He wasn’t fit for the job. That much was clear by now.
G379 wasn’t a goblin like the others. Roberto wasn’t like the others. Maybe he just wasn’t desperate and sadistic enough. The director, the rickety Monopoly man, had made a mistake in hiring him.
Those eighty euros a day would have been useful to get by for an indefinite period of time, but could Roberto really be content to just get by? Was his situation really so compromised as to preclude any other option? What bound him apart from his pride and his laziness? That money was a quicksand in which he would slowly sink, and once buried he could only wait for death. Three days would become one year, five years, ten, twenty, spent as a goblin torturer of old women.
He didn’t have the same constraints as G381. He could go back to university or find a job. Satisfying or not, one that paid well or not, but one that allowed him to sleep peacefully at night.
Whichever path he chose, one thing was certain: he was done with Villa degli Amorini. But there was one thing he had to do before he left forever.
So he ate dinner and got ready for his last shift. He put on a t-shirt stained with sauce, some old shorts and bad shoes. He put his cell phone and a pack of cigarettes in a plastic bag, left the house, and when he arrived he hid it in the hedge that surrounded the external perimeter of the retirement home. Then, following the usual procedure, he went inside and headed to the third floor.
That evening his colleagues were G316, G323, G357 and G381. A natural leader was missing, and the two older goblins were certainly not known for their charisma or their strong nerves. Given Roberto's plans, so much the better.
At ten o'clock sharp the goblin team began its shift. Together they headed to the recreation room to take the old ladies to bed.
The usual hubbub broke out and, while the other goblins were busy chasing the old ladies, Roberto immediately headed to Genoveffa.
The old lady, along with her three friends, was still busy with her evening game of burraco.
“Genoveffa, I need to talk to you,” Roberto began, shaking slightly.
“What? Do you want to tell me that we have to stop playing?” Genoveffa asked absentmindedly, absorbed in studying the cards in her hand.
“No, not for that,” Roberto replied, tense.
“Then for what?” Genoveffa was visibly annoyed.
“I’m leaving this shitty job. When we’re done with our conversation, I’ll walk out that door and never come back. I only came to ask you if you want to come away with me,” Roberto was finally able to communicate like a normal human, despite his goblin form.
“We’ve already talked about this,” Genoveffa concluded hastily.
Roberto was neither a hero nor a benefactor. He had no power to change things in Villa degli Amorini or to make it go out of business, and deep down he didn’t even know if it was right to do so. That place was home and sustenance for countless men and women who lived in stagnation day by day, waiting for death. There was no one to save. To have his conscience clear he only needed to know that he was no longer part of that infernal mechanism. But Genoveffa seemed to be the only one in there who still had the will and strength to live. It was right to reach out to her and give her the chance to do so, however difficult it was. Accept his help or refuse it, the choice was up to her.
“Yes, and I still don’t understand your decision. Even if we were to fail and we couldn’t revoke your incapacitation, what’s the worst that could happen? Worst case scenario they’ll bring you back here. Isn’t it worth trying?” Roberto asked.
Genoveffa snorted, looked at the cards in her hand and then at the faces of the three old ladies in front of her. They were speechless, they didn't understand what was happening.
“I’m going. I hope you’ll have another chance like this in the future. I hope you’ll find your freedom again and enjoy it until the end of your days,” Roberto said, turning his back on her and preparing to leave the room.
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G381 and G357 were along the corridor, busy transporting the old women in wheelchairs. G316 and G323, brandishing a broom and an orthopedic cane respectively, were still directing the exodus operation. Seeing that Roberto hadn’t accomplished anything that evening, G323 approached him menacingly. “What the fuck do you think they pay you for, G379? For chitchat?” he asked, rubbing his fingers on the metal of the cane cane.
Roberto ignored him and continued to advance towards the door.
“Piece of shit, I’m talking to you!” G323 exclaimed, and struck Roberto on the back of the head with a stick. It was unpleasant, but it didn’t hurt. Roberto discovered that goblin bodies not only regenerated wounds, but also had a reduced perception of pain.
A chair creak was heard from the other end of the room, and then a series of rapid footsteps. Genoveffa rushed at G323 like a fury, knocked him to the ground, and crushed his head. G316, terrified, backed away, but Genoveffa grabbed him, lifted him off the ground, and pulled, tearing him in two, while a stream of green blood and dark viscera dripped onto the floor. Then she threw him away, like a broken doll.
“Let’s go,” Genoveffa said resolutely.
The goblin and the granny ran together toward the elevator, while, sensing that something was getting out of hand, G381 and G357 launched themselves in pursuit. On the way, Roberto made a detour to the infirmary to get a diaper, but it took him less than five seconds. When they reached the landing of the third floor, Genoveffa pressed the button to call the elevator, and the doors opened just as the two goblins were crossing the threshold of the ward.
Roberto entered first and pressed the 0 button, Genoveffa immediately after. G381 tried to slip in, but Genoveffa kicked him with the sole of her pink slipper, and the wine-colored goblin flew out.
When the elevator reached the ground floor, Roberto immediately heard a commotion on the stairs. G357 and G381 were raising the alarm of their escape. Without wasting a moment, the goblin and the grandmother headed for the glass door of the entrance. Roberto tried to open it, expecting to hear the sound of the alarm, but it didn't budge. It was locked. The goblin was seized by a moment of panic.
“Move,” Genoveffa ordered him, and with a knee given without hesitation the old woman shattered the glass.
The grandmother ran out first, and Roberto, after putting on his diaper, jumped into the gap with the aim of overcoming the pile of sharp crystals. While he was still in the air his body expanded, while he regained his human shape. The increase in mass and the change in center of gravity unbalanced him, making him fall on his buttocks. He pushed himself up with his hands and ran barefoot towards Genoveffa who had almost reached the gate.
The old lady stepped over it with ease, while Roberto tried to climb to the top, but only managed to get over its summit with his head and upper limbs. He stretched out and waved his arms at Genoveffa, while the fat superintendent with curlers emerged from the broken door in the courtyard of Villa degli Amorini, looking like a vengeful demon. Dozens of goblins had crowded behind the glass entrance, tense and raring.
Genoveffa grabbed Roberto's hands and pulled him down.
Without even having time to catch his breath, Roberto leapt to his feet and retrieved his cell phone from the hedge. Then, together, they took to their heels, running away breathlessly along the sidewalk of the desolate street.
The gravel under his bare feet was painful, but Roberto was focused body and soul on escaping, so he didn't pay attention.
After about three hundred meters, Genoveffa suggested hiding in a patch of vegetation at the side of the road.
The street lights struggled to reach that recess, and the outlines of their bodies were barely shaped by the orange glimmer.
Genoveffa studied Roberto’s lines. His slender legs, his protruding ribs, his barely visible abs. His bald head. The ridiculous white diaper covering his private parts. Then she said, “You know, you’re a fine lad.”
Roberto blushed and replied, “Well, you’re a pretty good-looking granny, too.”
It was the first time Roberto had lingered so long on Genoveffa’s appearance. Her gray hair was tied in a ponytail, and her eyes were bright and blue, surrounded by wrinkles. She was a little shorter than him, and it was difficult to guess the shape of her body under her pink nightgown. Despite the lack of elasticity in her skin, however, Genoveffa must have had an enviable amount of muscle tone even for a young man. Her face was full of joy and energy, she seemed excited and amused by the escape. She was very different from the grim old woman he had met four days earlier.
“What do we do now?” Roberto asked.
“I want to sleep tonight. A long and restful sleep, without constant awakenings caused by nosy goblins. And then, tomorrow, I will have to look for a lawyer.”
“I have nothing planned for tomorrow, I will give you a hand. And tonight you can have my bed, I will sleep on the sofa.”
“Good. Then how about we call a taxi?”
Roberto smiled, and took his cell phone out of the bag.
“I think I will get an Uber. Payment by card, fewer questions.”
Genoveffa looked at him confused, she did not know what an Uber was. Roberto smiled again, more obviously. At that moment he still had no idea what life had in store for him. But in the days to come he would not be alone. He would have an energetic grandmother to keep him company.
After booking the Uber, Roberto lit a cigarette.
"Do you mind if I ask you for one?"