FARWELL PARTY

“ But  really, Richard, are you going to leave for Mars? You know, I can’t believe it! Oh, it is impossible that you decided to leave not only your city and your country, but even the Earth!” Paul raised his glass, bringing it closer to Richard’s who, sitting at the other side of the table, in front of Paul, smiled, stretching his lips at Paul’s words, and he just shook his head. “ Yeah, why don’t you add ‘ at your age?’ Richard said, getting up, still  with the glass in his hand. “ Since ( because) you think ( mean) that at my age it’s crazy to leave the earth, to go to live on Mars, right? Yet for more than a decade not a few people decided to leave the earth to live on another planet “ Richard replied. “ Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean at all to…your age “ Paul said, trying to hide his embarrassment with a big smile. “ But didn’t you really think about my age! Oh, I don’t believe it! Anyway, yes ( well yes) , I decided to leave our planet, despite my sixty years. Yes, I’ll go to live on Mars” Richard said, as he sat down again, crashing into the chair. “ But Richard, Paul was perhaps thinking ( meaning) about how you can go, like this, on another planet, while here, on the earth, besides us, your friends, you have your children and your grandchildren, too. Not to say about your wives, oh, ex-wives indeed” Miriam, who was sitting next to Paul, said, in a hesitant tone, rather embarrassed, so much that she spoke holding the glass before her mouth. “ Oh, those there, pfu! My ex-wives…I really don’t want to talk about those “ Richard said, waving a hand, with an expression of annoyance on his face.    “ And as for my beloved children and my beloved grandchildren, oh, I asked them to come with me. Oh, I would be very happy if they came with me! But they absolutely do not want to leave the Earth .They don’t even want to hear about living on another planet. Ah, I have to understand them, oh, yes, they are young and still have not tired of our old planet” Richard said, raising his full glass again.

“Oh, subject to the fact that I have great respect for your decision…yet I’m wondering …and if there, on Mars, it won’t happen to you to regret our old planet…did you take into account that you might ( could) want to go back on Earth?” Margareth asked, in a moved voice. “ Look,  apart from that I will never want to return to Earth, of this I am absolutely sure, even if  I should happen to feel like coming back , I could do it…I see no impediment to my…eventual repatriation” Richard said, smiling. He seemed very excited, very enthusiastic, even euphoric…Oh, yes, the numerous glasses of wine he had drunk certainly contributed to his enthusiasm and euphoria. “ No, look, I think ( believe) I won’t be tempted to come back to Earth…Ah, I feel rejuvenated at least twenty years since I decided to leave, to leave the Earth ‘’

Richard said, all thrilled. “ Of course, moving  on another planet ( it) must be a little …as to be reborn, right?” Margareth said, looking at Richard with shining eyes, full glass in her hand. She too had drunk abundantly. Some times before there had been rumors that Margareth was going to leave for Mars with Richard, but then she had given up. She didn’t feel like leaving her daughter and her grandchildren.

Yet Margareth couldn’t help but think that oh, even Richard had children and grandchildren, but he would have left for Mars anyway.

Of all those who had been invited to that farewell party___they were more than thirty people___certainly no one had even thought to leave the earth to go and live on another planet, yet all of them felt more admiration than bewilderment for Richard’s decision. They were all people no longer young , and everyone of them was aware that staying ( remaining) on the Earth , instead of taking the flight to one of the other planets where now they could live, they would have involved imminent risks to their lives, even if they were in good health.  It had all started more than thirty years earlier with the coming of the first unknown virus that had decimated the oldest population on the entire world. In that first round it had been above all the over the 80s who  had died, even if there had been also dead among the less old and, although to a much lesser extent, also among people who were not at all old, and not even elderly. That FIRST DEADLY VIRUS had been followed by other equally unknown and deadly viruses which, each of them, had made victims , especially among the older population. These terrible viruses  exterminating the population of the world had followed one another within a few years of each other . As soon as the pandemic triggered by one of these viruses was ( had been) over, A NEW VIRUS had arrived, with a new pandemic and a lot of dead.

When this drastic method of rejuvenating and reduction of the world population had started, all those who , sitting at the long table in the magnificent park, were celebrating ….Richard leaving for Mars, well, all of them were young and had not felt in danger. But , over the years ( going by the years), they too were no longer young, so with the arrival of each NEW VIRUS, they felt more and more destined to be killed too.( Or : to be condemned to death). 

Eh, Richard, who would have left the Earth by the end of the month, to go to live on Mars, ( he) had, at least, made sure to escape the extermination of the next deadly virus. Even if it had not arrived for now, you could be sure that within a few weeks THE NEW VIRUS, prepared to further reduce, and also to rejuvenate the world population, would make its coming.

 That was just a brief interval ( interlude) between the end of one pandemic and the arrival of the next. But, come on, that was an opportunity to have fun all together, they were all more or fewer friends, on, it was not the case to start thinking…about the exterminating virus that was about to arrive, which likely would have them all killed, since all of them were already in advanced age. Oh, and Richard, up there on Mars, would not have even known that they were dead. The dinner was going on in an atmosphere of cheerfulness ( joy), of laughter . Everyone was tasting excellent food and drinking abundantly. Almost they all were euphoric.  “ Hey, Richard, I see you didn’t invite your ex-wives “ Oswald observed, who knew that with that remark he would have made Richard angry. “ NOOOOO! You don’t have to talk to me of…those there, please! If you are my friends, you don’t make me even think about those there!” Richard screamed, furiously, waving his fists. “ But also they…your ex-wives , will know that you are about to leave for Mars, right?” Oswald insisted on the provocation. Richard first threatened him ( Oswald) putting ( stretching out) his fists on his…muzzle, then he grabbed the table, shaking it, as if he wanted to turn it over.

Richard had just calmed down and was talking quietly with Paul and Mary, telling why his children and grandchildren had not come to his party to say farewell to the Earth. Of course ( But sure) , he had invited them, oh but they had decided to not come…

Of a sudden, in that  festive  atmosphere of chatter and laughter, they all sitting at the table heard a kind of grunt…that was becoming more and more dark, and it sounded less and less as a grunt, as it was approaching them. It was a sound too guttural to be a grunt. They knew that in that park there were hares, fawns, and fallow deer, but  that there were also bears no one knew. That guttural, dark sound, which sounded like the cry of a beast, but it could also be that of a man, as it got closer to them, it was more and more fearful, more and more threatening, so that all of them sitting at the table ( become numb in their chairs) stood with their backs straight on their chairs, and someone got up to look around. And then they saw, coming from behind the villa, that kind of big, swollen, dark sack, that moved wobbling, almost crawling,  on very short legs…if they were legs…What beast was that? Now the cry that beast emitted seemed again a grunt, a ferocious grunt…Was it ( the beast) a wild boar? That big and dark, swollen sack  had long fangs on its kind of snout. But what fangs were those? They looked more like two long curved blades. While that big swollen sack , which perhaps was a beast, was dragging and swaying closer, barking more and more fearfully, while all the participants in the party looking at it, petrified with fear, Richard ran into the villa and soon after came out carrying a rifle with which he shot that scary big being , which perhaps was a beast. The big sack slumped to the ground, letting out a plaintive sound that sounded human. Richard was the first to approach that big, now harmless thing. It wasn’t a beast, but a big sack of fur. There was Richard’s second wife inside the sack. “She! Damned, she! I bet this bad wretch wanted to stop me from leaving for Mars! “ Richard cried. He didn’t seem to care at all that the woman was dead, and that he had killed her.

All those invited invited to the party agreed that it was necessary to make the corpse of the killed woman disappear, otherwise, Richard risked being arrested and he could have left for Mars. So they spent the night not dancing and having fun inside the magnificent villa, as they had expected, but to get busy so that the corpse of the woman could not be found. They decided to wall it in the underground  villa, where it was very unlikely the corpse could be searched.

Richard was so able to leave the Earth forever to begin his new life on Mars. Even if his ex-wife’s corpse would have been found, and he would have been suspected, he could rest assured that they could not certainly come looking for him on Mars.