I took out several sheets. Elia is still sitting in front of me, ready to answer my questions. Remembering those events is making him nervous, much more than expected. Maybe because all of his acquaintances tried to make him forget about them.
<<So, that chick … could you describe it?>>
<<Well, it was a normal chick. Perhaps its hair was a little more yellow than normal … it had a very strong color. But nothing more.>>
I nod <<And when did you start calling him that way? When did you nickname him “Fenny”?>>
<<“Her” by they way, she’s a female.>> he corrected me <<And we started calling her like that few days later, when things started to get really weird.>>
<<Did something particular happen before then?>>
Elia looks up while he thinks about it <<Um … let’s see … a few things happened, like when we tried to feed Fanny.>>
<<That is?>>
<<The first day we left her at home. We’ve been out all the time and came back late, so we didn’t think about her too much. Fenny hadn’t eaten and … >> Elia scratches his head <<anyway we didn’t waste much time on her, Brigitte tried to give her something to eat but then the fatigue took over and we all went to sleep.>>
<<And Fenny slept with you?>>
<<Er…>> Elia tries to remember it <<n… no. I think.>>
<<With Marco’s parents then.>>
<<I don’t … I don’t remember where she slept. I think she slept in the room with me and Marco but… I don’t remember well.>>
<<Got it. Go ahead.>>
<<So, the day after Brigitte tried to feed Fanny with more insistence, she didn’t want her to starve randomly. She had searched the internet a way to feeding chicks but Fanny didn’t want to eat that stuff, and we didn’t have many of the things described there either. >>
<<What exactly did she want to eat?>>
<<Meat.>>
<<Meat?>>
<<Yes. We found out by accident. We tried everything and then as a joke Marco put a small piece of ham in front of her. We didn’t think she would really do it, but Fanny ate it.>>
<<She likes ham then.>>
<<Yes. We gave her a whole slice of ham and she ate it all. She was hungry.>>
<<And why would this event be strange?>> I ask.
<<Well … first of all chicks don’t eat ham. And then after eating it Fenny began to… smoke.>>
<<She was smoking?>>
<<Yes. From the mouth. Little though, at first we didn’t even noticed.>>
<<And when did you realize it, what did you do?>>
<<It was Brigitte who realized this. She immediately took her to the sink to make her drink some water, but Fenny jumped out and I was the one to retrieve her. I was really scared, I thought she was hurt. She was very hot too, as if … >> Elia gives a half smile <<at that moment I thought he had caught a fever because of the blow she had taken.>>
<<A chick with a fever?>>
<<Yeah, I know, that’s bullshit, but it is the first thing that came to my mind. >> the boy says smiling.
<<Okay … so she was afraid of water?>>
<<Yes. She just doesn’t wanted to get washed.>>
<<But Brigitte had washed her the day before, or am I wrong? >>
<<Y … yes. Technically she had. However that morning we did not succeed. Fenny didn’t want to know anything about water. She acted worse than a cat. And she was really hot, holding her in hand for too long was almost impossible, so we left her alone.>>
<<So?>>
<<So … nothing in particular happened right after that. Marco’s father was still angry about the box, those two quarreled again, and his father eventually came out saying he had to go and talk to the Arab merchant, the one who sold him the box.>>
<<Do you know where it is that merchant?>>
<<No. But another strange thing happened here. The father took the car keys and turned it on. We heard the engine, and we heard the car going away. At lunch he still hadn’t returned and we all had lunch in the living room, then we went out to go to the beach.>>
<<And…? >>
Elia shakes his head << The car was there.>>
<<Was the father back?>>
<<We immediately thought he was back, yes. We went to the beach without asking too many questions. There was a party that evening, we had planned to go there.>>
<<But …?>>
<< But he was not back. Because that night he called us and told us he would be late.>>
<<And you weren’t worried about that?>>
A smile escapes from Elia <<Marco was totally drunk. Brigitte was flirting with someone and I too was talking with a girl. We weren’t connected with the head. And Tommy didn’t call us, he called Sara. She was the one who told us that Tommy was going to be late. And she said it because she was furious… I don’t know why though. I mean, we weren’t even at home, so we rightly didn’t give a damn about the fact that he was gonna be late. This event bothered her though, so she went home and left us at the party.>>
<<And when did you return that day?>>
<<Late. I mean… we went back the next day. That party was full of people and it must have been five o’clock when things finally calmed down. We thought about going back, but Marco wanted to stay out to see the sunrise so we stayed on the beach to see it. We fell asleep though. So… >>
<<Got it. What happened when you returned?>>
<<Oh God … we woke up there, we had lunch because we woke up at lunchtime practically, and then we returned home around three or four. At home, things were quiet. Marco and I went to our room, Brigitte went to look after Fenny and … then she called us because she needed help with the chick and when we reached her she told us that the ham was finished and she didn’t know what to give to the chick. Marco was annoyed, he didn’t give a damn about that chick. But Brigitte didn’t want to leave her without eating, so we started trying different foods, and apparently she like sausage. She ate very little however, much less than the day before. And while she was eating Tommy came and told us that we shouldn’t have filled Fenny with food, especially since all the ham was already finished. Beyond that, not much happened that day. But in retrospect … there were so many things wrong. A lot. We just didn’t notice them. We were all distracted.>>
<<Many things wrong? Like what?>>
<<Like the fact that Fenny had run out of all the ham. But we hadn’t given it to her. Nor did Tommy, because we didn’t tell him that Fenny ate meat. But when we got back he knew it. And it’s strange because even Sara didn’t knew. But the strangest thing was when we had dinner together that night. Marco and Tommy were talking and joking with each other. Brigitte and Sara played with the chick. And I heard Tommy say to Marco: “enough, I won’t eat too much, we gorged ourselves like pigs at lunch”.>>
<<And what did Marco answer?>>
<<He gave him right.>> Eliah says <<And the discourse changed immediately. Nothing strange, right? Days later I realized that when Tommy said “we gorged ourselves” he meant not only him and Sara … but also Marco. He thought he ate with his son.>>
<<When Marco didn’t eat at home, he ate with you.>>
<<Exactly.>>