Part 21.
Dada began to go hunting with Zeki more and more often.
She wasn't much of a hunter, but she kept Zeki company. She seemed to gain a
little bit of joy, and her life had been given some meaning, but she no longer
rejoiced as she once had. Now, the weapon had become her inseparable friend;
she even walked around the yard with a gun in her hand. The girl who once
fluttered like a butterfly now had a boyish appearance.
The Padrone watched her seriously; he longed to know what
the girl was truly planning, but he could learn nothing from either her or
Zeki. Therefore, he decided to search Dada's room secretly. He knew this was
not an honorable thing to do, but in this situation, he had no other choice.
Before it was too late, and before the confused girl committed some fatal
mistake, it was better to learn in time what was happening to her and, in
general, what was happening in his family.
The Padrone chose an opportune moment, and when Dada had
gone hunting with Zeki, he secretly began to search her room. He examined
everything carefully, picking up every object one by one, turning it around in
every direction, and then returning it to its place so that Dada would notice
nothing upon her return. He looked at everything, not leaving even the simplest
detail unattended. He searched for a long time, rummaged through every nook and
cranny, but found nothing suspicious.
Coming out of the room, he leaned his back against the
door and closed his eyes. A thousand different thoughts flashed through his
head. He didn't know what to do. Suddenly, the gardener's first visit to the
gallery surfaced in his memory, and he hurried toward the gallery.
As soon as he entered, the smell of dust hit him. It was
clear that Dada did not come here, he knew that anyway, but some force had
compelled him to enter now. The whole room was covered in dust. In the corners,
a pile of paintings was heaped on top of one another. The palette was covered
with a thick layer of dust, and there was nothing suspicious or tangible here
either. The items left behind by Dada seemed to look at the Padrone with
sadness.
Dada’s palette...
Once her favorite, and now silent, piano...
Dada’s library... the books looking on sorrowfully... and
how diligently she used to collect the books, and she would not let anyone
bring them to her...
The Padrone went along the shelves and started examining
the books. Who knows, he too, like Dada, had read them how many times.
He would smile when he read the title of a familiar
author or book. Then, one rather thick book caught his interest because he
could not see any inscription on it. "I wonder which book this is,"
he thought and moved closer. Just as he reached out his hand to take the book
down, he noticed that there was absolutely no dust on the edge of the shelf,
right in this spot. It was as if it had been left clean on purpose, while a
strip of dust ran along the rest of the shelf edge.
The Padrone was now even more interested and carefully
took down the rather large, thick, leather-bound book, which had nothing
written on its side or top.
With a pounding heart, the Padrone opened the book and on
the first page, he came across a handwritten note by Dada:
"A gift."
The next page began like this:
"My unusual gift to my unusual friend."
Instead of a book, the astonished Padrone found himself
holding Dada’s diary.
LEX. Tuesday, March 8, 2016.
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