Lucas gives Joseph another bottle of wine and accompanies him to his wagon.
As he whips the horse, Joseph shouts, "Take care, Lucas! Love can be fatal!"
Lucas is sitting on the garden bench. His eyes are closed. When he opens them again, he sees a little girl swinging on a branch of the cherry tree.
Lucas asks, "What are you doing there? Who are you?"
The little girl jumps to the ground. She fiddles with the pink ribbons on the ends of her braids. "Aunt Leonie wants you to go to the priest's house. He is all alone because Aunt Leonie can't work anymore. She's in bed at home, she won't get up again, she's too old. My mother doesn't have time to go to the priest's house, because she works at the factory like my father."
Lucas says, "I see. How old are you?"
"I don't know exactly. The last time it was my birthday I was five, but that was in the winter. Now it's already autumn, and I could go to school if I hadn't been born too late."
"It's already autumn?"
The little girl laughs.
"Didn't you know? It's been autumn for two days now, even though people think it's still summer because it's so warm."
"You know a lot!"
"Yes. My big brother teaches me everything. He's called Simon."
"And what are you called?"
"Agnes."
"That's a nice name."
"So is Lucas. I know you're Lucas because my aunt said, 'Go and fetch Lucas. He lives in the last house, opposite the border posts.'"
"Didn't the guards stop you?"
"They didn't see me. I went around the back."
Lucas says, "I'd like to have a little sister like you."
"Don't you have one?"
"No. If I had one I'd make her a swing. Do you want me to make you a swing?"
Agnes says, "I've got one at home, but I like to swing on other things better. It's more fun."
She jumps up, grabs the branch of the cherry tree, and swings on it, laughing.
Lucas asks, "Aren't you ever sad?"
"No, because one thing always makes up for another."
She jumps to the ground.
"You have to hurry to the priest's house. My aunt told me to tell you yesterday and the day before, and the day before that, but I forgot every day. She will scold me."
Lucas says, "Don't worry. I'll go this evening."
"Good. So now I'll go home."
"Stay awhile longer. Would you like to listen to some music?"
"What kind of music?"
"You'll see. Come."
Lucas takes the little girl in his arms. He goes into his room, puts the child down on the double bed, and puts a record on the old gramophone. Sitting on the ground next to the bed, his head resting on his arms, he listens.
Agnes asks, "Are you crying?"
Lucas shakes his head.
She says, "I'm scared. I don't like this music."
Lucas takes one of the little girl's legs in his hand. He squeezes it. She cries out, "You're hurting me! Let me go!"
Lucas loosens his grip.
When the record finishes, Lucas gets up to turn it over. The little girl has disappeared. Lucas listens to records until sunset.
That evening Lucas makes up a basket of vegetables, potatoes, eggs, cheese. He kills a chicken and cleans it. He also takes milk and a bottle of wine.
He rings the bell of the priest's house. No one answers. He goes in through the unlocked back door and puts the basket down in the kitchen. He knocks on the bedroom door. He goes in.
The priest, a tall, thin, old man, is sitting at his desk. He is playing chess, alone, by the light of a candle.
Lucas pulls up a chair, sits facing the priest, and says, "I'm sorry, Father."
The priest says, "I'll repay you a bit at a time for what I owe you, Lucas."
Lucas asks, "Have I not been here for a long time?"
"Not since the beginning of the summer. Don't you remember?"
"No. Who has been feeding you all this time?"
"Leonie has been bringing me a little soup each day. But she has been ill for the last few days."
Lucas says, "Forgive me, Father."
"Forgive you? For what? I haven't paid you in months. I have no money left. The State has broken links with the Church, and I am no longer paid for my work. I have to live off the donations of my flock. But people stay away from church for fear of disapproval. Only a few poor old women come to mass."
Lucas says, "If I didn't come, it wasn't because of the money you owe me. It's worse than that." "What do you mean, 'worse than that'?"
Lucas lowers his head. "I completely forgot about you. I also forgot about my garden, the market, the milk, the cheese. I even forgot to eat. For months I've been sleeping in the attic. I was afraid to go into my room. It was only because a little girl, Leonie's niece, came today that I had the courage to go in. She also reminded me of my duty toward you."
"You have no duty, no obligation toward me. You sell your produce, you live from the proceeds. If I can't pay you it's right that you not supply me anymore."
"As I said, it's not because of the money. Try to understand."
"Tell me. I'm listening."
"I don't know how to go on living."
The priest gets up, takes Lucas's face in his hands. "What has happened to you, my child?"
Lucas shakes his head. "I can't explain. It's like an illness."
"I see. A sort of illness of the soul. Due to your tender age and, perhaps, your excessive solitude."
Lucas says, "Maybe. I will make a meal and we will eat together. I haven't eaten for a long time, either. When I try to eat, I just vomit. With you I might be able to manage it."
He goes to the kitchen, lights the fire, boils up the chicken with the vegetables. He sets the table, opens a bottle of wine.
The priest comes into the kitchen.
"As I said, Lucas, I can't pay you anymore."
"Nevertheless, you have to eat."
"Yes, but I don't need this banquet. A few potatoes and some corn would be enough."
Lucas says, "You will eat what I bring you, and we won't talk anymore about money." "I can't accept."
"It is easier to give than to receive, is that it? Pride is a sin, Father."
They eat in silence. They drink wine. Lucas doesn't vomit. After the meal he does the washing up. The priest goes back into his room. Lucas joins him.
"I have to go now."
"Where are you going?"
"To walk around the streets."
"I could teach you to play chess."
Lucas says, "I don't think I could get interested. It's a complicated game that requires a lot of concentration."
"Let's try."
The priest explains the rules. They play a game. Lucas wins. The priest asks, "Where did you learn to play chess?"
"From books. But this is the first real game I've played."
"Will you play again sometime?"
Lucas comes every evening. The priest improves his strategies, and the games become interesting, even though Lucas always wins.
Lucas starts sleeping in his bedroom again, on the double bed. He doesn't forget market days, he doesn't let the milk go sour. He takes care of the animals, the garden, the house. He goes back into the forest to collect mushrooms and firewood. He takes up fishing again.
When he was a child, Lucas caught fish by hand or with a rod. Now he invents a system that diverts the fish from the mainstream into a pool where they are trapped. Then Lucas only needs to scoop them out in a net when he wants fresh fish.
In the evenings Lucas eats with the priest, plays a game or two of chess, then walks around the streets of the town.
One night he goes into the first bar he meets on his way. It used to be a well-kept café, even during the war. Now it is a dingy place, almost empty.