ՆԻԿՈԼ ՓԱՇԻՆՅԱՆ. ԵՐԿՐԻ ՀԱԿԱՌԱԿ ԿՈՂՄԸ
51. վհուկների որս
Ես նավ էի բարձրացել Խուլիոյի տված մի տոմսակով. նա ինձ ասել էր, որ ուղեւորության համար պետք է 1000 եվրո վճարեմ նավապետին եւ դա կարող եմ անել պատեհ մի ժամանակ: Ահա մի օր որոշեցի մարել հաշիվներս եւ այցի գնացի նավապետին: Նրա անունը Ռիկարդո էր, մոտ 40 տարեկան բարետես մի մարդ, բայց առանց միրուքի ու ծխամորճի. չնայած սիգար էր ծխում:
The other side of the world - N. Pashinyan
- Witch Hunt
I had gotten on board the ship with the ticket Julio had given me. He had told me that I should pay 1000 Euros to the captain, which I could do at a convenient time. So one day I decided to settle my account and went to pay a visit to the captain. His name was Ricardo, a photogenic man of 40 but without a beard or a pipe, although he smoked a cigar. I put the small envelope with the money on his desk. He thanked me and offered me rum and coffee; I accepted. It turned out that the person who served the rum and coffee was the captain’s wife, which surprised me a great deal:
“On a ship like this, it’s not easy to find female crew members. You’ve seen the types of temptations here. Our women are at least consoled by spending their vacations with us,” explained Captain Ricardo and informed me that there were other men on the crew who had brought their wives and children along on this cruise. The company that owns the ship allowed that once a year.
Over coffee we spoke of different things. The captain seemed like an open person. I asked him, with a smile:
“Doesn’t it bother you that there are witches on the ship…?”
He understood at once that I was referring to the incident in Marta’s cabin:
“What, are you suggesting that I start a witch hunt?” he asked with a smile.
“No, it’s just that I find the stories associated with Marta very interesting. Don’t you think it’s worth an internal investigation, to explain what happened?”
“Don’t you worry, those are just female intrigues,” Ricardo said calmly.
“What are you saying; it doesn’t bother me, it’s just professional curiosity. Do you also think that those who planned the whole thing are Marta’s prostitute friends?”
“Off the record?”
“Off the record!”
“Have you heard about a woman by the name of Paola?”
“Yes, of course.”
“She’s a very interesting woman; she likes to be the center of attention. At the beginning of the cruise she wasn’t satisfied with the attention she was getting from the men and had heard that the reason for that was a prostitute by the name of Marta. Paola met her and had seen before her eyes an unfortunate peasant girl, who, due to circumstances, had ended up in the hands of pimps and couldn’t get away from them. Marta is a naïve woman and very unlucky. Paola decided to help her. It was Paola and Pepa who came out of Marta’s bathroom. They were the ones who told the wives of the husbands who had slept with Marta about their husbands’ infidelities. This is the whole truth,” summed up Ricardo.
“Excuse me, Captain, but I don’t get it. Did Paolo do all that for her own sake or to help Marta?”
“Both. That’s what I think, anyway.”
“And couldn’t Marta refuse if she doesn’t want to do it.”
“Have you heard about trafficking? It’s not that easy. That Marta is really an unlucky girl. She’s Brazilian, from a poor peasant family. Her family had emigrated from their home with the hope of finding a better life. On the way, her father got ill with tuberculosis. They didn’t have the means to pay for his treatment and the girl was forced to sell her virginity to pay the doctor. Later on, the story came out and Marta’s father threw her out of the house. The physician gave Marta to someone else, and he gave her to another. Then she surfaced in Argentina, and then, on this ship. Let’s assume that she was saved right now; where would she go or what kind of job can she have? She has no place to go and so she has to do what she does, although I know that she suffers horribly, horribly because of it all.”
“And why don’t you help her?” I asked.
“You know, I’m just a captain. That is, a driver and I don’t stick my nose into things that don’t concern me. With the exception of the cruise and its security, everything else is the business of the tourism company that has been renting this ship for many years. And how can I help Marta? Those men consider her their property and if I were to argue against that, nothing good will come my way.”
“And is it legal to have prostitutes on the ship?”
“I said that I wouldn’t stick my nose where it doesn’t belong. For me, the ship has a crew and travelers. Marta and her friends are travelers as far as I’m concerned. Whatever they do in their cabins is none of my business.”
“You know very well what they do in their cabins and in fact, you’ve clarified a few details,” I said, smiling.
“There is no contradiction here. That’s related to the security of the ship. Don’t be surprised when I tell you that in the last two weeks, two married women have found lovers for themselves. I know about it and should watch over the situation.”
I looked at him quizzically.
“No, I’m not the moral police. You yourself understand that it wouldn’t be good if the husbands of those two women start bloodshed on the ship. A few cases like that and I will be left without a job. The name of my ship will appear on the news and would get a bad image. And now I have to keep a watch on the situation so that I may have the opportunity to intercept possible bloodshed.”
“In that case, aren’t you afraid that Marta may throw herself in the ocean?”
“Of course I’m afraid. When the situation had tensed up around her I got a vacation for her from her bosses and now she’s a regular tourist, all expenses paid. Although that Paola amazes me; it looks like she’s found a solution for Marta,” said the captain.
“Really?”
“Yes, my friend. Sometimes we underestimate women. But they are smart if they have to be. Look what that Paola has thought of. When we reach Tokyo, Paola intends to take Marta off the boat after which she’ll try to steal something valuable from some shop and will be caught. Naturally, they’ll sentence her to one or two years of prison. The Japanese prisons will be like heaven for Marta, and her bosses and pimps will soon forget about her existence and she’ll have the chance to start a new life. Paola has promised that after Marta comes out of prison she’ll find her a job in Argentina. And she will; she’s a pretty capable woman. Of course, they’ll run into a few complications leaving the ship, but I may help them. Off the record!”
“Damn it,” I thought to myself. Judging from her movements, her bathing suit, I wouldn’t have though that Paola would be so intelligent and so humanitarian.
“Captain, please allow me to write something on this subject away from Latin America and in general, away from the Western hemisphere. I mean, the ‘off the record’ we agreed on would be known only in the Eastern hemisphere.”
“I knew you would say that and I guess for that reason I divulged my secrets. I agree that this story is worth writing about. I only ask that you change the circumstances as much as possible and really make it such that no one in the Western hemisphere will read what you write.”
“Agreed. But Captain, do you bug the cabins?”
“What are you saying? When there are waiters and servants, it’s not necessary to bug the cabins.”
“You’ve consoled me.”
“You remember, right? Off the record. Come and see me sometime—for coffee.
“Thank you,” I said and left him.
I didn’t try to talk with Marta or Paola. It would have been cruel to bring up Marta’s troubles and besides, she only spoke Portuguese and a little bit of Spanish. And to speak with Paola, you had to wait in line.
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