The Devil and Miss Prym (On the Seventh Day 3)

"I don't know how this story will end," said Berta. "Viscos is a village of good people, although, as you yourself once said, they are a bit cowardly. Even so, it might be a good idea if you were to go somewhere far away from here for a while."

She must be joking. No one could possibly take the stranger's bet seriously. No one. And anyway, she didn't have any money and she had nowhere to go.

But that wasn't true. A gold bar awaited her and it could take her anywhere in the world. But she didn't want to think about that.

At that very moment, as if by some quirk of fate, the stranger walked past them and set off for his walk in the mountains, as he did every morning. He nodded and continued on his way. Berta followed him with her eyes, while Chantal tried to spot whether anyone in the village had noticed his greeting. They would say she was his accomplice. They would say there was a secret code between the two of them.

"He looks worried," said Berta. "There's something odd about him."

"Perhaps he's realized that his little game has become reality."

"No, it's something more than that. I don't know what, but...it's as if...no, no, I don't know what it is."

"I bet my husband would know," Berta thought, aware of a nervous fidgeting to her left, but now was not the time to talk to him.

"It reminds me of Ahab," she said to Chantal.

"I don't want to think about Ahab, about legends, about anything! All I want is for the world to go back to how it was, and for Viscos--for all its faults--not to be destroyed by one man's madness!"

"It seems you love this place more than you think."

Chantal was trembling. Berta hugged her again, placing her head on her shoulder, as if she were the daughter she had never had.

"As I was saying, Ahab told a story about heaven and hell that used to be passed from parent to child, but has been forgotten now. Once upon a time, a man, his horse and his dog were traveling along a road. As they passed by a huge tree, it was struck by lightning, and they all died. But the man failed to notice that he was no longer of this world and so he continued walking along with his two animal companions. Sometimes the dead take a while to register their new situation..."

Berta thought of her husband, who kept insisting that she get rid of Chantal because he had something important to say. Maybe it was time to explain to him that he was dead, so that he would stop interrupting her story.

"It was a long, uphill walk, the sun was beating down on them, and they were all sweating and thirsty. At a bend in the road they saw a magnificent marble gateway that led into a gold-paved square, in the center of which was a fountain overflowing with crystal-clear water. The man went over to the guard at the entrance.

"'Good morning.'

"'Good morning,' the guard replied.

"'What is this lovely place?'

"'It's Heaven.'

"'Well, I'm very glad to see it, because we're very thirsty.'

"'You're welcome to come in and drink all the water you want.' And the guard indicated the fountain.

"'My horse and dog are also thirsty.'

"'I'm terribly sorry,' said the guard, 'but animals are not allowed in here.'

"The man was deeply disappointed for he really was very thirsty, but he was not prepared to drink alone, so he thanked the guard and went on his way. Exhausted after more trudging uphill, they reached an old gateway that opened onto a dirt road flanked by trees. A man, his hat pulled down over his face, was stretched out in the shade of one of the trees, apparently asleep.

"'Good morning,' said the traveler.

"The other man greeted him with a nod.

"'We're very thirsty--me, my horse and my dog.'

"'There's a spring over there amongst those rocks,' said the man, indicating the spot. 'You can drink all you want.'

"The man, his horse and his dog went to the spring and quenched their thirst.

"The traveler returned to thank the man.