Part 4
Part 3
Part 2
At that time of the season, the sun managed to
sneak between the two buildings down the road, hitting Jonas on the
eyelids like a naughty alarm clock with the unwanted consequence of
bringing him back to reality. He was not lying in his bed where he
would wish. He did not hold the slippers to crawl slowly to the
bathroom. His wife was not there to wish him a good day; she was in
another bed, smiling at another man with whom she had been living
for some time.
It had happened so fast that he could not put in sequence the events
of a normal life until that moment, without particular shocks.
Born into a wealthy family, he graduated with honors. When his
parents died, he had taken over the family business and slowly led
it to the top of its field. People looked at him with envy, as an
example to be imitated.
Perhaps if he had thought carefully, showing the same shrewd skill
used in the work, he would have acted accordingly. But he trusted
his wife, there was no reason why he should not follow her advice
when she came every morning for a new signature to be affixed,
without understanding how such suggestions could not come from her
mind but from that of an expert tax lawyer, with whom she already
entertained herself in the free moments.
When his wife, with tears in her eyes, confessed to him that she had
fallen in love with another person and for this reason would leave
the house, he had not considered that her intention included taking
away all of his possessions. At the end of a dispute without any
chance of victory, he found himself kicked out of office, homeless
and with his current accounts emptied.
For a few days he was forced to sleep inside the car until a court
official with an injunction, imposed him to leave free also the car.
Jonas found himself sitting on a bench, deprived of all possessions.
That day the ex-wife came sitting next to him.
“Don’t worry!” She whispered to him. “I’m sure you’ll recover soon.
You’ll be back to the old, prosperous situation. Try to understand
me, I need to guarantee my standard of living. My new partner does
not want a woman without resources.”
Jonas was incredulous as she walked away with a sad face, as if
misfortune had fallen upon her.
The Sidewalk - Incipit
Jonas
Part 1