Malmö

PART SEVEN

Chapter 12: Shopping

"Oskar, I'm so excited!" Eli says as Mr. Ávila drives his old Fiat through Malmö toward the Yule market at Gustav Adolf's Torg.

PART SIX

BOOK TWO

THE KISSES OF HIS MOUTH

Chapter 10: A Professor in Love

Sassa

With the theater shut down for the holidays, the Limhamn Players go their separate ways to spend time with their families and to prepare for the Christmas festivities, the highlight of Malmö's year.

Oskar and Eli are asleep in each other's arms on their pallet in the attic while Mr. Ávila and Professor Grigor enjoy their morning coffee at the dining room table.

PART FIVE

Chapter 8: Hiding in Plain Sight

Ingrid

Oskar and Eli fall into a routine at the little theater. Although their roles as fairies in the play have few entrances and even fewer lines, they are delighted to be useful in other ways. Of course they print 8x10s for everyone, and they sweep and tidy up as needed. They also run out for coffee and sandwiches for the troupe, where they meet nearby shopkeepers.

PART FOUR

Chapter 6: A Normal Life

The Storm

Mr. Ávila pads into the kitchen in his pajamas and slippers. He starts coffee and turns on the radio. The weather forecast is for rain and high winds in the afternoon, followed by strong thunderstorms in the evening. While the coffee brews, he goes into the big front room and stands looking at the dark clouds over the Öresund, the strait between Malmö and Copenhagen.

PART THREE

Chapter 4: The Teacher Appears

The Hobby

With boxes unpacked and the attic of their new home secure, Mr. Ávila asks Oskar and Eli to join him at the dining room table. "Kids, you've done a bang-up job getting the attic the way we want it."

They smile and Eli wiggles.

"It's clean, the window covering is lightproof, and you can bolt the door from inside. Now the next step. Are you ready to take up a hobby?"

"Sure," Oskar says.