The Grasshopper (31 page)

“Excellent, that means that no one
is pestering you with that nonsense.”

“No… they are settling it all on
their own.”

“Perfect. There is bread, the games
are coming.”

Chapter 114

“Hey, Grasshopper. Don’t
accidentally vaporize Megapolis,” said Erivan. “I need to go to
their square, and for Seneca to sign the capitulation. We have a
deal.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t. I guess you
see what I’m doing. People are afraid that I’ll vaporize their city
too, so everyone’s fleeing to unpopulated areas. And I’m waiting
for them to become thirsty and hungry and to move on Megapolis and
Capital City. Those are the only two regions that still have
energy, water, food, production… everything. They are the only two
oases on the planet.”

“No! What’s the matter with you?
What should I do with all these people in Capital City?” Erivan was
aghast.

“They can’t enter your area. Have
you already forgotten about my ring?”

“Ah, yes…”

“And let them flock to Megapolis.
I’m interested in how Seneca will react, what his decision will be.
However, let’s leave that aside… There’s time for that. I wanted
something else. I was just getting ready to call you, when I got
your call.”

“What did you want? Tell me,
Grasshopper.”

“Your Imperial Majesty!” the
Grasshopper suddenly shouted.

“What?” Erivan was
baffled.

“You are no longer President. You
are now, Your Imperial Majesty!”

“What does that mean?”

“Presidents are elected in
elections, and Emperors are chosen by God.”

“God? Me too?”

“Of course. You are his final
choice.”

“What should I do now,
Grasshopper?

“I’ll explain it to you. Capital
City is your empire.”

“Alright…”

“Barbarians will gather around my
ring, but they won’t be able to threaten the empire.”

“I know that.”

“So, you don’t need to worry about
wars. You can just have fun and enjoy yourself.”

“Well, alright…”

“But you must also provide this for
your subjects.”

“For whom?”

“Your subjects, the citizens of the
Empire, of Capital City.”

“Ah… I understand. But how will I
entertain them, Grasshopper?”

“I will tell you. But first take
off that uniform and let us make you a toga.”

“What is that?”

“No, not a toga. Just a tunic. But
it has to be short. Tell that to your tailor. And have them make
you a wig. Long hair which will blow in the wind. And a pedestal
with a magnificent throne. And have it all done in black. We won’t
change the style. Call me when you are prepared,” the Grasshopper
said and hung up.

Chapter 115

“Pascal, did you see how angry
Julius was today?” said Manami, as soon as she sat down next to
Pascal in their room.

“Angry?” Pascal was puzzled. “At
whom?”

“I don’t know, Pascal. At us? At
himself? I don’t know.”

“Why was he angry? How did you
notice it?”

“Pascal, you don’t notice anything!
When he picked up Eir, she immediately held out her hands towards
you and called you Pascal.”

“Manami!” Pascal shouted out. “I am
in love with his wife. And I can tell him that at any moment. But
I’m not taking away his children. Peter and Eir are yours and his
children. In any case, that is normal. We are closed up here, I
play with Eir, he rarely comes…”

“Yes, it’s as you say. The child
connects to the person that plays with it. I think that Julius is
angry at himself, because he never found time for the children,
even before this war.”

“That’s not my issue. I’m not to
blame, Manami.”

“Of course you aren’t…”

“Listen to me now, Manami, please,”
said Pascal in a determined voice. “I’ve been wanting to tell you
this for some time…”

“Tell me what, Pascal? Don’t scare
me, please,” Manami was surprised by the change in the tone of his
voice.

“Manami, you are struggling because
of me! I’m harming your wonderful soul! You’re split between your
family and me. Between your children and me. I am destroying what
you are.

“Your dignity, your convictions,
your being. Where do I get the right… No, no… it’s not about
rights. It’s about me not wanting to pain the woman that I love
more than anything. The being that I love more than
anything!

“And what will happen when all this
ends one day, Manami? Think about it. Your husband, the mayor of
Megapolis, will come out as the winner in this war. He will be, and
he should be, President of Earth. He deserves it.

“You say that I’m a dreamer, that I
offer people dreams. And for years I was just visiting cities, with
my friend Raul, and telling stories. And the entire time that I was
telling stories, your husband was making them happen in Megapolis.
He created the elite University, he motivated creative young
people, he developed science, art, sports. Exactly what I was
talking about – that’s what the mayor created. And that is why he
will win. Because he created an invincible Megapolis.

“And what will happen when one day
the mayor opens the door to this shelter and says ‘The war is over.
We’ve won Alexander. You can come out of this hole in the ground.’
What will you do, Manami? Give up your husband, perhaps even your
children, and stay with the greatest coward that ever existed? With
a man… not a man, you cannot say that of me anymore… with the
coward who spat on the sacrifice of his friends. The best and only
friends that he had in his life.

“I curse myself for being, for you
falling in love with me, for destroying your life. Love is very
selfish. It wants the loved one just for itself. But not mine,
Manami. My love is unearthly, unimaginable, almighty. It isn’t
interested in me. It just loves you. It wants you to be happy, at
peace. To again assume your position in your family. To be you
again.”

Manami didn’t say a word. She
quickly got up from the couch and turned on the light in the room.
She stood in front of Pascal, dressed in a lilac sleeveless
nightgown. Pascal sat in silence.

“You’re right, Pascal. I’m torn,
shattered… and those several hours when we lie down I can’t sleep.
My stomach is in knots, Pascal.”

Manami closed her eyes and squeezed
them tightly. Her entire body was trembling. Then she swiftly
raised her nightgown to her chin. She wasn’t wearing anything
underneath it. She stood in front of Pascal, completely
naked.

“Look, Pascal!” she shouted with
her eyes shut. “Why would you need this body?! You’re used to the
young beautiful bodies of girls! I won’t seduce you with my eyes
any more! I won’t lie to you! Because there is nothing behind that!
Just an ordinary woman, nearing forty!” Manami
exclaimed.

Tears ran down Pascal’s face. He
got up slowly, walked up to her and loosened her constricted
fingers. The nightgown slid down her naked body. He pulled her
towards his chest and kissed her hair.

“You’re crying, Pascal!” Manami
shouted. “I don’t need that! I don’t need your pity! That’s only my
concern! Only my pain, Pascal! If one of your sexy women had shown
herself to you, you wouldn’t be crying, Pascal! You’d jump her body
full of lust and make love to her!”

Pascal knelt down, grabbed her
beneath the knees, fell her onto his arm and picked her up. He took
her towards his room.

“Manami, I will now make love for
the first time in my life.”

“Don’t you dare!” Manami
shouted.

Chapter 116

They decided never again to sit in
the dark. They turned on the light on the dresser. Manami sat in
Pascal’s lap. She pressed her hands into his cheeks, and quickly
kissed his lips, then retreated. Pascal stroked her neck and
back.

“I’m the happiest!”

“No, I’m the happiest!”

“I’m the happiest! And shut up, I
tell you!” She kissed him again.

“Alright, I’ll shut up, but I’m the
happiest!”

“I want to hear it! Tell me again!
Come on, tell me – whose body is the most beautiful in the
world?”

“Your body, Manami, is the most
beautiful in the world.”

Manami giggled.

“You should be ashamed of yourself
for lying! I would be ashamed.”

“I’m not lying, my love. The most,
most beautiful!”

“It’s all my fault. For loving so
much when you lie to me.”

“The most, most beautiful! You are
the most beautiful! The most wonderful, Manami! And it is the most
beautiful body, which I could barely see through the tears. Let me
look at you again, now that I’m no longer crying.”

“Don’t be cheeky, Pascal. Get
serious. It’s out of the question!” Manami moved slightly away from
Pascal and looked him in the eye. “Now tell me that
thing.”

“Manami, with you I will make love
for the first time in my life.”

“It is true? Is it true, my
darling? You have never before made love?” she kissed his
lips.

“It’s true, my love. Absolutely
true. It’s the greatest truth of all. And that expression is silly.
I don’t understand how can I make love? It makes me. It makes me
belong to you, only you, my dearest being.”

“Pascal, my Pascal!” Manami
giggled. “My love, my joy, my darling, my everything, everything!
Only mine! Are you? Only mine? You are only mine?”

“Only yours! Only yours!” Pascal
pressed her against his chest and kissed her hair.

They were silent for a while,
touching and cuddling.

“I’m not sure that I heard
everything that you told me,” said Manami. “I only thought about
what you would say when you saw my body. But now I want to talk to
you. To talk to you until the morning. About what you said or
didn’t say, it doesn’t matter. And you to only listen to me. I am
much smarter than you, I guess you’ve realized that up to
now?”

“I know,” Pascal
laughed.

“And you’re again imagining
something in that head of yours and you don’t understand at all
what is tormenting me. Everything needs to be explained to you,
Pascal. Like to a child. But what can I do? That’s how I have it.
First of all I’m not split between you and my family, my upbringing
and my convictions. You and my children are my family. And my love
is my only conviction. Don’t you see that the four of us here are
like in a house. Julius comes, like the father, to see us and say
hello to his children. And to drink tea with us, have lunch.
Everything is as it’s supposed to be. He brings us food and
supplies… That’s like paying alimony to me.”

“You’re being silly,” Pascal
laughed.

“I’m not being silly, Pascal.
That’s how it is now, that’s how it will be when we get out of
here. Do you know that every time that Julius comes through our
door I want to rush to you, to take you by the hand, to put my head
on your shoulder, and tell him… him and Peter ‘Pascal and I are in
love. We cannot live without each other. Julius, I want a divorce
immediately and I want my children.’”

“Manami…” Pascal
whispered.

“And why can’t I tell him that?
Because the two of us, Pascal, don’t know what’s going on above us.
I can’t know what we will face when we get out. Will some powerful
force separate us? Will Julius take my children and will the two of
us will be powerless to prevent it? We don’t know whether there is
still a civilized world up there. And that’s why I remain quiet.
That’s the only reason, Pascal. I have here what I want. You and
the children. I couldn’t take it if we were not together, for any
reason. If we had to be separated even for a day.”

Pascal raised her face and gently
gave her a kiss on the lips.

“And secondly, Pascal, I very much
want you. I want your body. It is truly the most beautiful thing in
the world. And that’s why I don’t let you kiss me. Because if you
were to really kiss me only once, I would lose it. And we would
make love. And after that I would never be able to keep quiet,
Pascal. Neither in front of the children, nor in front of Julius.
Even if I didn’t say anything, he would see it as soon as he looked
at me. Anyway, he is already noticing…”

“What is he noticing?”

“What do you mean ‘what’? My looks,
your looks… our body language… When I serve you, how close I get to
you, how you thank me, how you smile at me, how you love me with
your eyes… we can try with the ‘sir’ and the ‘ma’am’ as much as we
want…”

“You’re overreacting, Manami. I
don’t believe…”

“Believe me, it’s true. I know
Julius very well. I was his real wife. I tried to understand each
nuance in his mood, his behavior… Not to anger him, to please him…
There is a seed of doubt in him, Pascal. Perhaps he still isn’t
aware of it. He still hasn’t uttered it to himself. But even the
smallest detail could change that. Like when Eir infuriated him.
And then what will be will be. I will hug you and nothing will be
able to separate me from you. Not anyone and not
anything!”