I regretted having asked him to refer to me in that way.
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The Man in My Basement
It was a show of respect, but not to me. I was Charles, son 1
of Mr. Blakey.
2
“Not angry,” I said. “It’s just . . . just this whole thing is 3
weird.”
4
“What?” Anniston Bennet asked, sitting back in his 5
chair behind metal bars as if he were in his den in Green-6
wich.
7
“You,” I said, “in this cell under lock and key, with me 8
like some kinda warden and butler all rolled up into one.”
9
Bennet smiled.
10
“Have you ever read the
11
“A long time ago,” I lied. “I’m not so good on a lotta 12
details though.”
13
“All throughout history there have been men who have 14
isolated themselves from the world,” he said. “They go to 15
mountaintops or sit in meditation for months at a time.
16
They flagellate themselves and refrain from having sex or 17
masturbation. That’s mostly what I’m doing here.”
18
“But you said that you’re a criminal paying for his 19
crimes,” I pointed out.
20
Anniston Bennet smiled and hunched his shoulders as 21
if to say,
22
“Many ancient belief systems are based on the concept 23
of sin, my friend,” he said. “The Hindus accept as truth 24
that they are answering for crimes committed in previous 25
lives. The Hebrews and Christians are answering for the 26
sins of their long-ago ancestors.”
S 27
“But that’s not you, is it?”
R 28
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Walter Mosley
1
