The Far Side of Breathing

By Ulf Wolf

After much haggling and some give and take (the give mainly—actually, I'd go so far as to say exclusively—provided by God), He finally relented: "All right, all right," He said (twice—so four "all rights" in toto), all right (a fifth) we could leave if we wanted, if we really wanted. He sighed as he said this.

This is how:

Breathe out.

For a full comfortable and thoughtless (as in no thoughts at all, not even a micro-one) sixty seconds do not breath in.

Then do.

Then, slowly expel this new air while intending, wholeheartedly, to let go.

If done right, you will hear a soft, well-oiled click (that's the invisible lock) and perhaps some creaking (old, rarely used, not well-oiled hinges) and the door will swing open and you can step through and out.

"What happens to the body?" we asked.

"It'll stay where it is. We'll set up cleaning crews to collect and dispose."

"Deal," we said.

How did it come to this? ...

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ulf Wolf
• Release date: May 18, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463403679

Ulf Wolf

Ulf is a Swedish name that once meant Wolf. So, yes, Wolf Wolf, that's me. I was born Ulf Ronnquist one snowy night in late October, in one of those northern Swedish towns that are little more than a clearing in the forest. Fast forward through twenty Swedish years, ten or so English ones, and another twenty-four in the US and you'll find me in front of an immigrations officer conducting the final citizenship interview, at the end of which he asks me, "What name would you like on your passport?" And here I recall what a friend had told me, that you can pick just about any name you want at this point, and I heard me say "Ulf Wolf." That's how it happened. Scout's honor. Of course, I had been using Ulf Wolf as a pen name for some time before this interview, but I hadn't really planned to adopt that as my official U.S. name. But I did. I have written stories all my life. Initially in Swedish, but for the last twenty or so years in English. To date I have written six novels, four novellas and two scores of stories; along with many songs and poems. My writing focus these days is on life's important questions (in my view): Who are we? What are we doing here? And how do we break out of this prison?

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