SIX OF DIAMONDS

… now and then they climbed
down to mingle with the people. …

W hen I woke up the next morning, the first thing I thought about was how sick and tired I was of all this boozing.

I had a father who was possibly the brightest person north of the Alps, and this person was slowly being dulled by bottled madness. I decided we had to sort this out once and for all before we met Mama.

When Dad leaped out of bed and started talking about the Acropolis, I realized that it was better to wait until breakfast.

When we had finished eating, Dad asked the waiter for another cup of coffee, lit a second cigarette, and unfolded a large map of Athens.

‘Don’t you think it’s beginning to go too far?’ I asked.

He turned towards me.

‘You know what I mean,’ I pressed on. ‘We’ve talked about this constant drinking before, but when you want your son to be part of it as well, then I think you’re crossing the line.’

‘I’m sorry, Hans Thomas,’ he admitted at once. ‘I suppose those drinks were slightly too strong for you.’

‘Maybe. But you might slow your tempo a little, too. It would be a terrible shame if the only joker in Arendal ended up a good-for-nothing like all the others.’

He reeked of a guilty conscience, and for a moment I felt sorry for him, but I couldn’t always rub him the right way.

‘I’ll think about it,’ he replied.

‘Then I think you should think about it fast. I doubt whether Mama is particularly fond of sloppy philosophers who are always on the bottle, either.’

He squirmed in his seat. It must have been quite a blow for him to be put in his place like that by his son, so I wasn’t that surprised when he said, ‘Actually, I have been thinking the same thing, Hans Thomas.’

His reply was so assertive that it would do for now. There was something else which struck me, however. I don’t know why, but I suddenly got the feeling that I hadn’t heard all the reasons why Mama left us.

‘How do we get to the Acropolis, then?’ I asked, pointing to the map.

We were back in business.

To save time we took a taxi to the entrance, and from there we walked through an avenue of trees along the side of the mountain before we began the ascent to the temple site itself.

When at last we reached the largest temple, which was called the Parthenon, Dad started to pace back and forth.

‘Wonderful … It is truly wonderful,’ he declared.

We wandered around for quite a while, until we stood peering down at two ancient theatres which lay directly below a sheer mountain drop. The tragic tale of Oedipus had been one of the dramas performed in the oldest theatre.

Dad finally pointed to a large rock and said, ‘Sit here,’ and so the long lecture on the Athenians began.

When the lecture was over and the sun was so high in the sky that there were hardly any shadows, we examined every single temple. Dad pointed here and there and taught me the difference between Doric and Ionic columns and showed me how the Parthenon didn’t have a single straight line. The enormous building had been empty except for a twelve-metre-high statue of Athena, the goddess of Athens.

I learned how the Greek gods had lived on Mount Olympus in the north of Greece, and how now and then they climbed down to mingle with the people. Dad said they were like huge jokers in a pack of cards made of human beings.

There was a small museum here, too, but once again I begged for mercy. I was excused, and we agreed on where I could sit and wait.

I definitely would have gone into the museum with him, because he was such a interesting guide, but something in my pocket prevented me from doing so.

I had listened to everything Dad told me about the ancient temples, but I had also been wondering what would happen at the great Joker Banquet. The fifty-two dwarfs on the magic island had all made a big ring in the banqueting hall, and now each of them was about to recite a line.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-28