Zbohom cestovinám

Na siedme ráno Polly prišla k nádrži skoro. Laboratórium bolo tiché. Chiara mala prísť až o hodinu. Ústav sa takto prebúdzal každé ráno už sto päťdesiatštyri rokov.

On the seventh morning, Polly came down to the tank early. The lab was quiet. Chiara would not be in for another hour. The institute had been waking up like this every morning for one hundred and fifty-four years.

Cestoviny boli vpredu pri nádrži.

Pasta was at the front of the tank.

To nebolo normálne. Šesť rán Polly sedela na okraji a chobotnica bola zložená vo svojej rúre alebo sa vznášala v kúte. Dnes bola chobotnica pritlačená k prednej stene, všetkých osem ramien rozprestretých voľne proti sklu, jej jediné viditeľné oko na úrovni Polly.

This was not normal. For six mornings, Polly had perched on the rim and the octopus had been folded in her pipe, or drifting in a corner. Today the octopus was pressed against the front wall, all eight arms spread loosely against the glass, her single visible eye level with Polly's.

Pozreli sa na seba.

They looked at each other.

Čo prechádza medzi papagájom a obrovskou tichomorskou chobotnicou, pravdepodobne nie je priateľstvo. Chobotnica možno len skúmala teplokrvného tvora, ktorý bol okolo jej nádrže šesť dní. Chobotnice dokážu cez svoju kožu cítiť teplo. Dokážu vnímať pohyb cez svoje prísavky. Zbierali informácie.

What passes between a parrot and a giant Pacific octopus is probably not friendship. The octopus might simply have been investigating the warm-blooded creature that had been around her tank for six days. Octopuses can read warmth through their skin. They can read movement through their suckers. They were collecting information.

Polly poskakovala po okraji. Oko chobotnice ju sledovalo, potom sa jej ramená pomaly posunuli, aby ju nasledovali. Keď Polly zastavila, oko zastavilo.

Polly hopped along the rim. The octopus's eye tracked her, then her arms shifted slowly to follow. When Polly stopped, the eye stopped.

Sedem celých minút sa na seba pozerali. Vodný filter jemne bzučal.

For seven full minutes they watched each other. The water filter hummed softly.

Potom chobotnica urobila niečo, čo Polly celý týždeň nevidela. Pomaly rozvinula jedno rameno a pritlačila jeho koniec na sklo presne oproti miestu, kde odpočívala Pollyina noha. Prísavky sa rozšírili, potom zastavili.

Then the octopus did something Polly had not seen her do all week. She unfurled one arm slowly and pressed the very tip of it against the glass exactly opposite where Polly's foot was resting. The suckers spread, then stilled.

Polly sklonila svoj zobák k sklu a jemne ho dotkla zatvoreným zobákom. Cez studené sklo, na jej strane, nebolo nič. Na strane chobotnice možno veľa.

Polly lowered her beak to the glass and touched it gently with her closed beak. Through the cold glass, on her side, there was nothing. On the octopus's side, perhaps a great deal.

Rameno zostalo jednu dlhú minútu. Potom sa vrátilo späť do vody.

The arm stayed for one long minute. Then it slid back into the water.

Chiara prišla s dvoma kávami. "Odchádzaš," povedala. "Predstavovala som si, že sa to stane. Cestuj bezpečne. Vráť sa, keď môžeš."

Chiara came in with two coffees. "You are leaving," she said. "I imagined this would happen. Travel safely. Come back when you can."

Polly sa zdvihla z okraja. Odletela dole dlhým koridorom ústavu, okolo sardiniek a chalúh, a von do jasného rána Villa Comunale. Pred ňou sa otvoril Neapolský záliv.

Polly lifted off the rim. She flew out down the long corridor of the institute, past the sardines and the kelp, and out into the bright morning of the Villa Comunale. The Bay of Naples opened in front of her.