The Padrone tried to cheer Dada up somehow. Several weeks had already passed, but Dada had still lost all sense of joy and happiness. She remained huddled up on her own, barely touching her food. She no longer wanted to paint, nor did she care to walk in the garden. Everyone was astonished; no one had ever seen Dada have such a powerful reaction, and this incident left the Padrone lost even deeper in thought.
"What if Dada witnessed everything?
Saw with her own eyes how they slaughtered her family...
What if... just maybe..."
And the most tragic part was that Zeki was thinking the exact same thing. What if Dada's very existence posed a threat to them, and?..
No, though... if the Padrone gave the word, Zeki would slit her throat in an instant without blinking an eye, but...
Zeki walked around scowling. Sometimes he would even growl at the Padrone, but the Padrone would urge him to keep his calm. Zeki observed the gardener closely as well, but he couldn't recognize a rival in him; yet, there was something about this man that he disliked, though he couldn't explain what it was, even to himself.
As for the gardener, he had almost no contact with anyone; rarely would they hear his low, muffled voice. Even if they forgot to give him his daily ration, he wouldn't say a word or bother anyone, meekly going to sleep without dinner. More than a year had passed since he started working there, yet still, no one knew who he was or where he had come from. He never shared anything about himself. Even when asked questions, he would fend them off with the shortest answers possible and try to leave quickly, so that they wouldn't ask him another. No one paid any attention to the gardener's behavior and conduct. "He’s a poor man," they would say, and they even felt sorry for him. They replaced his ragged, tattered clothes with some secondhand garments. The gardener was content with his new life and spent his entire days working diligently in the garden.
The Padrone decided to dedicate the weekend entirely to Dada and suggested a stroll around the city. Although Dada did not particularly like the city, she still did not refuse.
The noise and bustle of the city irritated Dada terribly, but entering an art supply store and purchasing new brushes, paints, and other items brought her great joy; afterwards, the sweet shop completely turned her mood around. Dada could eat chocolate endlessly and without limit, but the doctor had prescribed a daily dose, and she already regulated this herself, never asking for more.
What interested Dada the least was the clothing store. She didn't think at all about dressing even a bit more femininely. Her peers had long since married and even managed to have children, yet Dada still remained that same little girl, as if she couldn't bear to let go of her childhood. As they entered the courtyard, the servants came out to meet them, took their purchases, and rushed them to Dada's room. Dada was in no hurry to go inside the house; she looked around her garden as if she were searching for someone.
In the distance, beneath a large old tree in the corner of the garden, she caught sight of the gardener sitting there, and her breath caught in her throat. She was seized by euphoria, no longer knowing whether to go toward the gardener or continue her way to the house.
The Padrone understood instantly. He linked his arm through hers and led her toward the gardener.
The gardener sat in the shade of the tree, whittling small wooden stakes and gathering the shavings in his lap so they wouldn't scatter on the ground. Upon seeing them, he gathered his lap with his hand and was about to stand up, but the Padrone stopped him, gesturing with his hand to remain seated. The still-unhealed scar was starkly visible on his face.
The line, narrowly missing his eye, ran across his cheek, splitting the edge of his nose, and both his upper and lower lips. Even his overgrown beard could not conceal the wound.
Dada looked at him with pity and desperately wanted to apologize to him, glancing now at the Padrone, now at the gardener. Then, she suddenly had an idea; she opened her bag, pulled out a pack of her favorite chocolate candies, and dropped it into the gardener's lap.
The gardener was bewildered. But the Padrone beat him to it, so that he wouldn't refuse:
- Take it, eat it, show her how much you like it!
This sounded almost like a command, so the gardener obeyed. He opened one piece; even if he hadn't liked it, he would still have had to say how delicious it was, yet he truly tasted something exquisite, and it showed on his face. He smiled at Dada and said in a low voice:
- I have never tasted anything so delicious in my entire life...
Dada was over the moon with joy.
As for the Padrone, he told her:
- See, what did I tell you? He liked it and he is happy. Now, let’s get back to our business, because you know that neither we nor anyone else stays idle here; everyone has their own work to do!
Dada smiled at the gardener once more and, along with the Padrone, headed back toward the house.
LEX · Sunday, January 31, 2016
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