Bab 38: CHAPTER 37
CHAPTER 37
— ARE YOU ALRIGHT? Greg asked when he found the priest outside the arena.
— Yes... did something happen to you?
— This is not the time to talk about it, if they tried to kill us once, they might try again.
— Let's go straight to the house my grandfather told us to go to.
— The sooner we get this resolved, the sooner we'll be safe.
THEY SAW THE FONTANA di Trevi, Pantheon of Agrippa, Palatino, Trastevere, Villa Borghese, the Catacombs
As if that weren't enough, a jumble of voices mingled with the strident rhythm of local music, coming from dozens of stalls, where vendors and smiling people held the CDs they sold to tourists. Added to all this was the delicious aroma of the food, awakening in the newest visitors, under the scorching Italian heat, the sensations of a vigorous exoticism.
The Alfa Romeo Greg was driving looked like it was going to go out at any moment, but it was moving faster. Greg turned left and, dodging the crowd of cars, turned onto an equally narrow but quiet street.
— It's this street — he said, pointing to a point delimited on the GPS.
— Finally, I was getting nervous, I had a feeling these people might pull us out of the car, lynch us, and then throw us around like those mutton carcasses — said Gregory Evans.
The priest laughed.
— Italians have a very peculiar genius, but deep down they are good people, it's just their energetic way of talking.
Nicole nodded.
— They're just talking too loudly, like they're fighting.
— If they weren't fighting, they were close.
And the three laughed.
— I don't think that would happen, Greg, those people have to find some way to survive, and even with so many difficulties, they are so friendly and cheerful...
THE CAR STOPPED BEFORE a whitewashed house less than a meter from the cobbled street, there was practically no sidewalk. Nicole was the first to get out, she was tired of being confined inside the car, soon after, the priest and Greg, who was driving the vehicle, got out.
— Hello, is anyone there? — the priest asked in fluent Italian as Gregory Evans knocked on the door.
The door was partially opened, only allowing someone inside to peek at the unknown visitors. To Roman Green one got confidence. The door then opened completely, allowing the view of a thin and slender girl, with black hair and almond-shaped eyes.
The priest then continued:
— We're looking for Democritus Papin.
The girl's face showed curiosity, and then in fluent English, she replied:
— The man you're looking for died three years ago — he said as he sensed the priest's frustration.
— We're too late — exclaimed Greg.
— Hang on! — Said Roman — It's not possible that after we've come this far, everything has been lost. Your grandfather, Richard Hulmann couldn't have taken things lightly...
The girl went down the stairs and, smiling, went to meet the visitors:
— What name did you say?
— Richard Hulmann?
— Yes — Nicole answered hopefully. — Richard Hulmann, my grandfather, my name is Nick Hulmann.
The girl's face was completely transformed, as if everyone there were her old acquaintances:
— Please come in, and make yourselves comfortable — he said radiantly, while, running, he returned inside the house:
Greg looked at the priest and acted as if he had understood absolutely nothing of what was happening, after all, the contact was from the priest and the girl's grandfather had nothing to do with all that.
— I'll call my mother!
A minute later the young woman returned with a smiling lady, whose features resembled her own.
The girl was the first to speak:
— This is my mother, as she does not know English, I will act as an interpreter.
Nicole smiled at her:
— There's no need, as a priest, it would be a shame for me if I didn't know the language spoken in the Pope's land.
Then he addressed the hostess in Italian. The lady listened attentively and responded in quick words.
— What did she say? — Asked a curious Nicole Hulmann, as she gazed into the luminous faces of her hostesses.
The priest then turned to his companions:
— She said that she was very honored to welcome the granddaughter of the man who saved her husband into her home, and that she regrets that he is not alive to welcome us. When they got married, his grandfather was present, even sponsoring the party. She remembers everything as if it were today, and that she still has her grandfather's present.
The girl with the abundant black hair, who was watching everything with enthusiasm, then nudged her mother, also pronouncing quick words in Italian, as if they were entering a struggle between life and death.
Nicole's face then lit up as she understood the meaning of the words. The hostess then, matching her facial expression with a gesture, hinted that she had forgotten something. Then, quickly disappeared inside the house. Seeing everyone's perplexity, the girl explained:
— Forgive my mother, she just had surgery and some memories were erased from her memory. I had to remind her of an episode she had told me about, which happened at her wedding to Dad.
Everyone's attention was focused on the young woman, who continued:
— When your grandfather Richard Hulmann gave my parents a china set, he also handed over a small sealed trunk, asking that if his daughter or any other descendant ever came looking for us, that trunk be returned.
At that moment the hostess returned carrying a small trunk.
The young woman then took it and handed it to Nicole:
— It's been here, for more than forty years this trunk has been, as per your grandfather's wish, guarded by us.— Now it is back in the hands of the Hulmann family.
Emotion took hold of Nicole when she received the sealed trunk. Then a weight pressed down on his chest and icy droplets sprouted on his forehead as his hands dropped the chest and reached for his heart.
They looked at the wall and saw the symbol of the moon with a star, signifying that they were Muslims, something very rare in the country that symbolizes Catholicism.
— Greg… — Nicole whispered.
In one jump, the woman's daughter took a bottle out of the drawer, opened it and took out a pill, putting it between her mother's lips and then helping her to lie down.
Nicole and the others present were stunned.
Slowly recovering its normal functions, he reassured them:
— She has a heart condition, a cardiovascular complication.
— We're going to take her to a hospital — Nicole said, worried about what she'd just witnessed.
— There's no need for that.
Status Power Mingguan
-- Peringkat
Power 
-- Power
stone