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WOLF TALE / BUDDHA
The Buddha Said
Fourteen Vignettes
“It’s desire,” she said. “The Buddha said.”
“What about it?”
“That keeps us chained.”
“What do you mean, desire? What kind?”
“All kinds. What you crave. You know, food, sex, fame, money, ski equipment.”
“But you like sex.”
“I’m not unchained,” she said.
“Who would want to be?” he asked, and smiled.
She didn’t answer. Instead, she reached across him for her sweater, which she began to crawl into. He watched her maneuver and reached for one of her softly swaying breasts. She slapped his hand and bounced off the high, creaky bed.
“I, for one,” she said.
“You for one, what?”
“Would like to be unchained.”
“The Buddha said?”
“Yes, the Buddha said.”
He faced the back of the bus. He watched the young couple. Since there was no place for them to sit, they were both standing. Not that they minded. She wore a thick down jacket, a Bogner perhaps, or a Kitzbuhel, something like that, zipped all the way up. The boy held her shoulders with his gloved hands, pulling her to him, pushing her…
