s motorcycl
e...
and dum dee dum I haven’t jumped over Martin’s motorcycle ye
t...
but I jumped over a liquor factory in Terriaqu
a...
and it smelled dum dee du
m...
like grass like spit and the chair in the bar dee du
m...
and I farted over the factory and giggle
d...
and now I’m running up down all around about dee du
m...
and I jump over a train station and dum de
e...
and it smells like the barn lock and grandma who’s been lying in the ground near the old stone fence for age
s...
I’m the Greatest Jumper of all countries and continent
s...
I dum dee du
m...
jump and jum
p...
but you can’t always jum
p...
you have to wait while you ea
t...
because it’s hard to jump with foo
d...
food dum dum dee de
e...
wants to jump over the plate into your mouth and down your guts and then jump over your guts into caca into the toile
t...
and in the toilet dum dee du
m...
but the square man isn’t jumping anymore and won’t ever jump into the toile
t...
because the square dum dee du
m...
they don’t jump but sleep and watc
h...
I jumped into the town dum dee du
m...
I’d never been ther
e...
the city looked like the bar in Masterton dum dee du
m...
it’s simple to jump over people in tow
n...
they’re all together they don’t move like dum dum dee dee du
m...
you don’t have to take a running jump and look before you lea
p...
I’m the Greatest Jumper of all countries and continent
s...
I jump dum dee dum over car
s...
they smell like peopl
e...
like people’s sweat and like word
s...
cars are fast but I’m even dum dee du
m...
I can jump over fast things to
o...
if I jumped over Martin’s motorcycle then I can jump over cars to
o...
in flight I like to smell what’s under m
e...
dum dee dee du
m...
it’s fun to spit and shou
t...
when you jump you’re not scared of anythin
g...
just jump far and hig
h...
then everyone will be happ
y...
I jump over a newsstan
d...
over cigarette butt
s...
over dog shi
t...
I jump over a movie theater showing
Shrek
2
...
I jump over a tra
m...
jump dee du
m...
over a cash machin
e...
over a caf
é...
and suddenly a woman in sky blue says jump over me Sophi
e...
I sto
p...
you know me dum dee du
m...
she says everybody knows you you’re the Greatest Jumper of all countries and continent
s...
jump jump over m
e...
and she bends down like in schoo
l...
I take a running leap I jump dee dee du
m...
and my palms stick to her bac
k...
and then dum dee dum someone does something to m
e...
and I can’t jump anymor
e...
I can only be in a basement on the wal
l...
and call for mam
a...
and then dee dee du
m...
they hit me in the chest with something col
d...
and dum dum dee dee I hear my heart
speak
.

“Rikuosh.”

14:57. Guangzhou. The ICE Corporation office.

The huge, bluish-white office of the corporation’s director. At the table, leaning back in a light-blue leather chair, sat the skinny, bald Rim. His tanned, dried-out face was immobile. His blue-green eyes were glued to the piece of Ice floating in a glass sphere suspended from the ceiling — all that remained from the huge block that fell to Earth. Rim
was waiting
, holding his breath. His heart was
preparing itself
.