Pentru a nu ştiu cîta oară, am jucat Mafia. L-am jucat în linişte, mi-am luat timp să-l savurez ca pe un vin bun. Şi l-am terminat. Oricum o dai, în final tot prost ieşi. Adică mori, executat de oamenii lui Salieri. Ce e ciudat e faptul că în orice joc nu-mi rămîne în minte decît sfîrşitul.

Probabil că finalul e tot ce contează. Nu-mi amintesc decît palid de gaşca pe care o făceam cu Paulie şi Sam, ci numai de faptul că cel din urmă trădează, la fel cum nu-mi aduc aminte de intermezzo-ul cu Sara, ci numai de gustul amar al plumbilor încasaţi din arma mafioţilor. Deznodămîntul vine mai mult ca un sfat / avertisment:

You know, the world isn’t run by the laws written on paper. It’s run by people, some according to laws, others not. It depends on each individual how his world will be; how he makes it. You also need a whole lot of luck, so that somebody else doesn’t make your life hell, and it ain’t as simple as they tell you in great-school, but it is good to have strong values, and to maintain them, in marriage, in crime, in war; always and everywhere.

I messed up, so did Paulie and Sam. We wanted a better life, but in the end, we were a lot worse off than most other people. You know, I think it’s important to keep a balance in things. Yeah, balance. That’s the right word. Because the guy who wants too much risks losing absolutely everything. Of course, the guy who wants too little from life, might not get anything at all…