Papa’s spirit whispers as I feel him take his place next to Judah and Simona. “Look at what is not there. Don’t be distracted by what is.”Bartolomeu Dias has rounded the bottom of Africa now. If my father were alive, he would no longer have to draw a vague line to the south, nor guess at legends like islands of gold, but I don’t think that is what he means.“Look at the interiors, look at the faraway places. See how little we know?”My fingers touch Asia and drift north. The map seems full because of all the pictures of kings and travelers and mythical beings, but he’s right. There is little to rely upon in it.I feel his hand on my shoulder. “The empty spaces are why we go on. They’re why people explore. We want to know the world, every last bit of it.”Only four years ago, almost thirty years after Prince Henry’s death, Dias’s ships were blown far out to sea in a storm. They headed east to find the coast again, and when they had sailed too long without sighting land, Dias turned the ships north and discovered the Cape of Good Hope.The air vibrates with my father’s excitement.
![Die Geigenspielerin[Ein Vivaldi Roman] (2009) by Laurel Corona](/i/cover.jpg)