He had adapted into his new routine as a farmer. Getting up early, working all day, sleeping plagued with nightmares at night. With Tadzio’s help, he’d cleared a small field, sowed wheat and planted potatoes. It was already late in the year to do so, but he hoped the weather would stay warm long enough to harvest in the fall.
The most urgent work done, he took on the Herculean task of removing the weeds and pronging the big field that extended behind the farmhouse all the way up to the forest. At noon, he settled in the shadow of a huge tree, fleeing from the scorching summer heat. He drank fresh water from his thermos and ate the vegetable soup Tadzio’s mother had made.
He must have dozed off for a while, because when he opened his eyes again, he saw a woman traipsing through the vegeta
