The Red Box

by Laura Sgarella

  “I’m just happy to be here with you. Do you think I have to undergo another pregnancy test now?”

  “I think it is too early. Just wait for the destiny to bless us.”

  Jill was idle. She had an idle curiosity about what would happen next. They were soon to be plunged into the darkness. The joy of the moment was likely to last endlessly. They were elated together like they have never been in their life. The coming of a baby was a dream soon to be fulfilled. Araon shut the door of the sitting room and waited for gestures of love to come spontaneously. And everything happened as they had hoped in a childish way.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Albert and Sylvanus went to their country farmhouse early on Sunday morning. It was a long time since they had been there. They looked like dark eagles with their eyes fixed everywhere. They were like small children at their first experience of shoplifting. In fact, their furtive glance was what needed at the moment. The first thing they did was to check if the hens had given their fruit. To their surprise there were some eggs all dirty but apparently lovely. “They are good for a fresh eggnog,” said Albert with enthusiasm.

  “Definitely we are not going to kill them,” answered Sylvanus with a sardonic smile. He collected them from the ground and placed them into an appropriate bag ready to be taken home. It was their duty to be concerned with all the products of the farm which would grant them extra money. But it was not their will to consider all the products of their farm as merchandise. After that fresh start they decided to enjoy themselves a bit and they went to the ping-pong table. It was a raw game that they used to undertake every now and then. But it didn’t last long as busy as they were to have a glance at the house. They went to the toilet where they kept acid of any kind. In particular muriatic and hydrochloric acid. They were tidily kept on the shelves over the bathtub. This didn’t serve a real purpose. It was Sylvanus’ idea to disperse with the dead rats in order to make their stink vanish.

  “Do you think we have to get rid of all these chemicals?” said Sylvanus with a concerned expression.

  “Not at all. Even if we have bought them in the black market their usage is not forbidden for personal purposes. After all, we do not know where to jettison them.”

  “You should act without being seen, but let’s have a look at the backed clay of the bathtub. It seems to be corroding itself. If I am not wrong even the tubes of the acids are not in the appropriate place, we have left them the last time we came here. Do you think somebody came and manipulated our acids?” said Albert turning grey in his expression.

  “You are going too far with your imagination. How do you think a person can climb the gate and the walls with barbed wire? How can we be so sure about the disposal of the acid we did the last time we came here?” said Sylvanus with a condescending smile.

  “You are in the right. I worry too much. By the way, take the home-made pasta and make it ready for our lunch. Now let’s go in search of the cats. I’m sure the pets have done their part properly,” said Albert calmly.

  “Look: everything seems to be in a mess. We have to make sure that everything is nice and tidy before we leave. But what is that bad expression? You are too vulnerable. Let me guess: you are still in love with that doll we see frequently at our shop. Am I right?” said Sylvanus worried.

  “Yes, you are right. When you left the shop for a moment last week she came and bought a sausage. Her eyes were icy. Maybe she doesn’t like me with that uniform.”

  “Are you sure she hasn’t got another man?”

  “I have searched everywhere for information about her and it came out she hasn’t got a man. Yes, there is no man in her life.”

  “But are you sure you want an engagement with her? Maybe a marriage afterwards. And you’ll make a baby like Araon and Jill are desperately doing now.”

  “You are right, I have sought marriage so desperately. I cannot imagine myself as a married man. Let’s talk about something else. I need to have a look at the envelope on the table.”

  A garbage tax document was laying on the table. “Eight hundred euros, isn’t it? It’s even higher than the one of our flat in the city. What can I do now? I was saving money to buy a necklace for the object of my love. But what is this envelope doing here?”

  “I confess I came here last night and I saw it. I placed it on the table knowing that we would come here today just because I hadn’t the courage to tell you about it. You were fast asleep and it took me a long time to come here and do everything I am telling you about it now. It was me who displaced the acid on the toilet. But you let me know: you want to buy a necklace to your baby now? She will consider it a vulgarity and not nice at all,” said Sylvanus.

  “I’m not sure. Maybe is a good thing to let destiny choose for us. I’m so in love with her to believe I’ll go absolutely crazy. There are things of which I haven’t told you recently. I feel somebody is spying upon me. I walk in the street, I can guess some shadows are behind me but when I turn around I see nobody. I think I ‘m affected by manic syndrome,” said Albert.

  “Manic syndrome? It has nothing to do with what happens to you. You are simply a bit distressed and worried about how things are going right now. You absolutely want a genuine, fulfilling love story with the girl. We have decided to work as butchers in order to have more freedom. We have the example of Araon and Jill who have worked as jewelers but they left the job to become independent workers. Jill was not so good as an assistant and the money was not so good as well. On the contrary to them our income is enough to satisfy our needs and vices. For example, I have the vice of gluttony and to see all that meat everyday makes me feel ecstatic.,” said Sylvanus.

  “You speak nicely. But you haven’t told me the reason why you came here last night. What were you going to do?” said Albert.

  “Nothing special. I simply wanted to avoid useless scaremongering for the garbage taxes. Oh my God! We have forgotten our home-made pasta in the oven. I think we cannot eat it any more now.”

  “Let me have a look. It’s not edible any longer. We will have a big dinner tonight. Just let me have a look at the rest of the place. Last night I hadn’t overlooked it all. I know officers are coming to visit each farmhouse just to make sure that everything is OK under the law. Hopefully we always abide by the law.”

  The two guys checked everything properly and realized they had been squandering a lot of money recently. They made everything tidy again and prepared themselves to go back home. A roaring jeep made its way to Amsterdam very quickly. It was a long time since the two friends hadn’t gone to their country farmhouse. They were happy to have avoided any sign of improper behaviour. Their concern for every sort of irregularity had done its way by now. They were speechless and half-shocked..

  Araon was in constant search of ruined houses. He had gone up and down old Amsterdam before he could find the house of his dreams. He entered it through the drenched doorstep and found a world full of wonders to his very eyes. He ferreted everywhere in the big room where he saw broken condoms with some blood inside, cigarette stubs, crumbled chocolate and a bottle of purified water from the fawcett. It was clearly the sign that some homeless had used the place to spend a night in perfect quiet now that the weather was warmer. Araon knew very well the laws of the government as regards to those unlucky people. It wanted to make a clean sweep of those unorganized beggars and give them the opportunity to recover in the proper welcome centers. The mess of the room was disorientating. It didn’t tell a lot about who spent all that time over there. He went closer to the central furniture where he found a photograph of Mark, the riding school instructor and a notebook from the previous day with a fishy exuberance: I don’t like women menses, it said. I hate its stink. Going around the place he entered the room nearby and found some washed clothes hanging out. He went out, picked the piece of broken condom and after having observed it carefully he concluded that the blood must have the one of a cut finger and not necessarily of woman menses. Mark had probably simulated sexua
l intercourse to persuade the police not to take the abandoned houses away from the homeless. Araon was bewildered by the place. He had the urge to be sick three times and when he entered the toilet, he was overwhelmed by the odour of ammonia in the water.

  He went rummaging further in the house and found a stripped bed with very dirty pillows on it. It was not definitely a realm of wellbeing. Out of the window he could admire the landscape of Old Amsterdam. The house could easily be the point of gathering of people who were in need of a certain privacy. It needed an intervention from outside in defense of a deep sense of public morality. He thought that from it came the considering the demolition of those sacred places. Araon was full to the brim with virtue to get such a conclusion. He took his hand from his pocket to have a look at his wristwatch to realize it was time to leave the place to be back home on time at twelve p.m. He went to catch the tube at Waterlooplein and have a tour of the city. In order to meditate upon what he had seen earlier. For a minute he had the glam sensation that Mark the homeless could be another witness of the Van Gogh Museum mystery. Hopefully this was just a frame of time even if Mark contempt for women menses and the red letters in his necklace were a sign of disgust for blood and murder. Maybe this was the real reason for which he needed privacy at the hospital and not a form of chastity. Araon hoped terrifically to be the only one to know about the missing corpse near the Sunflowers painting. The more and more time passed Araon convinced himself that the story of the disappeared prostitute was a false lead. Absorbed in his thoughts he didn’t realize a huge man was watching him steadily. “He is gay,” he thought when he opened his eyes and turned to reality.

  The wagon of the train was crammed and there were not the conditions to argue with somebody else over an issue of common sense. Now the train stopped at Nienwmarfkt, quite a long way from Luciensteeg Street. He thought that the best thing to do was to get off the train and take a taxi to go home. He was so confused with a sense of harassment from his consideration upon the mystery hidden in a pool of blood. He had a fixed idea over Mark the homeless which would mean going more often to his riding school with Jill’s consensus. He needed to clarify a lot in terms of suspicion upon the knowledge of his secret by Mark as well. A drop of water alarmed him. Maybe the spring was welcoming back the winter rain. He turned his eyes to the sky and saw a lazy pouring water on his plants placed on the terrace of the flat. Another ghost in disguise. Definitely it was not the proper day to think over stories on blood, murder and mystery. He hoped that he but not anybody else was the holder of the biggest mystery of Amsterdam those days. He considered to be blessed by the knowledge something crude about the most beautiful museum in town.

  He finally got in a taxi and arrived home just in time. Jill was waiting for him on the doorstep of the house. She was sporting the usual jeans, white shirt, sneakers and a youthful hairdo. There was no time for flattering remarks. Jill didn’t seem to be too sweet. “Where have you been all this time? I called at work and I have been told that you didn’t go there today. Albert and Sylvanus phoned me just now asking me to organize a meeting in the foreseeable future. They mentioned to me the success of their new job as butchers and promised me that they would present me with pork,” said Jill quite agitated.

  “I’m sure you won’t blame me if I tell you the truth about my day. I haven’t been at work because I wanted our workers to have a rest somehow. I went rummaging in the street instead. When I’m alone I am overwhelmed by the most troublesome thoughts. I guess you have bought the same mushrooms as the other day,” said Araon.

  “I don’t want to disappoint you but I didn’t. Actually, I didn’t go shopping at all today. I was too worried about you. My only option is to propose that we should go to the nearest snack bar and have a sandwich. But now tell me about your day.”

  A kiss of love followed Jill’s agitation Their romance was stopped by the arrival of a policeman who shouted: “I’ll fine you over obscene acts in public. I’m just joking of course. It’s always a pleasure to see a so much in a love young couple in public these days.”

  Jill and Araon blushed and kept silent in front of the amused policeman who went away to his job immediately. “Darling, we are two lucky stars in the middle of an agitated thunder,” said Araon who had not clearly anything else to say.

  “So we are three stars of us today?” answered Jill.

  “What do you mean? Is there the news we are waiting for such a long time?”

  “Yes indeed. My pregnancy test was positive today. We will be parents in February and I am already thinking of a post give birth depression,” said Jill.

  “Everything is love,” whispered Araon clearly in disbelief. The two of them carried on their stroll hand in hand to the tenderness of the bystanders.

  Araon was suffering terrible pains because of a stomach ache that forced Jill to keep him in bed stuffed with tablets. He wanted to be spoilt by his wife and this was the right occasion for this. “Tell me darling: was it the sandwich we ate yesterday that affected so badly your health?” said Jill.

  “I don’t know. I just know that I’m suffering terrible pains,” said Araon.

  “I’ll go and prepare for you some herbal tea. It will help. It’s better you skip lunch today,” said Jill.

  “Are you going to the knitting course later on?”

  “Yes, if you don’t feel alone.”

  “I think I’m going to sleep. The tablets are on the desk. I’ll take them whenever I need them.”

  Jill pulled down the blind and went to the kitchen chased by the cat. She opened a drawer and took a notebook of Araon’s that she had picked from the cellar. Turning the pages, she noticed some signs plus and some signs minus. Only in the latest page she read a note about Araon’s joy of fatherhood. Definitely she acted ravaged by jealousy and this was not towards Araon. She would find the right moment to put the notebook in its previous place at Araon’s unawareness. Probably the signs plus and minus were related to the mood of the day. “Darling the herb tea is ready. It’s here for you.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart. Now go quickly to the knitting course. You have not to arrive late.”

  “I’m ready. I am going now. See you later and have a good rest,” said Jill, kissing him in the forehead.

  The lesson was a bit boring that day. She was sitting near to the gossip woman as usual. Her grimace refrained her from telling her that she was pregnant at last. She was skillfully working on a baby suit. It was a piece of unisex clothing. “You are very good now,” started the lady.

  “I try to do my best,” answered Jill. She was frightened that her companion would overwhelm her with the usual gossip. In fact, she was right.

  “You know my niece has contacted me recently and she has given me hope that she would leave the low life as soon as possible. She had as a customer a Russian magnate involved in the Pompeii excavations. He didn’t want sex. He simply needed a person to talk to, free from prejudices on issues of any kind. My niece is now dreaming of an elopement like the one of the disappeared prostitute. I talked to her with caution and my hopes filled me with joy. I was speechless. Of course I wasn’t happy about the idea of the elopement and I advised her to do everything to the eyes of the public. In fact, Amsterdam is a free place: nobody would condemn a prostitute who wants to change life. They are all well-groomed and exposed in the windows of the brothel sporting petticoats and pearl necklaces. I pray every day that things will go well at the end of the day. What about you? Is there any news in your life?”

  “Not at all. The only news is that Araon and me are very much in love with each other as the first day of our engagement,” said Jill with her usual sweet manners.

  The teacher of the course started complaining about their chatting. “It’s not break time yet. Are you working?” Jill was very embarrassed and showed the baby clothes to the teacher as a form of self-defense. And soon afterwards the bell rung. Two women appeared on the scene. They were claiming to be interested in the knitting course. They wer
e both tall and blonde sporting a casual way of dressing. “If you join the course now, I’ll charge you only the subscription fee and part of the money for the full course. I hope you are not novices, otherwise the course will be harsh for you.

  “We want to improve our knitting skills and start as soon as we can,” answered the two ladies together.

  “There is no problem. Sign here and you can start knitting even today,” said the teacher.

  The two women gracefully went apart. The course finished later than due that day and Jill went hastily home. Araon was still in bed. “Blissful ignorance,” Jill spoke loudly. “Are you OK?” Jill screamed through the environment.

  “Yes Grace, I have just woken,” answered Araon.

  Jill went into the sitting room looking for a recipe and she found a book on vampires and witches. “Darling, where did you get that book?” she said holding it tightly.

  “Oh! I borrowed it from the local library. Not that I’m interested in superstitions. I’m just concerned with everything that drives me to the idea of blood. I underlined the line: “You can suckle or breed” because it reminds me of your pregnancy. By the way: I made a vow to the Madonna. I pledged that I will recite a rosary in church every week, to light a candle and make an offer for the church. Can you go now there in my place?”

  “I will. It’s so nice that you did a promise like that.”

  Jill was ready to go out again and left Araon alone with his own sweet thoughts. He went with his mind to the blind alley where the walls were soiled by the names of young couples. He remembered a voice coming out of a flat, “Do you want to spoil our beautiful moments over a stupid issue like sex?” Araon was unaware of the consequences of that gesture. He was maybe in the right way with his investigation on the Van Gogh Museum scandal. He was driven by his instinct, a source of huge strength to him.

  Meanwhile, Jill was at church. Only now it came to her mind that she had to put Araon’s notebook in the proper place. She said the prayers as anticipated and she went to talk to the priest. Father Elm was there for everybody. He opened the partition wall and he asked Jill to confess her sins. He welcomed her with a warm smile which brought Jill embarrassment. At the end of their conversation he thanked Jill for her conspicuous offering. Jill felt very weird. In that church. Araon and she never attended the weekly mass though they were believers who had married in church. She thought it was time to change approach now. The blessing of motherhood strengthened her faith. She went to have a look at the candles again and then hurried up home where Araon must be patiently waiting for her.