Eva's Sins.

II

                                   „We are our masters in a parallel world"

  A large and badly illuminated office because of the thick red curtains hung at the window was seen by Eva while standing in the middle of the room, not that far from that desk in the oriental style at which her father was sitting. And, in the same room, two chairs, with back upholstered in black velvet, a massive wooden bookshelf on the left part, and a red sofa on the right side, were the only shabby furniture of that XIX-th century „science room" as Eva's father used to call his office.

  Yet, even if the room wasn't as welcoming as it should have been at first glance, it was also a place where one could lose himself entirely if he allowed himself to waste some time there, finding it thus enough interesting and somehow acceptable, because of the countless novels found on that bookshelf, making the reader deeply immerse into a new and enough exciting world.

  And, how those novels weren't at all boring let's be honest because all the well-known writers of that moment could be found on that shelf, Eva was often enriching her stock of knowledge with events and situations described in those novels, even if they weren't educational mostly of the cases for a 16 years old girl. But, because there wasn't anybody to keep in check her curiosity or to prohibit her something, Eva could at any time enter and come out of that office, taking any novel she wanted, novels brought there by her father's ex-mistresses or wives.

  That freedom, of reading all she wanted, Eva had due to that she has never been the object of interest neither of her father nor of her step-mothers, who always preferred to „find out" more about what happened outside than in their own house, for the lurid details of what happened in the boudoirs of different ladies and misses of the high society were an interesting subject of talking about than to waste their time to educate the daughter of a first wife.

  And... they were somehow right, for why should have they sacrificed themselves to educate the other's daughter when her father couldn't find time for her, being too busy with other things than to pay attention to what his daughter was doing?! But this made Eva understand that she wasn't more than another „object" found in that house and nothing more and this comparison was better noticed at that moment when Eva was standing in the middle of the room, waiting for her father to start to talk to her. He, however, preferred to let her wait, for he needed to finish reading the newspaper first.

  Then, he finally raised his glance and looked at his daughter over the top of his glasses, which, even if they didn't serve for anything for having no zoom lens, were his favorites. He was all the time using them, for he thought that by using them he was looking like an aristocratic person, an educated man, who knows a lot. And he spent thus minutes in a row, looking at his daughter till he finally dared to talk to her:

  „You'll go to London today and you'll join the „Red Ants." It's your duty as my daughter and I won't accept a „no" as an answer."

  But her father's words resounded in Eva's head like a hard hummer hit, right on the top of the head: „The „Red Ants? But... what is he talking about?! This means that..."

  „I know what are you thinking about, but... it's the only chance to survive, Eva, for... I've lost a poker game."

  Again. He lost a poker game again. „What a surprise!" murmured Eva, bitterly smiling, for it wasn't anything new or surprising - Alfred always promised himself and his creditors that it was the last time he was playing a poker game when he was losing almost everything. Yet... he was always falling into the same abyss... again and again... for only at the game table did he feel like being someone important, triumphantly looking at all those distressful people that were leaving the game before him.