by Adolfo Bioy Casares
Translated by Kelly Washbourne with Suzanne Jill Levine
Excerpted from Fiction Volume 10, Numbers 1 & 2 (1991).
Illustration of a meeting between Faust and Mephistopheles from an 18th century chapbook.
ON THAT JUNE night of 1540, Doctor Faust was perusing the shelves of his extensive library in the tower chambers. He paused here and there; he would take up a volume, browse through it nervously, and replace it. Finally he selected Xenophon’s Memorabilia. He placed the book on the lectern and settled down to read. He looked in the direction of the window. Something was shaking outside. Faust said under his breath: A gust of wind in the forest. He arose and abruptly opened the curtains. He saw the night, to which the trees lent a more imposing air.
Under the table, Lord slept. The dog’s innocent breathing, serene and persuasive like dawn, affirmed the reality of the world. Faust thought of Hell.
Twenty-four years earlier, in exchange for an invincible magic power, he had sold his soul to the Devil. The years had passed swiftly. His time was up at midnight. It was, however, not yet eleven.
Faust heard footsteps on the staircase; then three sharp knocks on the door. “Who is it?” he asked. It is I,” answered a voice whose monosyllabic “I” did not give it away. The doctor had recognized it, but he felt somewhat irritated and repeated the question. His servant answered in a bewildered and reproachful tone: “It is I, Wagner.”
Faust opened the door. The servant came in with the tray, the glass of Rhine wine and slices of bread, and cheerfully remarked on how addicted his master was to that refreshment. While Wagner explained, as so many times before, that the place was very lonesome and that those short chats helped him through the night, Faust thought of those agreeable routines that both sweeten and hasten life, drank down a few sips of wine, ate a few bites of bread, and for a moment thought himself safe. He reflected: If I do not stray from Wagner and the dog, I am shielded from danger.
The full story can be found in Fiction Volume 10, Numbers 1 & 2. Please follow the subscribe link for information on ordering.
Adolfo Bioy Casares is the author of Diary of the War of the Pig, A Plan for Escape, Asleep in the Sun, and The invention of Morel. He collaborated with Jorge Luis Borges on several fictions and co-wrote Those Who Love, Also Hate (excerpted in Fiction Volume 10, Numbers 1 & 2) with his wife, Silvina Ocampo.