No, I didn't leave, Director, as you can see, I'm still here. Thank you again for the special permission, truly exceptional, I realize that, don't think I'm not grateful to you. He too was all excited, he never thought he would be granted authorization to enter the Home, when he requested it, so he could come and take me back. Of course he was afraid he hadn't thanked you enough, and in fact someone-I couldn't see who, in this dim light; you can't see very well in here, a shadow slips away

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... e you can make out the face, aside from the fact that they all look alike, we all look alike, it stands to reason, in a place like this-someone thought he turned back at the last moment to thank you again for your concession and that was why ... The fact that things then turned out the way they did is nobody's fault-or rather, it's my fault, but it doesn't matter who does what in here. At least that's what those outside think: to them we don't matter at all any-more. To him, however, I did and still do matter, very much so, seeing as he took the trouble to come all the way down here and didn't give up, like the others, faced with the Rest Home's strict regulations prohibiting its guests-for their, for our own sake-from receiving visits that would threaten our peace and tranquility. Not to mention going out, just imagine, that's all we'd need, to find ourselves in that infernal madhouse, that bedlam of traffic and ill-mannered people or worse, not to mention the awful weather , from which here at least we are sheltered. But he really loves me, he is as much in love as on the first day; he fell head over heels and couldn't be without me. When my health unexpectedly deteriorated and forced me to enter the Rest Home-an attractive, comfortable, well equipped place, no doubt about it-he bawled and ranted and let himself go, not shaving and 1 Claudio Magris, "Lei dunque capirà," © Claudio Magris 2006; Garzanti Libri s.p.a., Milan. Used by permission. English translation