Excerpt:

I go to my room and read the book I have borrowed from the library about lie detection. I read that in ancient China, people suspected of lying were asked to spit out a portion of rice, and that dry rice indicated the dry mouth of a liar. I wonder if I might ever have an opportunity to use this trick. I make a note of this in the exercise book I keep hidden under my mattress.

This exercise book is called Koob of Seil (Book of Lies spelled backwards) and in it I have begun to record the lies I detect. I have three headings: Major Lies (Rojam Seil) and Minor Lies (Ronim Seil) and White Lies (Etihw Seil). But white lies backwards isn’t a good word, so I’ve changed white lies to Etuh Seil).

I hide the Koob of Seil under my mattress, and as an extra precaution I also use code names for my family: Mother is Romtha, Father is Hafta, Grandmother is Mogra, Uncle Tony is Tolac, and Uncle Jack is Jatal. Although there are no entries for her yet, Aunty Evelyn is Lonev, and there’s a page with her name, Lonev, as a heading waiting for the lies she will tell.

I have made entries for the lies people tell on the television (especially on the six o’clock news) and although I have more trouble detecting these lies—because the signs are fainter—I can still tell. I’ve noticed that when people are uncomfortable (as they usually are when they are deceiving somebody) they often reach for something, or touch something nearby: a cup, a book, or the collar of their shirt. I call this reaching for comfort and reaching for distraction. I have also written in the Koob about the way that my physical symptoms are decreasing.

Copyright © 2005 by M.J. Hyland. Reprinted with permission from Grove Atlantic, Inc. All rights reserved.