Dralon and The Adventure in the Contrary World (English version)

The Unsolicited Gift

At the office, Romeo delegated all the meetings for the day to his colleague Audrey and begged her not to bother him for any reason. He was not in the mood to hear stories of unemployed axmen and would-be mandolin tuners. That morning's encounter had already tested him enough. He felt it would take very little, even just a small, innocent oddity, to make him burst like a kernel of corn in a microwave oven.

"So... for no specific reason?" she asked.

"None at all!" Romeo answered, offsetting her doubts.

"Not even if Mr. Watson asks specifically for you?"

"Especially not then."

"Not even if you're wanted by the Department of Labor?"

"Not even then!"

"What if there's a fire?" she insisted, trying to gauge the boundaries of his instruction. "May I bother you then?"

"No, Audrey! I don't want to be bothered, even if we had to evacuate the building for a gas leak."

"...and if we're threatened by a falling asteroid? In that case no one would survive!"

"I SAID NEVER AND FOR NO ONE!" Romeo repeated, raising his voice.

"I get it! You don't want to be bothered at all. You could just say so. There's no need to get so upset," Audrey replied as she returned to her desk, muttering away.

Almost immediately, Romeo regretted his insensitive response.

At the same time, he believed he deserved a little peace and quiet.

As soon as he entered his office, he quickly closed the door behind him, making sure the shutters were still closed and the phone was off the hook. Then, he engaged in three admittedly unfruitful activities: from his window he inspected all the pedestrian crossings in sight, spied on all suspicious cyclists, and kept doodling feathers, scrolls, and hydrants on every possible surface.

He really couldn't share his children's unwarranted euphoria for the situation. On the contrary, he had been trying for hours to soothe the deadly heartburn the circumstances had caused him.

Occasional problems with the postal system were not unusual. He knew that. They happened to many people: some letters never reached their destination, some greeting cards arrived late, retirement checks struggled to be delivered, and some bills were sent to the wrong person. He could understand these mistakes. He was even willing to overlook the complete lack of manners of an atypical postal clerk who shows up in an unbecoming and soiled uniform.

He could not, however, stand the unexplainable appearance and disappearance of the crazy postman who had never been taught that "airmail" doesn't mean dropping packages from the chimney. The thought kept tormenting Romeo like the unbearable itch of an allergic reaction. Who did that madman think he was? One of Santa's elves?

The memory of that smelly oddball provoked a furious resurgence of Romeo's heartburn. Falling exhausted in his chair, he irresponsibly poured some drops of good bourbon into his glass. He had stashed a small bottle in his secret drawer compartment, precisely for such occasions.

His apprehension reminded him of another situation, even if very different – the "Slot Machine Case" – the unexplainable robbery at the Gordons', his neighbors across the street.

At that time, a thief had entered the Gordons' residence in the middle of the night and had stolen some precious silverware and valuable paintings, all in complete silence and covering all his tracks. For a week, Mr. Moffet had taken part in the search for the criminal, joining the neighborhood patrol in combing every bush in the area. He had even stood camouflaged in the park and had taken turns with the surveillance of all the homes within three miles of the Gordons.