i picked up the handkerchief , and as i held it in my hand , the images of recent occurrences came flashing through my mind the skulls on the two plastic bottles , the fixed grin of the obliging saleswoman , the red numbers , the gypsy child in diapers , the delicate skin of nomis thighs at first i was unable to comprehend how all these occurrences were connected , as if for some reason i lacked the ability to observe the picture as a whole .