Pablo Chapter 2 | The arrival
Translation to English: Theofilos Tourzaridis
Editing and Proofreading: Cleopatra Strati
Illustration: ancalove2001
Pablo, not knowing where to go, entered the village cafe. Everybody was talking about the stranger; everybody stopped at once. He looked quizzically at the elders who were drinking their coffee after Church. He carefully placed the square suitcase he was holding as if it were something valuable on the floor. He ordered a Greek coffee. After a few seconds of silence, the villagers continue to chat again about anything and everything, about the wood, about the train that is stopped at the station.
“Trains have evolved, I tell you…”.
“Such a new train has never come to our village!”
“That’s good for us. Let the trains come to our village to load them!! Now my son loads the train!”
“Your son is a strong boy, one of the strongest youths!!!”
Pablo listens to the conversations while rubbing his hands over the gloves. It’s not that cold, but he’s not going to take them off. A man put the coffee on the table and Pablo takes a sip. Hot and bitter, that’s the combination he prefers. More refreshed, he asks the coffee-shop owner where he can find a room to leave his things and sleep. His voice was deep and emotionless. His black eyes nail other people. The owner tells him about Martha’s inn, “here, next to me”, as he gestures with his right hand. Pablo nods. He leaves a coin on the table, before getting up and walking away.
~~~~~
Martha prepares her lunch while listening to the radio. She enjoyed singing as she is waiting for the food to be cooked. Today’s meal is rich. Traditional noodles with homemade cheese on top. There is a knock on the door, but Martha doesn’t seem to hear. The entrance bell rings, but she is singing the refrain of the song. The kitchen is behind the reception and the smell of homemade food could bring into life even the dead.
Pablo walks into the kitchen where Martha is cutting a tomato for a salad with her back turned. He glances around the room and at the open door to the side of it. It is the door that leads to her living room, and further into her bedroom. Her living room is modest with an old fireplace at the one end of it, an armchair, and a small television set. In the kitchen, there is a bunch of cupboards, full of food for the winter that she collected during the summer. As Pablo approached the inn, he noticed with a glimpse of his eye, a cow and some chickens grazing on the side of the building. Martha seems to run the inn by herself, with no sign of a husband around. He remembered that in the coffee shop the owner didn’t mention anything about a husband, only Martha, only her. He clears his throat to hear him. Martha turns to him agitated.
“I knocked on the door but…”
“No, no, it’s not your fault, sir, I didn’t hear you coming.”
Martha recognizes the stranger from the train, and a shiver runs down her spine. She had to expect him. Where would he go anyway? Martha was the owner of the only inn open in the village. She smiles kindly and leads him to the reception counter.
She grabs a pencil and the guestbook, which looks older than herself. “A name, please?”
“Pablo”.
“Your family name, please;” she asks with a quiver in her voice.
“Just Pablo,” he replies sternly.
Martha gets more agitated; she bites her lip to cover her shivering. “How long will you be staying, Mr. Pablo?”
“As long as it takes”.
“So, you must be here for business?”
“You may put it that way.”
Martha doesn’t know what else to say, as her strange visitor isn’t so talkative. He seems a distant man. She tells him about a deposit, and he agrees. She takes the key room and they go upstairs to the first floor. She opens the first door on the right and leads him into a small room with a window – enough to let light in – and a single bed on one side of the room. She informs him that “the lunch will be ready in a while”; so he could get down to eat. Pablo thanks her. Martha closes the door behind her as she makes the sign of the cross.
Pablo wastes no time. He must communicate with his boss, the Beast. He must speak to him and receive instructions. He closes the curtain. The room darkens. He opens his suitcase, he takes out four large candles and places them in the four corners of the room. He sits in the center of it. The Beast is anxious to find out what Pablo saw. They must figure out how to complete their plan. Nothing will stand in the way of his revenge. Pablo recites the call in a deep voice, calling his master’s name. His eyes darken. He feels the shape of the Beast in front of him.
“Everything is ready…”.
“Good… Go ahead…”.
“They have to trust me first…”.
“Pablo, you have to do the job as quickly as possible, without any more delays. I have an agreement with … the Other Side…”. Beast’s voice sounded eerie and stern. The order was clear.
“Master, give me some time, and I will do exactly as you say.”
“Pablo, don’t let me down…” the Beast says as his voice fades out along with the candles.
