The Collected Novels of José Saramago (391 page)

The superintendent entered the building, went over to the reception desk and said, Good morning, I represent providential ltd, insurance and reinsurance, and I’d like to speak to the director, If you’re here about insurance, perhaps it would be better to speak to the administrator, In principle, yes, you’re quite right, but what brings me to your newspaper is not a mere technical matter, and it’s vital, therefore, that I speak to the director himself, The director isn’t here right now, and I don’t imagine he’ll be in until the afternoon, Who do you think I should speak to then, who would be the
best person, Probably the editor-in-chief, In that case, I would be grateful if you could tell him I’m here, providential ltd, insurance and reinsurance, Could you tell me your name, Providential will do fine, Oh, I see, the firm bears your name, Exactly. The receptionist made the phone call, explained the situation and, when she had hung up, said, Someone will be right down, mister providential. A few minutes later, a woman appeared, I’m the editor-in-chief’s secretary, would you care to come with me. He followed her down a corridor, feeling quite calm and serene, then, suddenly, without warning, a realization of the bold step he was about to take took his breath away as if he had been punched in the solar plexus. There was still time to go back, to make some excuse, Oh, no, what a nuisance, I’ve forgotten a really important document which I really must have if I’m to talk to the editor-in-chief, but it wasn’t true, the document was there, in his inside jacket pocket, the wine has been poured, superintendent, you have no option now but to drink it. The secretary showed him into a small, modestly furnished room, a couple of battered sofas that had fetched up here in order to live out the rest of their long lives in reasonable peace, a table in the middle with a few newspapers on it, a jumbled bookshelf. Sit down, please, the editor-in-chief asked if you wouldn’t mind waiting for a moment, he’s busy right now, That’s fine, I’ll wait, said the superintendent. This was his second chance. If he walked out of here and retraced the path that had led him into this trap, he would be safe, like someone who, having glimpsed his own soul in a rear-view mirror, had decided it was a fool, and that souls should not go around dragging people into the most terrible of disasters, but should, on the contrary, keep them safe from such things and behave themselves, because souls, if ever they do leave the body, almost always get lost, they simply don’t know where to go, and it is not just behind the wheel of a taxi that one learns such things. The superintendent did not leave, not now that the wine has been poured,
etc. etc. The editor-in-chief came in, I do apologize for keeping you waiting for so long, but I was in the middle of doing something and I couldn’t leave it half-finished, There’s no need to apologize, it’s very good of you to see me at all, So, mister providential, what can I do for you, although from what I’ve been told, this does seem to be more a matter for the administrative office. The superintendent raised his hand to his pocket and took out the first envelope, I’d be grateful if you would read the letter inside this envelope, Now, asked the editor-in-chief, Yes, if you wouldn’t mind, but I must tell you first that my name is not Providential, So what is your name, You’ll understand when you’ve read the letter. The editor-in-chief tore open the envelope, unfolded the piece of paper and started to read. He stopped after the first few lines and looked, perplexed, at the man before him, as if asking if it wouldn’t be more prudent to stop right there. The superintendent made a gesture urging him to continue. The editor did not look up again until he had finished reading, on the contrary, it seemed as if, with each word, he were plunging deeper and deeper in, and as if he could not possibly return to the surface wearing his usual editor-in-chief’s face once he had seen the fearful creatures inhabiting the lower depths. It was a deeply troubled man who finally looked up at the superintendent and said, Forgive the blunt question, but who are you, My name is there in the signature, Yes, I can see the name, but a name is just a word, it doesn’t explain anything about who the person is, I’d prefer not to have to tell you, but I understand perfectly your need to know, In that case, tell me, Not unless you give me your word of honor that the letter will be published, In the absence of the director, I’m not authorized to make that commitment, They told me in reception that the director will only be in this afternoon, Yes, that’s true, at around four o’clock, Right, I’ll come back later then, but I just want you to know now that I have an identical letter with me and that if you’re not interested in the matter, I’ll deliver it to that other addressee, The letter is, I assume, addressed to another newspaper, Yes, but not to any of the papers that published the photograph, Of course, but you can’t be sure that the other newspaper would be prepared to take the inevitable risks involved in publishing the facts you describe, No, I can’t be sure, I’m betting on two horses and I risk losing on both, My feeling is that you risk much more if you win, Just as you do if you decide to publish. The superintendent got to his feet, I’ll be here at a quarter past four, Here’s your letter, since we haven’t yet come to an agreement, I can’t and shouldn’t hold on to it, Thank you for not making me ask you for it. The editor-in-chief used the telephone in the room to call the secretary, Show this gentleman out, will you, he said, and make a note that he will be back at a quarter past four, and you’ll be there to receive him and take him to the director’s office, Yes, sir. The superintendent said, See you later, then, Yes, see you later, and they shook hands. The secretary opened the door for the superintendent, If you’d like to follow me, mister providential, she said, and once they were out in the corridor, If you don’t mind my saying, this is the first time I’ve ever come across someone with that surname, it didn’t even occur to me that it could exist, Well, now you know, It must be nice to be called Providential, Why, Well, because it’s providential, That’s the best possible answer. They had reached reception, I’ll be here at the time agreed, said the secretary, Thank you, Goodbye, mister providential, Goodbye.

The superintendent looked at his watch, it wasn’t yet one o’clock, too early to have lunch, besides, he wasn’t hungry, the buttered toast and coffee were still there in his stomach. He h ailed a taxi and asked to be taken to the park where, on Monday, he had met the doctor’s wife, there’s no reason why one should always do the thing one first decided to do. He had not thought of going back to the park, but here he is. He will then continue on foot, like a police superintendent quietly carrying out his patrol, he will see hew crowded the street is
and may even exchange professional notes with the two guards. He walked through the garden and stopped for a moment to study the statue of the woman with the empty water jar, They left me here, she seemed to be saying, and now all I’m good for is staring into this grubby water, there was a time when the stone I’m made from was white, when a fountain flowed day and night from this jar, they never told me where all that water came from, I was just here to tip up the jar, but now not a drop falls from it, and no one has come to tell me why it stopped. The superintendent murmured, It’s like life, my dear, we don’t know why it starts or why it ends. He dipped the fingers of his right hand into the water and raised them to his lips. It did not occur to him that the gesture could have any meaning, however, anyone watching him from afar would have sworn that he had kissed that murky water, which was green with slime and came from a muddy pond, as impure as life itself. The clock had not advanced very much, he would have had time to sit down in the shade somewhere, but he did not. He repeated the route he had taken with the doctor’s wife, he went into the street, where the scene had changed completely, now he could barely push his way through, there weren’t just small knots of people, but a huge crowd that blocked the traffic, it was as if everyone from the neighboring area had left their houses to come and witness some promised apparition. The superintendent beckoned the two policemen over to the doorway of a building and asked them if anything had happened in his absence. They said that no one had left, that the windows had remained closed at all times, and they reported that two people unknown to them, a man and a woman, had gone up to the fourth floor to ask if the people in the apartment needed anything, but that the latter had replied in the negative and thanked them for their kindness. Is that all, asked the superintendent, As far as we know, replied one of the policeman, it’s certainly going to be an easy report to write. He said this just in
time, clipping the wings of the superintendent’s imagination, which had unfurled and were already carrying him up the stairs, where he would ring the bell and announce, It’s me, and then go in and tell them about the latest events, about the letters he had written, his conversation with the editor-in-chief, and then the doctor’s wife would say Stay and have lunch with us, and he would, and the world would be at peace. Yes, at peace, and the policemen would write in their report, A superintendent who joined us went up to the fourth floor and only came down again an hour later, he did not say anything about what happened up there, but we both got the impression that he had had a good lunch. The superintendent went to have lunch somewhere else, but he did not eat much and showed no interest in the dish they set before him, at three o’clock, he was sitting in the park again looking at the statue of the woman with her pitcher inclined like someone still expecting the miraculous restoration of the waters. At half past three, he got up from the bench where he had sat down and walked back to the newspaper offices. He had time, he didn’t need to take a taxi in which, however reluctantly, he would have been unable to keep himself from looking in the rear-view mirror, he knew quite enough about his soul already and he might see something in the mirror that he didn’t like. It was not quite a quarter past four when he arrived back at the newspaper offices. The secretary was already in reception, The director is expecting you, she said. She did not add the words mister providential, perhaps she had been told that it was not his real name and perhaps she felt offended by the trap into which she had, in all good faith, fallen. They walked down the same corridor, but this time they continued to the end, where they turned the corner, on the second door on the right there is a small notice which says Director. The secretary knocked discreetly, and someone inside answered, Come in. She went in first and held the door open for the superintendent. Thank you, we won’t be needing you
for the moment, said the editor-in-chief to the secretary, who left immediately. I’m most grateful to you for agreeing to talk to me, sir, began the superintendent, Let me be perfectly frank with you, I foresee enormous difficulties in our publishing the material that the editor-in-chief here has described to me, although I would, of course, be delighted to read the entire document, Here it is, sir, said the superintendent, handing him the envelope, Sit down, said the director, and just give me a couple of minutes, will you. The reading of the document did not make him bow his head as it had the editor-in-chief, but he was clearly a confused and worried man when he looked up, Who are you, he asked, unaware that the editor-in-chief had asked the same question, If your newspaper agrees to make public the contents of that document, then you will find out who I am, if you don’t, then I will take back my letter and leave without another word, except to thank you for letting me take up so much of your time, The director knows that you have an identical letter which you intend to give to another newspaper, said the editor-in-chief, Exactly, said the superintendent, I have it here, and if we don’t reach an agreement, I will deliver it today, because it’s vital that this is published tomorrow, Why, Because tomorrow there may still be time to prevent an injustice being committed, You mean to the doctor’s wife, Yes, sir, they are doing all they can to make her the scapegoat for the country’s current political situation, But that’s ridiculous, Don’t tell me that, tell the government, tell the interior minister, tell your colleagues who write what they’re told to. The director exchanged a look with the editor-in-chief and said, As you can imagine, it would be impossible for us to publish your statement as it stands, with all these details, Why, Don’t forget, we are still living under a state of siege, the censors have their eyes trained on the press, especially on a newspaper like ours, Publishing this would get the newspaper shut down immediately, said the editor-in-chief, So is there nothing to be done, asked the superintendent, We
can try, but we can’t be sure it will succeed. How, said the superintendent. After another brief exchange of glances with the editor-in-chief, the director said, It’s time you told us, once and for all, who you are, there’s a name on the letter, it’s true, but we have no way of knowing that it’s not a false name, you could, quite simply, be an agent provocateur sent here by the police to put us to the test and to compromise us, we’re not saying that you are, of course, but I have to make it quite clear that we cannot take this conversation any further unless you identify yourself right now. The superintendent reached into a pocket and pulled out his wallet, Here you are, he said, and handed the director his police identification. The expression on the director’s face changed at once from mistrust to stupefaction, What, you’re a police superintendent, he said, A police superintendent, repeated the editor-in-chief dully when the director passed the document to him, Yes, came the calm response, and now I think we can continue the conversation, If you’ll forgive my curiosity, said the director, what made you take a step like this, Personal reasons, Tell me one of those reasons, so that I can persuade myself that I’m not dreaming, When we are born, when we enter this world, it is as if we signed a pact for the rest of our life, but a day may come when we will ask ourselves Who signed this on my behalf, well, I asked myself that question and the answer is this bit of paper, You do know what might happen to you, don’t you, Yes, I’ve had time enough to think about that. There was a silence, which the superintendent broke, You said you could try, We’ve thought of a little trick, said the director, and indicated to the editor-in-chief that he should continue, The idea, the editor said, would be to publish, albeit in very different terms and without the tasteless rhetoric, what was published elsewhere today, and then, in the final section, weave in some of the information you’ve given us today, it won’t be easy, but it doesn’t strike me as impossible, it’s just a matter of skill and luck, We’re relying on the boredom or even laziness of the civil servant in the censor’s office, added the director, praying that he will think that since he knows this bit of news already, there’s no point reading to the end, What’s the probability that we’ll succeed, asked the superintendent, To be perfectly frank, pretty low, admitted the editor-in-chief, we’ll have to content ourselves with possibilities, And what if the ministry of the interior want to know where you got your information, To begin with we’ll take refuge in insisting on the confidentiality of our sources, but that isn’t going to be much use in a state of siege situation, And if they press you, if they threaten you, Then, much against our will, we will have no option but to reveal our source, we’ll be punished, of course, but you will suffer the worst consequences, said the director, Fine, said the superintendent, now that we all know what to expect, let’s do it, and if praying serves any purpose, I’ll pray that the readers don’t do as we’re hoping the censor will do, that is, I’ll pray that the readers do read the article through to the end, Amen, chorused the director and the editor-in-chief.