The sudden, powerful voice startled Dada, and she hid even deeper into the hill. With a confused and smiling face, she darted her eyes about restlessly. She was flustered, no longer knowing whether to reveal herself or to slip away quietly. The Gardener laughed aloud, dove back into the water, and made no further attempt to talk to the startled girl. Dada left the area silently. She did not even come out of the house for the rest of the day. She had already accumulated countless sketches. Hummed a tune to herself, she examined her works, arranging them on the floor with a satisfied look. Dada was happy; she pored over the drawings spread out on the floor, rearranging them in a thousand different ways.
From that day on, she did not dare to go up to the waterfall, and it was as if she were no longer interested in secretly watching the swimming Gardener. Soon, the weather changed as well, and it was no longer swimming season. It was quite cold; Dada rarely went down to the garden and did not even appear in the courtyard anymore.
One day, she finally overcame her shyness and stepped out into the courtyard, beginning to follow the Gardener quite boldly. Wherever she caught a glimpse of him—crouched down or lost in his work—she would sketch him in her album right there. But the Gardener, as if on purpose, would pull his hat down even further over his nose, leaving neither his face nor his eyes visible. As for his attire, it was impossible to tell if it was actual clothing or some shapeless garment cobbled together from empty sacks. It was a bit strange; for some reason, all the other servants on the estate were dressed much more neatly and elegantly than the Gardener. The Gardener himself wore pants that were excessively wide and baggy, not even reaching his ankles. Instead of a belt, he had a rope tied around his waist, and he wore a jacket that was equally wide but too short; behind such attire, his athletic body remained increasingly hidden.
Dada gave the Gardener no peace, hovering around him constantly. Then, she climbed onto a high wooden stump, stretched her neck, and tried to sketch the Gardener bustling in the garden from there. Suddenly, she spotted a familiar car coming down the road toward their house. Dada was not pleased; she pointed her finger toward the road and exclaimed several times:
- Go! Go!
Just then, a voice came from behind her:
- Yes, sir?
But Dada didn't even pay attention. She kept pointing her finger and repeating the same thing.
The Padrone headed toward Dada. He couldn't understand what had agitated the girl so much. The Gardener blocked the path to the girl, stood in front of the Padrone, and bowed in greeting, addressing the man directly:
- Yes, sir?
He likely thought that what Dada could not make him understand, the Padrone would grasp and explain to him instead.
- What is your name? - The Padrone asked.
- My name is Ugo, sir. - The Gardener bowed even lower and waited for the next question without even lifting his head.
- I see... - The Padrone muttered, thinking to himself that perhaps Dada had been calling the gardener Ugo.
Dada, however, paid them no attention. She watched the car, now approaching the courtyard, with a sullen, furrowed brow, not even realizing that through her peculiar reaction, she was accidentally calling the Gardener by name. The servants opened the door for the car that rolled into the yard, and a long-time acquaintance of the Padrone stepped out. The host was already hurrying toward him, failing to notice Dada's reaction at all.
Dada had disliked this man since childhood; his eyes would often stare so stubbornly that the girl could not meet his gaze for fear, as if this man wanted to read something in the frightened child's eyes. There was something behind this man, something terrible, which was called "scary," but what was this fear? Dada only felt this fear and was dreadfully displeased by his visits. As soon as this man appeared, they would lock themselves in the Padrone's study and spend hours sipping only half a bottle of cognac. No one knew what happened or what they talked about; even Zeki was forbidden from entering the Padrone's study at that time.
The guest always greeted Dada warmly, even bringing her sweets, but his appearance still filled her with dread. As soon as she saw him step out of the car, she jumped off the stump, hid behind the Gardener’s back, and began to watch from there. The guest and the Padrone greeted each other, and the man glanced toward Dada. Dada scowled, thinking, "He noticed me, I didn't hide well enough," but she still peeked out from behind the Gardener’s back just a little. She had no intention of greeting him; she was only waiting for the guest to go inside the house. Suddenly, to her surprise and the Padrone's notice, it seemed to Dada that the guest and the Gardener had exchanged a secret signal... Or perhaps... Perhaps it really was just her imagination...
LEX · Wednesday, February 3, 2016
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