Tales from Glasstown - Chapter 2
The man on the terrace
The late afternoon sunlight was slowly melting the pink iced cake. Drops of topping were scattered on the plate. Next to the dying dessert, there was another plate which housed boiled eggs and bacon. A couple of flies had landed on one of the eggs, tentatively tasting it with their prolonged mouths.
Emmanuel Daud was staring at his early dinner with absent mind. It was becoming quite the routine for him, to stare at things without really thinking anything at all. Right now, he was vaguely aware that his body needed to eat; that, in fact, he was feeling significantly hungry. But an angry weight to his stomach stopped him from eating. He took a last sip of water from his calice, then stood up and left the dining terrace. It was the favorite spot of Elize and he hated it at the moment. But he couldn't bring himself to arrange his meals in any other room of the mansion.
He met Madelina, the head chef, at the end of the stairs leading back to the second floor. She had been waiting for him, it seemed.
"Uhm, did you eat well, master?"
Her concern irritated him; for a moment, he thought he would frown and leave without saying a word. Then, he felt Elize's disapproving stare on the back of his neck. He actually turned around to see. There was no one, of course.
"It was delightful as always," said Daud. "Pardon me if I didn't eat much of it. My stomach is a little upset."
Madelina nodded dutifully and made a concrete effort to believe he had eaten anything at all. Trying her best to hide her concern, she headed to the terrace to clean the table.
What a strange thing slavery is, meditated Daud as his coach was taking him to the Blue Dome for an evening of vain talking. That Madelina was actually concerned for his well-being. Did she feel obliged to be concerned? Did she think appropriate for a diligent slave like her to show affection to his master as he traversed those hard times?
He wanted to reciprocate those feelings, he really did, but had nothing to spare for Madelina. He was empty, a hollow bottle drifting in the waves. It was Elize who always helped him connecting to people, even to servants.
She couldn't do that anymore from the grave, concluded Daud as coldly as he could. Then, the actuality of what he had formulated in his mind hit him, and he spent the rest of the journey weeping alone in the coach.
He was so angry to Elize.