(Of course, she doesn’t dare tell him about the diary. About everything she wrote about him in her diary.)

It’s ironic that in the end she was betrayed by her own big mouth. Not because of any missing documents in her supposed school transfer. Not because her teachers were checking up on her or because her classmates missed her. Not because the educational inspectorate informed her parents. Not because of the park workers. They, the workers, hadn’t made the slightest attempt, either, to find out what was going on every day in the park, even though it would have been easy to notice her—notice them—or suspect the kind of dangers that might be nesting in the hedges. Soon wonders: if it hadn’t been for her diary, would they have even found out about Old Man’s existence? The secret of her truancy hung by a thread, it was only a matter of time—of hours—before she was found out, but he could have been saved from the fire. Every page she wrote in her notebook was a small, sure step toward his condemnation. The more she made up, the more reality slipped from her hands. As she altered Old Man, she destroyed him.

The hideout in the park … What has become of the hideout in the park? It took her a long time to go back, months and months—she’d been unequivocally forbidden from going. And when she did, it was afternoon and the light fell at a different angle, so different it didn’t seem like the same place. That was exactly the feeling she had when she stopped and looked over the hedges: unfamiliarity. They’d planted new bushes, a double line of them that couldn’t be crossed as easily as before. The tree shone golden under the sun. Looked at from afar, it was also another tree, more majestic and less welcoming. It’s not easy to sum up these impressions in precise words. All she says is that she went back as soon as she could, though she knew she wasn’t going to find him there. She admits she felt sad—though more than sadness, it was a shapeless unease that she doesn’t try to name. Old Man rubs his eyes. It was a long time before he went back, too. He was terrified he’d be seen there! No one had forbidden him from going, of course; he could go wherever he wanted, as long as he complied with the restraining order! Although, how could he be sure to comply when he didn’t know exactly where Soon was? It’s an absurd order, Old Man doesn’t know her address, or what school she goes to, or the route she walks every day. He could have found her sitting there again, like on the first day … and they would have arrested him immediately! Even so, he risked it, he couldn’t help it. The park is right next to his house, how could he avoid it forever? The first days, when he dared to go back, he had to endure suspicious glances from the workers. Once, a cop even stopped him, asked for his documentation, wanted to know what he was doing there, and then let him go, just like that! Little by little his confidence grew. Until finally he peered in. The grass was overgrown, and there were a couple of blackbirds pecking at the ground in search of earthworms. They looked at him scornfully and went back to what they were doing. The hideout wasn’t theirs anymore! It had other owners now!