A Past That Cast a Shadow

"Gustav, can we talk? Gustav, please..."

Felix Krauze stood at the office door waiting for Meiden's reaction. This one, however, was not coming. Felix felt hurt, even though he knew he deserved such treatment and even worse. After what he had done to Gustav, he should be glad that Gustav tolerates him at all. The few harsh words he said from time to time really amounted to nothing.

"Alright, I'll speak through the door, because I really need to discuss a few things with you." Still no response. "David Krosny said you want to hire his father's company to take care of the estate's grounds, but I need your confirmation..."

The door opened and Felix was able to enter the office. It was small, furnished with only a desk, two chairs and a handy cabinet for books and documents, which was currently empty. Meiden returned behind his desk and began pretending to work. Krauze recognized it from his eyes and hands, which worked on the laptop rather mindlessly.

"I don't want strangers hanging around my property," Gustav finally placated him with an answer. "I've already met this guy as such and he seems competent and quiet. Sign a contract with him."

"As you wish. Should I find you a housekeeper, or do you want me to do your shopping and laundry...?"

Gustav looked at him with absolutely thunderstruck eyes.

"None!"

"That's fine. I did plug in the refrigerator for you, though. Gustav..."

Meiden stopped pretending to work.

"I'm sorry," he said without raising his eyes at Krauze. "I shouldn't have said those words."

"It's okay, I know what I did... Damn, but it's been so long. I was hoping that maybe in the new place you would start over, that somehow you would cross out what was..."

"Cross it out? Felix, I really trusted you... Perhaps I made a mistake then, perhaps I should have been stopped then, but surely there was no other way? It's been over a year, damn it, and I still feel that rage and bitterness inside me. Do you know why? Because you think you did the right thing."

"Gustav, you were a hair's breadth away from prison..."

"And maybe it would have been better for me if I had ended up there. But of course it wouldn't have been better for him. I can't forgive someone who doesn't think he did wrong."

Felix clenched his teeth. Did this mean that Gustav would never forgive him and they would never return to a friendly relationship again? That was disappointing. However, Felix was not going to lie just to satisfy Gustav. According to his conscience and his ideals, he did the right thing by protecting Gustav from prison and the Meiden company from a scandal that could lead to bankruptcy. The method wasn't ideal, it's true, but for the greater good one must sometimes make sacrifices. Besides, no one expected the whole incident to hurt Gustav so much. And perhaps that was where the problem lay.

Gustav was a very sensitive man with a wonderful imagination. Some said he was a genius, and Felix agreed with them. Gustav was able to see beauty and emotional depth in practically everything he encountered in life. This, however, made his world different from that of the average person. Felix thought he understood this, but in the end he failed to protect his friend from the blow that his sensitivity was dealt by his father. Not only did he fail to protect him, he was still the catalyst for this action. And yet, knowing Gustav and his sensitivity, he should have foreseen that his heart would break.

According to Olaf Meiden, his son's failure to accept what happened showed a lack of maturity, a childish stubbornness even. He didn't understand that Gustav was not a tough businessman who believes that the highest value is money.

"You're right, you shouldn't forgive me," he said aloud. "But what happened to you is my fault and your father's fault, not yours, so you should finally stop punishing yourself..."

"No, I'm not punishing myself. It was you and father who sent me to this empty place."

"Stop considering yourself a martyr! Before you came here you had a year, a year to go out among the people, to start some work, to do anything with your life but you did nothing. So now don't put all the blame on us. The truth is that you don't want to do anything with your life. You don't want to forget, you don't want to move on, you don't want to forgive. You want to be a victim of injustice..."

Gustav slammed his fist on the desk. At this point, he was so much like his father that it was almost frightening.

"Do you know how many young people are given palaces as gifts?" Felix thought Gustav's fury was a good sign so he continued. "Well, guess? More like a hundred a year? We have more than seven billion people in the world, a large part of whom live in poverty and you were given a palace and you resent that your father banished you to the wilderness? To what bloody wilderness, I ask. I thought you were smarter than to judge a place by its popularity with tourists. This boy, David and his family worked honestly and hard to make this place shine like the year it was built, and did you even thank them, praise them for their good work? The palace was supposed to be officially handed over to you today. Why did you arrive early and surprise honest working people?"

Meiden's lips moved as if he wanted to say something, perhaps to say something in his own defense, but it looked like he found nothing of the sort. On the contrary, maybe he had caused some trouble.

Felix shook his head.

"You have become so wrapped up in yourself and your suffering that you have stopped noticing the people around you. What have you done?"

"Nothing," he replied grimly. He was lying, Felix could easily read it from his face.

Krauze sighed.

"These are honest people," he explained. "Treat them with respect. Don't take out your frustration on them..."

"Who do you take me for?" growled Meiden. "For a slave owner?"

"For a boss. Before, you were one only on paper. You gave orders without seeing people. Now you meet them face to face. Did you see how confused and how uncertain the boy who opened the gate for me is? I have visited the place many times during the renovation and I have not seen a more hardworking, smiling kid. He's a sincere, honest young man and with you he feels insecure like a scared ferret. If a boss brings out such emotions in his employees, he's no better than a slave owner."

Felix's words were clearly not to Gustav's liking, but for some reason he couldn't argue with them. Krause felt sorry for Meiden.

"You are not that man. At least you weren't him. But you started to turn into him," he said. "This place is not an exile for you, it is an opportunity. It's up to you to use it to catch your breath and start living. It depends entirely on you. I'll be dropping by every week, not as the supervisor you think I am, but as your friend, which I still think I am. You will decide for yourself when you decide to accept me anew. And now bye! I wish you a peaceful weekend."

***

Left by Krauze, Gustav noticed that his fists were clenched to the point of pain. It was not easy for him to control his rage, but he managed. He did not punch Felix, although the latter deserved it. But on the other hand, earlier he too had said some unpleasant words to him.

He slowly relaxed his fists.

His gaze turned to the laptop monitor, which displayed a series of random letters. The result of mindlessly tapping on the keyboard to fool Felix into thinking he was working. Felix, however, was too smart for that. It's just too bad he didn't understand the allusion and didn't just come out and tell him the sermon. To hell with him, the sermon and Krauze.

Someone who puts the interests of the company he works for above the welfare of his own friend has no right to lecture Gustav in anything. Unfortunately, he was right about one thing. Gustav was indeed not the nicest to the people who worked on the renovation of the palace. Especially for this boy, whom he knocked down at night like some criminal. He didn't even apologize to him later for the misunderstanding.

"I should probably buy him back that T-shirt," he said quietly. And maybe the pants, he reflected. After all, he was the one who destroyed them. "Damn!"

His annoyance didn't stem from the fact that he had to redeem the clothes he had destroyed, but from the fact that he had actually attacked the boy before he even thought that he was in fact the intruder. Yes in fact the boy could have attacked him and would have been more in the law than he was. The boy could have even reported him to the police for assault and yet he didn't. Either he was so decent, or he was actually a little afraid of Gustav for some reason.

Great, really great. Gustav has become a terror for teenagers.

I guess he will really have to do something to somehow mend relations with these people and with this boy, whom he accepted as an employee, after all. What was this boy's name again? Ah yes, David. Quite a nice name. It suited him just fine.