Looking down at the empty cups and bottles on my table, I wondered why the old man telling the story stopped. I asked what became of Avtandil and Tariel but received no answer. When I lifted my eyes, I realized he was gone.
At first, I thought he might have stepped away, but the waitress told me I had been sitting alone all evening. Confused, I looked in my journal and saw it was full. While what I had written could have been found at the bottom of a wine bottle, it certainly hadn’t originated there.
Looking through my notes, I could see most of the tale he had told, but it was incomplete. I needed to know what happened next. However, I had no idea how to find the man again.
Then I noticed a paragraph in Georgian on the front of my notebook, which I soon learned was a name and a clue. I read it with curiosity and interest. I felt it was something which would lead me not just to one answer, but many.
The tears and joy of the Georgian people are written into The Knight in the Panther Skin. Each of us finds our soul and heart in the pages of this great work, and we draw our best feelings, intentions, and thoughts from it. - Ilia Chavchavadze
This text was a key I would use to unlock more of the story. In the morning, I resolved to learn who Ilia was, and the history of this country which had so captivated my heart and imagination. The tale I had come to love was far from finished, and neither was I.
After all, good stories are no different than fine wine. They are not easy to find, and however good they are, there’s an end in every book and a bottom to every bottle. I just hadn’t reached the end of this one yet.
