Mark Haddon - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

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A world of difference.

And there were three other pictures, and they were very small, and they were a palace and a beach and a palace. And this is what the orangutans looked like:

227.And I kept my eyes closed and I didn’t look at my watch at all. And the trains coming in and out of the station were in a rhythm, like music or drumming. And it was like counting and saying, “Left, right, left, right, left, right…” which Siobhan taught me to do to make myself calm. And I was saying in my head, “Train coming. Train stopped. Train going. Silence. Train coming. Train stopped. Train going…” as if the trains were only in my mind. And normally I don’t imagine things that aren’t happening because it is a lie and it makes me feel scared, but it was better than watching the trains coming in and out of the station because that made me feel even more scared.

And I didn’t open my eyes and I didn’t look at my watch. And it was like being in a dark room with the curtains closed so I couldn’t see anything, like when you wake up at night and the only sounds you hear are the sounds inside your head. And that made it better because it was like the little station wasn’t there, outside my head, but I was in bed and I was safe.

And then the silences between the trains coming and going got longer and longer. And I could hear that there were fewer people in the little station when the train wasn’t there, so I opened my eyes and I looked at my watch and it said 8:07 p.m. and I had been sitting on the bench for approximately 5 hours but it hadn’t seemed like approximately 5 hours, except that my bottom hurt and I was hungry and thirsty.

And then I realized that Toby was missing because he was not in my pocket, and I didn’t want him to be missing because we weren’t in Father’s house or Mother’s house and there wasn’t anyone to feed him in the little station and he would die and he might get run over by a train.

And then I looked up at the ceiling and I saw that there was a long black box which was a sign and it said:

And then the bottom line scrolled up and disappeared and a different line scrolled up into its place and the sign said:

And then it changed again and it said:

And then I heard the sound like sword fighting and the roaring of a train coming into the station and I worked out that there was a big computer somewhere and it knew where all the trains were and it sent messages to the black boxes in the little stations to say when the trains were coming, and that made me feel better because everything had an order and a plan.

And the train came into the little station and it stopped and 5 people got onto the train and another person ran into the little station and got on, and 7 people got off the train and then the doors closed automatically and the train went away. And when the next train came I wasn’t so scared anymore because the sign said

so I knew it was going to happen.

And then I decided that I would look for Toby because there were only 3 people in the little station. So I stood up and I looked up and down the little station and in the doorways that went into tunnels but I couldn’t see him anywhere. And then I looked down into the black lower-down bit where the rails were.

And then I saw two mice and they were black because they were covered in dirt. And I liked that because I like mice and rats. But they weren’t Toby, so I carried on looking.

And then I saw Toby, and he was also in the lower-down bit where the rails were, and I knew he was Toby because he was white and he had a brown egg shape on his back. So I climbed down off the concrete. And he was eating a bit of rubbish that was an old sweet paper. And someone shouted, “Jesus. What are you doing?”

And I bent down to catch Toby but he ran off. And I walked after him and I bent down again and I said, “Toby… Toby… Toby,” and I held out my hand so that he could smell my hand and smell that it was me.

And someone said, “Get out of there, for fuck’s sake,” and I looked up and it was a man who was wearing a green raincoat and he had black shoes and his socks were showing and they were gray with little diamond patterns on them.

And I said, “Toby… Toby…” but he ran off again.

And the man with the diamond patterns on his socks tried to grab my shoulder, so I screamed. And then I heard the sound like sword fighting and Toby started running again, but this time he ran the other way, which was past my feet, and I grabbed at him and I caught him by the tail.

And the man with the diamond patterns on his socks said, “Oh Christ. Oh Christ.”

And then I heard the roaring and I lifted Toby up and grabbed him with both hands and he bit me on my thumb and there was blood coming out and I shouted and Toby tried to jump out of my hands.

And then the roaring got louder and I turned round and I saw the train coming out of the tunnel and I was going to be run over and killed so I tried to climb up onto the concrete but it was high and I was holding Toby in both my hands.

And then the man with the diamond patterns on his socks grabbed hold of me and pulled me and I screamed, but he kept pulling me and he pulled me up onto the concrete and we fell over and I carried on screaming because he had hurt my shoulder. And then the train came into the station and I stood up and I ran to the bench again and I put Toby into the pocket inside my jacket and he went very quiet and he didn’t move.

And the man with the diamond patterns on his socks was standing next to me and he said, “What the fuck do you think you were playing at?”

But I didn’t say anything.

And he said, “What were you doing?”

And the doors of the train opened and people got off and there was a lady standing behind the man with the diamond patterns on his socks and she was carrying a guitar case like Siobhan has.

And I said, “I was finding Toby. He’s my pet rat.”

And the man with the diamond patterns on his socks said, “Fucking Nora.”

And the lady with the guitar case said, “Is he OK?”

And the man with the diamond patterns on his socks said, “Him? Thanks a fucking bundle. Jesus Christ. A pet rat. Oh shit. My train.” And then he ran to the train and he banged on the door, which was closed, and the train started to go away and he said, “Fuck.”

And the lady said, “Are you OK?” and she touched my arm so I screamed again.

And she said, “OK. OK. OK.”

And there was a sticker on her guitar case and it said:

And I was sitting on the ground and the woman knelt down on one knee and she said, “Is there anything I can do to help you?”