The Winner Stands Alone (25 page)

Im sorry, she says to the man accompanying her.

He strokes her hair. His smile reveals affection, understanding, and pity.

He has finally understood that you cannot search out happiness at any price. Life has
given him all it could, and hes beginning to see just how generous life has always been to
him. Now and for the rest of his days, he will devote himself to disinterring the
treasures hidden in his suffer- ing and enjoying each second of happiness as if it were
his last.

He has overcome Temptation. He is protected by the spirit of the girl who understands his
mission perfectly, and who is now beginning to open his eyes to the real reason for his
trip to Cannes.

For a few moments in that pizzeria, while he was remembering what hed heard on those
tapes, Temptation had accused him of being mentally unbalanced and of believing that
anything was permitted in the name of love. His most difficult moment was, thank God,
behind him now.

He is a normal person; his work requires discipline, routine, nego- tiating skills, and
planning. Many of his friends say that hes become more of a loner; what they dont know is
that hes always been a loner. Going to parties, weddings, and christenings, and pretending
to enjoy playing golf on Sundays was merely part of his professional strategy. Hes always
loathed the social whirl, with all those people concealing behind their smiles the real
sadness in their souls. It didnt take him long to see that the Superclass are as dependent
on their success as an addict is on his drugs, and nowhere near as happy as those who want nothing more than a house, a garden, a child playing, a plate of food on the table, and a
fire in winter. Are the latter aware of their limitations, and do they know that life is
short and wonder what point there is in going on?

The Superclass tries to promote its values. Ordinary people com- plain of divine
injustice, they envy power, and it pains them to see others having fun. They dont
understand that no one is having fun, that everyone is worried and insecure, and that what
the jewels, cars, and fat wallets conceal is a huge inferiority complex.

Igor is a man of simple tastes; indeed, Ewa always complained about the way he dressed.
But whats the point of buying a ridiculously expensive shirt when no one is going to see
the label anyway? Whats the point of frequenting fashionable restaurants if nothing of
interest is said there? Ewa used to say that he didnt talk very much at the parties and
other work-related events. He tried to change his behavior and be more sociable, but none
of it really interested him. He would look at the people around him talking on and on,
comparing share prices, boast- ing about their marvelous new yacht, launching into long
disquisitions on Expressionist painting (but really just repeating what a tour guide had
told them on a visit to a Paris museum), and stating boldly that one writer is infinitely
better than another (basing themselves entirely on the reviews theyve read because,
naturally, they never have time to read fiction).

They are so very cultivated, so very rich, and so utterly charm- ing. And at the end of
each day, they all ask themselves: Is it time I stopped? And they all reply: If I did,
there would be no meaning to my life.

As if they actually knew what the meaning of life was.

Temptation has lost the battle.
It wanted to make him believe that he was mad: its one thing to plan the sacrifice of
certain people, quite another to have the capacity and the courage to carry it out.
Temptation said that we all dream of committing crimes, but that only the unbalanced make
that macabre idea a reality. Igor is well-balanced and successful. If he wanted, he could hire a professional killer,
the best in the world, to carry out his task and send the requisite messages to Ewa. Or he
could hire the best public relations agency in the world, and by the end of the year, hed
be the talk not only of economics journals, but of magazines interested only in success
and glamour. At that point, his ex-wife would weigh up the consequences of her mistaken
decision, and he would know just the right moment to send her flowers and ask her to come
back, all was forgiven. He has contacts at all levels of society, from businessmen whove
reached the top through perseverance and hard work, to crimi- nals whove never had a
chance to show their more positive side.

He isnt in Cannes because he takes a morbid pleasure in seeing the look in a persons eyes
as he or she confronts the inevitable. Hes decided to place himself in the line of fire,
in the dangerous position in which he finds himself now, because hes sure that every step
he takes during this seemingly endless day will prove vital if the new Igor who exists
within him is to be born again out of the ashes of his tragedy.

Hes always been able to make difficult decisions and to see things through, although no
one, not even Ewa, has ever known what went on in the dark corridors of his soul. For many
years he endured in si- lence the threats made by various individuals and groups, and he
re- acted discreetly when he felt strong enough to rid himself of the people threatening
him. He had learned to exercise enormous self-control so as not to be left traumatized by
bad experiences. He never took his fears home with him, feeling that Ewa deserved a quiet
life and to be kept in ignorance of the terrors that beset any businessman. He chose to
save her from that, and yet he received nothing in return, not even understanding.

The girls spirit soothes him with that thought, then adds some- thing that hadnt occurred
to him until then: he wasnt there to win back the person who had left him, but to see, at
last, that she wasnt worth all those years of pain, all those months of planning, all his
enor- mous capacity for forgiveness, generosity, and patience.

He has sent one, two, three messages now, and theres been no re-

action from Ewa. It would be easy enough for her to find out where hes staying, although,
admittedly, phoning the five or six top hotels wouldnt help because when he checked in, he
gave a different name and profession. Then again, she who seeks, finds.

Hes read the statistics. Cannes has only seventy thousand inhabi- tants, and that number
usually triples during the Film Festival, but festi- valgoers all haunt the same places.
Where would she be staying? Given that he had seen the two of them the previous night, she
was probably staying in the same hotel and visiting the same bar. Even so, Ewa isnt
prowling the Boulevard de la Croisette looking for him. She isnt phon- ing mutual friends,
trying to find out where he is. At least one of those friends has all the necessary
information, for Igor had assumed that the woman he thought was the love of his life would
contact that friend as soon as she realized Igor was in Cannes. The friend has
instructions to tell her how she can find him, but so far, there has been no news.

He takes off his clothes
and gets into the shower. Ewa isnt worth all this fuss. Hes almost certain that hell see
her tonight, but this is growing less and less important with each passing moment. Per-
haps his mission is about something much more important than simply regaining the love of
the woman who betrayed him and who speaks ill of him to other people. The spirit of the
girl with the dark eyebrows reminds him of the story told by an old Afghan in a break
during a battle.

After many centuries of turmoil and bad government, the population of a city high up on
one of the desert mountains of Herat province was in despair. They could not simply
abolish the monarchy, and yet neither could they stand many more generations of arrogant,
egotistical kings. They sum- moned the Loya Jirga, as the council of wise men is known
locally.

The Loya Jirga decided that they should elect a king every four years, and that this king
should have absolute power. He could increase taxes, demand total obedience, choose a
different woman to take to his bed each night, and eat and drink his fill. He could wear
the finest clothes, ride the finest horses. In short, any order he gave, however absurd, would be obeyed, and no one
would question whether it was logical or just.

However, at the end of that period of four years, he would be obliged to give up the
throne and leave the city, taking with him only his family and the clothes on his back.
Everyone knew that this would mean certain death within three or four days because there
was nothing to eat or drink in that vast desert, which was freezing in winter and like a
furnace in summer.

The wise men of the Loya Jirga assumed that no one would risk standing for the position of
king, and that they would then be able to return to the old system of democratic
elections. Their decision was made public, and the post of king fell vacant. Initially,
several people applied. An old man with cancer took up the challenge and died during the
period of his rule with a smile on his face. A madman succeeded him, but left four months
later (he had misunderstood the terms) and vanished into the desert. Then rumors started
going around that the throne had a curse on it, and no one dared apply for the position.
The city was left without a governor, confusion reigned, and the inhabitants realized that
they must forget the monarchist tradition altogether and prepare to change their ways. The
Loya Jirga felt pleased that its mem- bers had taken such a wise decision. They hadnt
forced the people to make a choice, they had simply got rid of those who wanted power at
any price. Then a young man, married and with three children, came forward.

I accept the post, he said.

The wise men tried to explain the risks. They reminded him that he had a family and
explained that their decision had merely been a way of discouraging adventurers and
despots. However, the young man stood firm, and since it was impossible to go back on
their decision, the Loya Jirga had no option but to wait another four years before they
could put in place the planned return to elections.

The young man and his family proved to be excellent governors. They ruled fairly,
redistributed wealth, lowered the price of food, organized popu- lar festivals to
celebrate the change of season, and encouraged craftwork and music. Every night, though, a
great caravan of horses would leave the city, drawing heavy carts covered with jute cloth
so that no one could see what was inside them. These carts never came back.

At first, the wise men of the Loya Jirga thought that the king must be removing treasure from the city, but consoled themselves with the fact that the young man
rarely ventured beyond the city walls; if he had and had tried to climb the nearest
mountain, he would have realized that the horses would die before they got very far. This
was, after all, one of the most inhospitable places on the planet. They determined that,
as soon as his reign was over, they would go to the place where the horses had died of
exhaustion and the riders of thirst, and they would recover all that treasure.

They stopped worrying and waited patiently.

At the end of the four years, the young man left the throne and the city. The population
was in an uproar; after all, it had been a long time since they had enjoyed such a wise
and just governor!

However, the Loya Jirgas decision had to be respected. The young man went to his wife and
children and asked them to leave with him.

I will, said his wife, but at least let our children stay. They will then survive to tell
your story.

Trust me, he said.

The tribal laws were very strict, and the wife had no alternative but to obey her husband.
They mounted their horses and rode to the city gate, where they said goodbye to the
friends they had made while governing the city. The Loya Jirga were pleased. They might
have made many allies, but fate is fate. No one else would risk accepting the post of
governor, and the democratic tra- dition would be restored at last. As soon as they could,
they would recover the treasure abandoned in the desert, less than three days from there.

The family rode into the valley of death in silence. The wife didnt dare say a word, the
children didnt understand what was going on, and the young man was immersed in thought.
They climbed one hill, traveled for a whole day across a vast plain, and slept on the top
of the next hill.

The woman woke at dawn, wanting to make the most of the final few days of her life to look
her last on the mountains she had loved so much. She went up to the very top of the hill
and gazed down on what should have been an empty plain, and she was startled by what she
saw.

During those four years, the caravans leaving the city each night had not been carrying
off jewels or gold coins. They had been carrying bricks, seeds, wood, roof tiles, spices,
animals, and traditional tools that could be used to drill into the earth and find water. Before her lay a far more modern, far more beautiful city than the old one, and all in
working order.

This is your kingdom, said the young man, who had just woken up and joined her. Ever since
I heard the decree, I knew it would be pointless to try and change in four years
everything that centuries of corruption and bad governance had destroyed. I was certain of
one thing, though, that it was possible to start again.

Igor, too, is starting again as he stands in the shower with the water cascading over his
face. He has finally understood why the first person he spoke to in Cannes is by his side
now, sending him off along a differ- ent path, helping him make the necessary adjustments,
and explaining that her sacrifice was neither a chance event nor unnecessary. On the other
hand, she has also made it plain to him that Ewa has always been naturally perverse and
only interested in climbing the social ladder, even if doing so meant abandoning her
family.

When you go back to Moscow, try and do plenty of sport. That will help free you from your
tensions, says the girl.

He can just make out her face in the clouds of steam in the shower. He has never felt as
close to anyone as he does now to Olivia, the girl with the dark eyebrows.