Chapter 33 Cube 3...She was drawn here by her own projection...

Some kind of family curse is also present in the bun book.The plot became more and more complicated, and the story became more and more bizarre. On the way, we stopped in front of a country tavern, and sat down for lunch at a long table under two large trees.The manor around the tavern is planted with endless orange trees. We had kebabs and a greek goat cheese salad.While dessert arrived, I was talking to my dad about the calendar on the Magic Island.Of course, I couldn't let him know that I was reading the Bun Book, so I was forced to lie and tell him that I had come up with this calendar in the backseat of my car out of boredom.

Dad was dumbfounded.He took out his pen and calculated on the napkin. "The fifty-two cards in a deck of cards represent the fifty-two weeks of the year. Calculated, there are a total of three hundred and sixty-four days in the whole year, divided into thirteen months, each with twenty-eight days . But in fact, there are 365 days in a year, and the extra day..." "The extra day is 'Joker Day,'" I said. "Wow, what a coincidence!" Pa sat at the table and for a while just stared blankly at the orange groves surrounding the tavern. "Hans Thomas, when were you born?" he asked me suddenly.

I don't quite understand what Dad means. "February 29, 1972," I replied. "What day is that?" Dad asked again. I suddenly realized: I was born in a leap year! According to the calendar on the magic island, that day should be considered "Joker Day".How hadn't I thought of this when reading the Bun book? "The day I was born was 'Joker Day.'" I replied to Dad. "Yes! Exactly." "Dad, was I born on 'Joker Day' because my father was a clown, or because I was a clown?" I asked. Dad looked at me and replied seriously: "Both. I got a son on 'Joker Day', and you came into this world on 'Joker Day'. Both father and son are clowns."

Dad was very happy to find out that I was born on "Joker's Day", but I could also hear from his tone that he began to worry that one day I would replace his "Joker" status. Regardless, he quickly turned the subject back to the calendar. "Did you just come up with this calendar?" Dad asked me again. "It's so interesting! Every week has its own cards, every month has its own points, from Ace's ace to the old K's thirteen, and every season has its own suits - spades, Hearts, diamonds or clubs. Hans Thomas, you should apply for a patent from the government. As far as I know, no one in the world has invented a 'playing card calendar' yet."

Dad had a coffee cup in his hand, giggling as he drank.Then he added: "At first we in the West used the 'Julian calendar' (Julian calendar, translation annotation: Julius Caesar in BC, forty-six years created), and later switched to the 'Gregorian calendar' (Gregorian calendar, Annotation: The calendar revised by Pope Gregory XIII is currently in use in all countries in the world, with 365 days per year, 366 days in leap years, and a leap every four years). It seems that now is the time to implement the new calendar. " Apparently Dad was more interested in calendar stuff than I was.He picked up the pen, did a quick calculation on the napkin, then looked up at me with a sly gleam in his pupils, like the buffoon in a poker game. "There's something more interesting," he said.

I look at him. "Each deck has four sets of cards—clubs, diamonds, spades, and hearts," Dad said. "If you add up the points of each set, you get ninety-one. A unit is one point, a K is thirteen points, a Q is twelve points...etc. Each set of thirteen cards adds up The number of points is ninety-one." "Ninety-one? So what?" I was confused. Dad put his pen on the napkin and stared straight at me with his eyes open. "What is ninety-one times four?" he asked. "Nine four thirty six..." I counted. "The answer is three hundred and sixty-four, wow, what a coincidence!"

"Yes!" The total points of a deck of playing cards are three hundred and sixty-four, plus a clown card. According to the calendar you speak of, some years have two 'clown days'.Hans Thomas, there are usually two buffoon cards added to a deck of poker, and that's why.That's impossible. "Dad, do you mean that playing cards are made according to the principles of the calendar?" I asked. "The total number of points in a deck of cards happens to be the same as the total number of days in a year. Do you think this is intentional?" "It's hard to say. However, I think it shows how little the average person pays attention to the symbols and numbers that appear in front of his eyes all day long. Consider that there are millions of decks of playing cards in circulation around the world. , but no one has ever added up the points on the cards to see what the answer would be."

Dad sat at the dining table, thinking about it quietly.His face gradually became serious. "This is troublesome! If the Joker card has a place in the calendar, then it will not be easy for me to ask others for the Joker card in the future." After speaking, he laughed like a horse.After all, the poker calendar isn't something we should take seriously. When we got back to the car after lunch, Dad was still giggling.Apparently he still had the poker calendar in mind. As the car approached Athens, I saw a huge road sign on the side of the road.Along the way, this road sign has appeared several times, but now when I saw it, I shouted excitedly: "Stop j Dad, please stop!"

Dad was shocked, stepped on the brakes hurriedly, and drove the car to the side of the road to stop. "What's the matter with you now?" He turned to look at me. "Get out of the car!" I kept yelling. "We must get off here!" Dad quickly opened the car door and jumped out. "Are you bewitched?" he asked. I stretched out my arm and pointed to a road sign a few meters away. "Did you see that signpost?" I asked Dad. I should have sympathized with Baba's confused face, but all I could think about was the road sign. "What happened to that signpost?" Dad asked.He must have thought I was really bewitched.

"Read the words on the road signs!" I asked Dad. "Athinai." Dad read the name of the place on the road sign, and the expression on his face gradually calmed down. "That's Greek for Athens." "Is that all you see? Why don't you read it backwards?" "Ianihta." Dad read aloud. I stopped talking, just looked at Dad quietly and nodded. "Well, this place name is read backwards, it sounds like your mother's name 'Anida'." Dad nodded, took out a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it. Seeing his nonchalant appearance, I couldn't help but explode: "Funny? You just think it's funny? She's here! Dad, do you understand? She's been here! She was attracted here by her own projection .That was her fate. Dad, you should see the connection by now."

Hearing what I said, my father became angry: "Don't be so excited! Hans Thomas!" Obviously, when my father heard me mentioning my mother's fate and projection, he felt very uncomfortable. We go back to the car. "Your...your imagination is so rich that it sometimes gets out of hand," Dad said. He wasn't just referring to the signpost thing, but apparently also the gnomes and the card calendar I mentioned to him.It would be so unfair to me if he really thought so.I don't think he has the right to criticize others for being "too imaginative", because, after all, he was the one who started talking about the "family curse". On the way to Athens, I quietly opened the bun book to see how the gnomes on the magic island prepared the "clown's feast".