Minha última aquisição, mas em português e no e-reader Kindle

Prologue

Today when I awoke from a nap the faceless man was there before me. He was seated on the chair across from the sofa I’d been sleeping on, staring straight at me with a pair of imaginary eyes in a face that wasn’t.

The man was tall, and he was dressed the same as when I had seen him last. His face-that-wasn’t-a-face was half hidden by a wide-brimmed black hat, and he had on a long, equally dark coat.

“I came here so you could draw my portrait,” the faceless man said, after he’d made sure I was fully awake. His voice was low, toneless, flat. “You promised you would. You remember?”

“Yes, I remember. But I couldn’t draw it then because I didn’t have any paper,” I said. My voice, too, was toneless and flat. “So to make up for it I gave you a little penguin charm.”

“Yes, I brought it with me,” he said, and held out his right hand. In his hand—which was extremely long—he held a small plastic penguin, the kind you often see attached to a cell phone strap as a good-luck charm. He dropped it on top of the glass coffee table, where it landed with a small clunk.

“I’m returning this. You probably need it. This little penguin will be the charm that should protect those you love. In exchange, I want you to draw my portrait.”

I was perplexed. “I get it, but I’ve never drawn a portrait of a person without a face.”

My throat was parched.

“From what I hear, you’re an outstanding portrait artist. And there’s a first time for everything,” the faceless man said. And then he laughed. At least, I think he did. That laugh-like voice was like the empty sound of wind blowing up from deep inside a cavern.

He took off the hat that hid half of his face. Where the face should have been, there was nothing, just the slow whirl of a fog.

I stood up and retrieved a sketchbook and a soft pencil from my studio. I sat back down on the sofa, ready to draw a portrait of the man with no face. But I had no idea where to begin, or how to get started. There was only a void, and how are you supposed to give form to something that does not exist? And the milky fog that surrounded the void was continually changing shape.

“You’d better hurry,” the faceless man said. “I can’t stay here forlong.”

My heart was beating dully inside my chest. I didn’t have much time. I had to hurry. But my fingers holding the pencil just hung there in midair, immobilized. It was as though everything from my wrist down into my hand were numb. There were several people I had to protect, and all I was able to do was draw pictures. Even so, there was no way I could draw him. I stared at the whirling fog. “I’m sorry, but your time’s up,” the man without a face said a little while later. From his faceless mouth, he let out a deep breath, like pale fog hovering over a river.

“Please wait. If you give me just a little more time—”

The man put his black hat back on, once again hiding half of his face.“One day I’ll visit you again. Maybe by then you’ll be able to draw me. Until then, I’ll keep this penguin charm.”

Then he vanished. Like a mist suddenly blown away by a freshening breeze, he vanished into thin air. All that remained was the unoccupied chair and the glass table. The penguin charm was gone from the tabletop.

It all seemed like a short dream. But I knew very well that it wasn’t. If this was a dream, then the world I’m living in itself must all be a dream.

Maybe someday I’ll be able to draw a portrait of nothingness. Just like another artist was able to complete a painting titled Killing Commendatore. But to do so I would need time to get to that point. I would have to have time on my side.
Excerpted from Killing Commendatore by Haruki Murakami. Copyright © 2018 by Haruki Murakami. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Treino de hoje : 6km de rodagem com subidas, além da ginástica inicial às 7h30.

Dia de intenso calor, sol forte, cansado dos treinos. Quase parei no meio devido à fadiga. Mas resisti à tentação do conforto e finalizei corretamente.

Deixei para descansar agora à tarde mas me envolvi com escritos, relatos, planilhas e demais atividades rotineiras. Mas sempre ouvindo minhas músicas, agora na fase canto gregoriano.

Volta e meia sinto vontade de ouvir essas paradas antigas. Tenho uma imensa coleção de CDs com músicas ditas clássicas ou eruditas. Não quero parecer pedante mas é desse tipo que sempre gostei.

Ouço também outras modalidades : rap, hip-hop, Criolo, Emicida, Johnny Hooker, Lineker, Rincón Sapiência, Racionais MC e malucos em geral.

Dona R está chamando para tomar café. Até daqui a pouco…

I

Encontrei-me novamente hoje no Bosque com meu caro amigo Jarbas, parksionista. Sempre levo um papo com ele, assim como vários colegas de longa data de caminhadas.Surpreendi-me com a desenvoltura com que conversamos pois, às vezes, está menos expansivo.Hoje, no entanto, conversamos mais longamente.Entre tantos assuntos, contou-me que esteve em São Paulo, no Hospital Sírio-Libanês (onde dez entre dez políticos e celebridades cuidam dos aiaiais), levado pela filha para uma consulta.Que custou-lhe 800 reais.Mas a boa notícia – para ele, pelo menos – é que começou a usar um adesivo chamado Neupro.E está obtendo bom resultado quanto à mobilidade.Asseverou-me que o médico em questão perguntou-lhe o que desejava em primeiro lugar, pois quando se tenta tratar de tudo, o resultado é sempre pífio.Ele escolheu melhorar a mobilidade.E teceu loas ao médico e ao medicamento.Ao par disso, sempre me contou que faz o tratamento convencional alopático, além de outras terapias.Mas que o Neupro o surpreendeu.De modos que não poderia me furtar a comentar com você esta parada.https://www.tuasaude.com/neupro-rotigotina/

Um abraço do …, irmão.

P.S.: estamos de partida para os … no sábado 15 de dezembro às 9h10

Treino de hoje : musculação, das 9 às 10h50, completa. Dei um migué nos abdominais pois já estava cansado ao final.

Estou percebendo uma tendência de fadiga acumulada. Nessa hora, dou um corte em treinos de força para evitar overtraining e desaguar em nova lesão.

Nós sabemos mais do que ninguém da nossa condição. Há prescrições médicas, de fisioterapia, de treinos, nutrição e outros, dos quais a gente sabe melhor que quem os determina.

Voltei para o mate, jornal, contas, e-mails, correspondência.

Dona B passou a manhã assando biscoitos de Natal; assim, resolvi comprar o almoço no empório aqui perto, onde costumo também comprar queijo minas e ovos Yamaguishi.

Tudo bem, mas no elevador a bandeja de ovos pendeu e não consegui evitar a queda.

Resultado : de 15 sobraram 2 inteiros.

Como estavam embalados e fechados, foi possível despejar na frigideira e viraram uma omelete GGG.

Há anos compro-os nesse mesmo lugar e nunca derrubei. Esta foi a primeira vez, que espero seja a última.