We were scared for nothing. It wasn’t the rainy season after all. In the end, the cursed rain stopped.
“Achoo!”
“Bless you, Tiberiu!”
“Thanks! Damn cold!”
The clouds dispersed, but left us feeling chilled and cold behind them. I sneeze vigorously and feel miserable when I think that everything is ruined and we’ll have to rebuild the entire fishing industry of the island from scratch.
But first, the urgencies: I help Eva set up another shade structure. This time, we work side by side; no one is the master of anyone anymore.
The girl sees that I’m not in the mood for conversation and works quietly too. As short as she is, she has as much energy in her small arms.
In the afternoon, I manage to take a nap and wake up feeling slightly better.
Eva gathers shells, sorts them, and tries to recreate all the pieces of our chess game.
“Don’t bother, it’s pointless!” I tell her. “I don’t play anymore anyway. Not with you.”
“Why?” she asks, smiling.
“I’m a good chess player, but you beat me every time. Either you’re a genius chess player, or you turn me into an idiot in your presence.”
She laughs. It’s nice when she does. She should laugh more often.
“I’ve been playing chess since I was 6,” she confesses. “I’m good. I’ve played quite often, especially online. My paternal grandfather taught me. After my parents’ death, he took care of me.”
In the evening, I make some more fuss, but I let myself be convinced to play. The sun sets, and it’s hard for us to distinguish the pieces. The sky behind the girl is colored in a bright red. I show her that purple wonder.
“Have you ever seen anything so beautiful?” I say, enchanted.
The girl turns her head towards the sunset and responds indifferently:
“Yes, I have. Two years ago, in Kauai. It was just as beautiful, maybe even more beautiful.”
“Where is that?”
“Kauai? It’s an island,” she explains. “In Hawaii. Now you’re going to ask me where Hawaii is?”
“Oh, forget it. I know exactly where Hawaii is. It’s in the Pacific. So it’s not the first time you’ve seen the Pacific?”
“Of course not. I’ve traveled to many places. In the last three years, I’ve been away from Germany most of the time. But it was worth it! Basically, I’ve seen almost everything.”
“This ‘of course not’ annoys me. It seems to me that this young lady is a bit arrogant. Yes, she’s a bit stuck-up. Saying ‘of course not.’ Hmm! Alright, Eva. So, if I haven’t traveled the world, am I… abnormal or what?”
“You’re exaggerating, dear,” I respond grumpily. “You couldn’t have seen everything. Look at her, how boastful…”
“I didn’t mean it that way,” she smiles. “I have visited some of the most beautiful places in the world. But to see them thoroughly, you’re right, it would take a lifetime.”
“Have you been to… let’s see, let me catch you now… India?”
“I’ve been to India, of course. It happened last year, in May. India is too big a country to visit entirely. But I was lucky because I visited it for the second time. Last time I was impressed by Pangong Lake and Gujarat. On my first visit, Sandakphu and Maharashtra stuck with me. Does that ring a bell?”
“Nope. What did you look for in India? Did you search for… yourself? Was it a spiritual journey?”
“I went out of curiosity. Actually, I was just passing through. I was traveling from Oman and heading to Myanmar.”
“What a thing! ‘Oh, I was just passing through…’ You’ve led a nomadic life, miss.”
“What’s with you?”
“Nothing. Have you seen the Egyptian pyramids?”
“Oh, yes, I’ve seen them. I spent almost three weeks in Egypt. It would have been worth staying longer for the Valley of the Kings and the Nile. There’s so much history there that you feel… absorbed by the past. When you touch those columns and stones with your fingers, you almost feel the breath of dozens of pharaohs, hear the sounds of battle chariots, and feel the toil of the fellahin. Yes, that’s the feeling. And you should know that I’ve also visited the Aztec pyramids. Not all of them, just two. Anyway… that’s another story and another continent.”
She’s starting to annoy me. By my word, she’s annoying me. She’s doing it on purpose.
“Spain?” I add.
“Yes. Out of all Spain, I love Palma de Mallorca the most. Don’t ask me about the old continent. I’ve been almost everywhere in Europe. What country are you from? I can’t quite place your accent.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“I’ll tell you later. But Russia? Have you visited Russia?”
“I’ve been to Russia, Mongolia, and China.”
“I’ve been to China too,” I quickly interject. “It’s a rather gloomy country. At least Shanghai.”
“Are you kidding?” Eva laughs. “China is beautiful. I must confess, I didn’t particularly like Russia. I don’t know why, but Russia felt very foreign to me. But in China, I’ve been to many places, and I assure you it’s fascinating, and the people are warm, friendly. I spent a month just there, but I regret not staying longer. Maybe another time.”
“You’re left to tell me you’ve been to Antarctica.”
“No, I haven’t been there,” Eva laughs. “You caught me! And not in Australia either.”
“I suspected you haven’t been everywhere. It was impossible.”
“Well, as it turns out,” she says with a sarcastic tone, “I haven’t been to Antarctica, but I’ve been to Alaska. I think it’s as cold there as in Antarctica. After all, it’s still in the Polar Circle area. What do you say? Does it count?”
“So you’ve seen both Americas.”
“And the Americas, and Japan, and Tahiti. Generally, I’ve tried to avoid countries with cold climates and traveled more to those with lots of sun. I love the sun.”
“When did you have time to travel so much? You’re young.”
“In recent years, I’ve traveled around the world. At home, in Germany, we don’t get much sun, and that’s not pleasant.”
“I understand perfectly. But, of all the places and countries you’ve been to, which is the most beautiful and dearest place? Where would you like to settle down and live?”
“In my beloved Marburg, of course. At home, in Germany.”
“Well, but… you said you don’t get much sun there, in Germany.”
“It doesn’t matter. Germany is dearest to me, and Marburg is dearest to me. Just like, surely, it’s dearest for you to be home.”
I frown.
“No, not really.”
“You’re thinking,” she says, looking at me carefully. “Where have you been, secretive? Tell me! You also like to travel and see new places and people, don’t you?”
“I do, of course. I’ve been to Thailand.”
Eva laughs heartily.
“Of course you’ve been to Thailand. We both took off from Phuket, remember? But besides Thailand?”
“I haven’t been anywhere else. Until a month ago, I had never left my country, and to be more honest, I had never left the city where I was born.”
“Are you serious?” she asks, looking at me intently.
“Why are you surprised? I was born, raised, always lived in the same city. All my life. Until recently, I thought I’d die there. Anyway…”
“You’re joking?”
“But don’t look at me like a circus oddity! What’s with you? You’ve never met anyone who hasn’t left the city they were born in?”
“I confess I haven’t,” she says calmly. “It’s the first time I’ve seen such a case. You’re rare.”
“Come on, Eva, stop it! There are millions and millions of people who live their lives like this.”
I shouldn’t have let the conversation go this far. I’m kind of annoyed that I spilled my guts like that. What did I have to gain? It’s like a chasm opened between us.
“Why are you silent?” Eva asks.
“No reason. I was thinking. I was wondering if you might be rich. That would explain all your travels. I, for one, am not rich. It takes a lot of money to wander around, follow your heart’s desires. I envy you a little. Anyone would like to travel… it’s nice that you can do whatever you want, go wherever you want. You’re rich, aren’t you?”
Eva looks surprised.
“Rich? It depends. What do you understand by being rich, Tiberiu? From what amount upwards can you consider people rich?”
“I don’t know. You tell me.”
She shrugs.
“Well, I’m not complaining. I admit, I have enough money to travel a lot and well from now on, if I feel like it. If I want that.”
“Enough not to ever worry about bills?”
“Of course!”
“And enough not to ever have to work?”
“I do work, but only when I feel like it. But I don’t have a boss or anything like that. I work just for myself and only because I enjoy what I do.”
“Bravo! And… Not that I care, but how much money do you have?”
“Look at you,” she exclaims. “You’re asking me how much money I have? Like… in my bank account?”
“Yeah.”
“I think this is the weirdest… not weird, it’s the most shameless question anyone has ever asked me,” she says, annoyed.
“Why shameless? I ask a direct and honest question. For example, I sold my apartment for sixty-one thousand dollars. That’s how I earned about 400 days of vacation in Thailand. On the other hand, you say you have no problems with bills and that you only work if you feel like it. That made me ask. Curiosity. Maybe your parents were rich. Or maybe…”
“Maybe what?”
“Nothing. A stupid thought.”
“Tell me.”
“I wondered if you and Dr. Baumgartner were…”
Eva purses her lips until they become a thin white line. Now her lips don’t seem so attractive.
“If we were together, you mean?” she murmurs.
“Yes. Were you? When I first saw you, side by side, I had the impression you were a couple. You seemed quite close. However, later, I thought it might be possible that he was your father. But you told me your father is dead, so that option falls through.”
The girl looks at me with pity.
“We weren’t together,” she says, shrugging. “Just traveling together. I met him two weeks ago in the bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey. After that, we both used the services of the same travel agency. I recommended the agency to him.”
“The travel agency where Jean-Louis worked? What’s the name of the agency?”
“‘Journeys to Paradise.'”
“Very inspired name,” I grumble. “A damn inspired one. It almost came true. Anyway… Now I understand why you were together, you and the doctor. Sorry. I don’t know what got into me to ask you something like that. It’s none of my business.”
“Did you think I was with Dr. Baumgartner for his money?” she asks, half amused, half irritated.
“Yes. After all, what’s the big deal if you were with him? You’re a free person. Were you or weren’t you his girlfriend?” I ask suddenly and smile at her.
“You’re a real piece of shit! You think?”
“But why are you getting so angry? It’s just a discussion.”
Eva suddenly stands up.
“You’re a despicable individual!” she says. “You’re a… a…”
“A what?”
“An idiot. I’m disgusted by people like you who imagine that a girl can only have money if she inherited it or if she sleeps with a rich old man. You disgust me!”
“I know. Sorry.”
“I think your brain has been washed from too much masturbating. Ease up!”
“Eva!” I shout in indignation. “That’s below the belt.”
“That’s exactly your problem!” she screams. “Below the belt! That’s where it all comes from!”
She kicks the sand and walks away. Then she comes back and sits in front of me again. She has a look of a cornered snake.
“One million and two hundred thousand!” she shouts very close to my face.
“Dollars?”
“Euros, you moron! So, yes, I am rich. Come on, say something now, you miserable jerk! I got you, didn’t I?”
“Oh, yes!” I snap back at her. “You got me. What should I tell you? Look, I fell on my back!”
“I think that’s the approximate figure,” she continues. “And you know what? I didn’t get them as a gift from anyone, and I didn’t earn them with my ass. I worked for them and made them myself.”
“Show-off!”
“Shameless!”
I start to laugh. The girl walks away furious. After a few dozen steps, she stops again, turns back to me once more, puts her hands to her mouth like a megaphone, and shouts:
“I was wrong! I forgot about the interest. I think it’s one million and a half! Come on, laugh now!”
NEXT