THE ARTICHOKE FIELD

THE ARTICHOKE FIELD

“ Listen to me darling , as I have told you a lot of times, uh…I have to repeat it every day, uh…, what they do in their field is their business. It does not concern us! We have no right to interfere, we don’t have the right to put our nose into it!” Babel said snorting, almost angry, standing stubbornly turned towards the window, as if he didn’t even want to see her.  He had just awake, was feeling still half asleep, and that …blessed woman , who was his wife, damnation, was again saying that the Richmond, their neighbors, had gone there, in their field, the last night too!

Babel, grumbling, kept on glancing, almost distractedly, out of the window, keeping his hands buried into his trousers pockets. His big body was wavering , the clothes he was wearing were all wrinkled, creased, the shirt he was wearing was all curled at the waist.  His big belly was beating against the window panes, his glasses were dangling on his nose, as he continued to shake his head.

“But dear, every night, and always after midnight , they go to that field , where they start digging. And in that field there are artichokes. WHAT will they have to look for in a field of artichokes?” Louise asked, in a heartfelt, pleading voice, keeping her hands with the fingers of one crossed with the fingers of the other and stretching them out behind Babel’s massive back.

“ Oh, Louise , I would like to answer you: they’re looking for a treasure! Oh, but it is you to say they, the Richmond , dig among the artichokes by night, every night! And you say that because you have put it in your mind ( head). On, but WHY should they dig in the artichoke field, huh? Unless, in fact, they are looking for a treasure! Ah! Ah! Ah! A treasure hidden in the field of artichokes! Ah! Ah! Ah!” Babel burst out laughing, while all his body was bouncing , especially his big belly, his head too, and his glasses fell to the ground.

To make the story, which Louise continued to repeat him about their neighbors, who went by night to hoe, or rather to dig, as she said, in that field, (to make it) more agonizing, a very catchphrase, there was the fact that Louise loved the artichokes very much, she would have eaten artichokes every day, she was able to cook them in a thousand different ways, while ( instead) Babel , oh, he had never liked the artichokes. And now this damned woman had made them unbearable for him. Oh, of course, Louise worried so much about what their neighbors____the Richmond were two brothers of nearly eighty years who lived together a very old woman, who had to be their aunt, as far as was known_____ ( about what their neighbors) could do in their artichoke field by night, eh, she was afraid that they, digging the field, would damage  those luxuriant artichokes , which she liked so much. Yes, not only did she like the artichokes to eat them, she also liked very much to see them, to watch them. Oh, Louise did not mention her great, boundless interest in artichokes when she tried , every day, since more than a month, to convince him that they had to warn ….someone about those Richmond who, by night, every night, went out to go in the artichoke field, where, who knows what they were doing. She was sure, since she had seen them with her eyes, that their old neighbors went to dig in that field every night. 

 “ Let’s listen, and who(m) should we warn in your opinion? I  know those three olds have no relatives “ Bebel had pointed out to her. “ Well, I think we should warn the police, at least the municipal police “ Louise had said, more than a few times. Oh, only hearing to mention the municipal police he get mad. Babel couldn’t suffer  those guys of the municipal police, who had made him pay very high fines for real trifles while, as not only he knew well, those there used to close both eyes in front of much more serious infringements.

Whenever Louise told him about their neighbors, she often invited him to stay up at night, so that he too could have seen the three olds  coming out and reaching their field, oh, those three olds in the night, holding the spade and the pickaxe, with a torch in their hands, oh, if Bebel had seen them with his eyes, she was sure that, he  would have been convinced too that those Richmond had something to hide. Oh, they had surely be involved in something ugly, something sinister, in short, something criminal. Oh, this then, that those three withered and crooked olds____indeed the aunt of the two Richmond brothers was much more than old____well, that three pathetic, also almost shaky  olds like them, were involved in criminal affairs, come on, it had seemed a joke to Bebel , who had started to have fun of her. Let’s listen, and what kind of criminal business did she think those three….ruins were involved in? Maybe kidnappings? Or rather drug dealing? But , sure, the Richmond had to go out by night to sell drug! But, of course, they sold the drug to the artichokes! Bebel had laughed at her, letting go of laughter. “ You laugh at it, but I’m sure that they three____ah, I saw that the old aunt does not go out every night___I’m sure, I tell you , they ‘re involved in something bad, shady, even criminal, yes…..and we should warn the police” Louise continued to repeat. “Oh, you don’t really want to tell ( say) me those skimpy and somewhat shaky olds are bloodthirsty killers! But, excuse me, oh, I apologize, yes, of course, they are tireless serial killers! Who knows how many  they had killed! Ah! Ah! How many chickens, I mean:….Oh, again, excuse me, since you are undoubtedly right, oh sorry, pardon, but sure , the Richmond brothers are serial killers , here why they, in the company of their very old aunt, every night go to bury their victims in the artichoke field! Ah! Ah! Ah!” Bebel was laughing with laughter , while Louise’s apprehension , and also fear, for the nocturnal outings of their old neighbors increased day by day, indeed night by night. 

Then she happened to have that dream. In her dream that  field of artichoke appeared in broad daylight. The beautiful, lush artichokes stood up high, magnificent, they were more beautiful of the most beautiful flowers. How the purple of their bracts, standing out in the green, shone in the full light of the day. On the wonderful artichokes colored butterflies were fluttering, and little birds alighted , which fluttered their little wings before taking off again. Then suddenly those magnificent , luxuriant artichokes, which rose majestically, dominating the space around, all the space between the earth and the sky, began to fall one by one, as if their stem were being cut. Louise did not see what, or who was cutting the artichokes down. Even if they were cut down one at time ( even if she saw them falling one at time), in a very fast time all the artichokes were being cut down. She had expected to see them lying on the ground, but, oh, instead the field, where shortly before the artichokes stood upright, appeared to her like a barren, stony ground, and snakes  were slipping among the stones. Louise woke up ( had woken up) with her heart in her throat, with still in her eyes that field from which all the artichokes had disappeared.

“…..exterminated….all the artichokes have been killed…..who exterminated…who killed the artichokes….?” She kept on repeating inside herself, even if she was careful not to say aloud these words, her question, since, if Bebel had heard she so saying, he would have thought she had gone mad .

What relief for her, looking out of the window, be able to see the artichokes still standing upright in the field. Oh, no one had killed them, no one had made them disappear ! Wow!

However, after that dream, Louise started saying herself that, if she didn’t feel like to report the strange nocturnal outgoings of her neighbors to the police, or at least to the municipal police, she should absolutely  investigate what those three olds were going ( went) to do in the artichoke field at night.

She and Bebel had always had good  neighborly relations with the Richmond____who lived in that large country house from a lot of years, while she and Bebel had gone to live in the house closest to theirs from three years. Of course they, Louise and Bebel and the Richmond greeted cordially each other when they met, and sometime , albeit rarely, it also could happen to exchange two words with them . But neither the Richmond had ever invited them, nor had she and Bebel ever invited the Richmond. So Louise was in a trouble, she kept on wondering how she could do not so much to come in the Richmond’s house, as to be able to talk ___and to talk long enough___with at least one of them.  She kept puzzling over to get to speak with one of the Richmond brothers, or even with their very old aunt, and in the meantime she continued every day to enjoy the vision of that wonder, that enchantment which the artichoke field was for her, when , entirely unexpectedly, she received a call from the Richmond’s aunt. The very old woman, her name was Alicia Smith, asked Louise if she could receive her at home, since she, Alicia, was in great urgency to speak with her. Louise remained ( was ) surprised, to say the least, and she was going to propose to Alicia: but if you have ( want) to talk to me, you don’t need to bother coming to me , I can come to you ( I will come to you). But she had stopped in time, thinking that if the very old woman was asking her to be received by her , it was because she wanted to prevent Louise from going to the Richmond’s house.

Ms Alicia arrived at Louise and Bebel’s home at five in the afternoon, accompanied by Agnes, a middle aged woman, whom she introduced as her companion. They all, Ms Alicia, Agnes, Louise and Bebel had tea together, then the old woman  asked to to be left  alone with Louise,  since she intended to tell her about very delicate matters, so much delicate that she wanted to talk about them  strictly privately, face to face. Left alone in a corner of the living room, sitting facing each other, Agnes began to talk about her nephews, who gave her so many worries. Oh, she had always taken care of those two boys , who had been orphaned as children, eh, and also now, when they were anything but…..children, they continued to give her serious worries, as they had always done_____the old lady sighed( said, sighing). She, Louise, more than stunned, had been there to ask her what problems, what worries those two half-crooked old men, with their so fragile looking, could ever give her. She had been about to let it ( this) slip out of her mouth, since (that) she didn’t see two like the old Richmond brothers could create problems to anyone. But just when Louise had been about to make this observation, arisen in her spontaneously, she had seen again the Richmond leaving the house at night and going into the artichoke field. Ah, might be Ms Alicia Smith intended to refer just to their nocturnal outgoings. But, oh, she too, the very old Alicia almost every night  had been there, with her nephews, in the artichoke field…..However Louise, all hopeful, had said herself but certainly the old woman had come to talk to her precisely about her nephews who went to the artichoke field by night, every night, and who, perhaps , wanted her too, her aunt, to go with them, and , who knows, they could have forced her to go with them there( to the artichoke field), But soon after she, the old woman, had made her blood freeze in her veins , saying : “ Ah, Louise, my dear nephews, whom I took so much care of, who I grew up and educated, are planning to kill me” Oh, this Louise could not believe it, or, perhaps, she refused to believe.  The old Alicia didn’t say a word of those nocturnal outgoings, which so much had made Louise suspicious , and which continued to make her suspicious.

Besides, Louise didn’t feel like to ask the old woman what she wanted to know. She would so much have wanted to say: “ I happened to see your nephews .together you, going at night to the artichoke field, so I’m wondering what you go to do” But also she, as Alicia , had made no words about those outings at night,

The old woman had continued to talk more and more confused , and she had said that those wretched of her nephews had contracted debts that they didn’t know how to repair, so they had planned to kill her in order to inherit her fortune. Oh,  that the two old men were in debt, Louise couldn’t believe that too. So she had asked what debts they owed, to whom they were indebted . Alicia said theirs were gambling debts. Gambling debts? And, what game were they playing? She had asked , completely incredulous, stunned. Oh, her nephews mostly played poker, ah, but they also wagered on horse racing, the old lady had muttered.  Ms Alicia Smith had kept on repeating, during their talking, that her loved nephews wanted to kill he, oh they would kill her.

Louise had told Bebel that talking, for her absolutely shocking , with the old lady Alicia.

“ She kept on repeating her nephews want to kill her, in order to inherit from her. Oh, we have to do something”  She had begged him.  Bebel had pointed out that the old lady’s nephews would have no need to kill their aunt, in order to inherit from her, since, given her advanced age, the woman would have died soon anyway.  However he had allowed to be persuaded that they had to warn someone. So Bebel  and Louise went to the police station. They talked with a police inspector about their neighbors strange outgoings by night, when they went to dig in the artichoke field.

Some policemen came to inspect the artichoke field, in the middle of which they found a large and deep pit . The policemen questioned the Richmond brothers about that pit. They, Alfred and Rick Richmond, said, after some hesitation, that, oh, it had been their crazy aunt who had asked them to dig that pit, because when she died she wanted to be buried there, in the field of artichokes.

The old Alicia instead claimed  that they, her nephews, who wanted to kill her, had already dug her grave among the artichokes. She added that they had also taken her, by night, to see that pit, which, each time they had shown her, saying: “ Here, the grave for you is ready, where we will bury you”