The clergyman stared outraged at Guido, and heard in an arrogant voice, "He is gone. You managed to drive him away. God will punish you for it!"
"He’s a fucking demon. Just like all you monks in this fucking monastery” Guido angrily replied.
Daisy felt the plagues open more and more. She felt the pain of burns, the stench of burning, the bubbles of skin swelling and bursting and wrinkling on her cheeks.
Guido started crying. She caressed him gently. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry” he said, holding her with desperate tenderness.
It has come the time to let her go
Guido rebelled against the piercing voice that only he heard.
"No, no! She can't leave. Adriano, save her. Save her, please!"
Adriano did not answer. He looked at the two boys, focusing on them as if he was seeing them for the first time.
A cold wind rose up and penetrated his bones.
Guido, despite the burns that were appearing more and more horrible, looked at Daisy with the expression he once had when he lost his voice in front of her as a child, making her feel beautiful and desired.
"My greatest regret” she added, "is that I did not love you as you wished. I couldn't. And now you know why."
Daisy pulled herself out of her embrace, backing away slowly. Coughing. Blood dripped down the side of her lip, lost in the sores that scarred her mouth. She placed her tired hands on the windowsill.
"I have only one way to protect you from all this evil."
"No, Daisy. I beg you” he begged her, as her body weakened and withered like a flower with parched roots.
Daisy closed her eyes.
“I must go. Yes, I must go”, she said to herself. “My life has been short and full of sin. Now I am ready to reap the darkness.”
Daisy found relief by bringing all her affections to mind.
“Adriano. My brother. My soul. The monster has finally abandoned you. I'd like to tell you how much I love you. My beautiful brother. How much I love you. How much I love my mother. And Guido. Guido, my Guido. She's a good girl, my love. Caterina, her name is... that's what I think. I'd like to tell you how happy I am for you. Guido. Adriano. I don't see you anymore. I feel the emptiness in my orbits. I will no longer hear the sighs of those who were lost behind my innocent, but never completely clear. The body is gone. But I want to be clear. Clear all the way.
What can I think, what's the score to settle before we fall into nothingness? Rinaldo, are you here? I see a stage. And lights. There it is. I know. The hallucinations. The light goes out, but I see you. Everyone I've ever loved comes out of the shadows. Lory, my best friend. I invited you to Dancing. Why didn't you come? Illusions. Visions and ghosts. It's over. The mind follows the fate of my poor body. He burns, she goes out. The smell of skin. God, it's nauseating now.
The fragrance of my existence, the scent of life is fading.
The pain will fade too.
God if I'm light. Light, yes.
Everything is so clear now.
It's good to fly.”
"Daisy, no!" Guido's yurt was lost in the void you were falling into.
A moment of infinite silence, and a deaf thud on the pavement.
Daisy had leaned over the windowsill, falling into nothingness. A flight, a vault in the fog. And then, the respectful silence of the earth.
Adriano rushed to the window. He saw the blanket of fog, and nothing else.
"Daisy!" cried his brother, who peered through the mist that now enveloped the girl like a shroud of compassion.
The sister who had been his lifelong friend, accomplice, cat, and tiger who had always defended him, was no longer there.
Adriano was bent in two, his elbows pointed at the windowsill, his face torn with pain.
Guido was petrified. He hugged Adriano, who was shaking, swearing and crying.
An agitated trampling arrived weak in Guido's eye.
"Guido! Where are you? Guido!" cried Caterina, who finally found the boy after searching all the rooms of the monastery.
Guido ran down the corridor and hugged her loudly.
She, despite the relief of finding him safe and sound, broke away from the hold. "Guido, the Poggio dam has come down. We must leave now."
The boy heard a noise in the distance, like a raging sea lapping. He shouted to Adriano to run away, but there was no need. The boy had sensed danger. Crying, he threw a kiss in the fog, where his sister lay underneath.
Guido grabbed her by the arm and dragged her away with force.
The three of them ran down the stairs. The earthquake had torn several steps apart and there was a risk of the stairwell coming down. They walked out into the open, making their way through the rubble, and jumped into the van, knowing that they were running out of time.
Alex, the guy from the brewery, yelled to wait for him.
Sister Cecilia and the boys hugged each other in one embrace to be strong. Caterina tried to calm Serena, gripped by an inconsolable cry.
Guido set the car in motion, pressing down on the accelerator, as the roar of the water avalanche grew louder and louder.
He left the monastery square and risked skidding at every turn due to a particularly thick fog. The van grazed
dangerously the fir trees on the roadside, the only landmarks of that country path. Suddenly, the noise became deafening.
Guido swerved leaving the flat path. He took a small side road and with the Transit's snout, he uncovered a crossbar. He knew the area. He knew that the path climbed up a hill and, to save his own skin, they had to climb as high as possible.
Guido climbed up the gear, swearing at the low speed they were going. As he climbed, the wall of fog broke into many muffled clouds that, one after the other, vanished. From the back of the van, Adriano saw the top of the monastery rise out of the fog like a ghostly boat. In the plain the flat layer of mist began to swell as if it had been blown away by a storm.
The buildings in front of the monastery were the first to be destroyed by the waterfall. The impact on the walls of the brewery created a horse that rose up and arched over the monastery. The mud wave broke over the scriptorium tower, which collapsed like a house of cards.
An avalanche of brown slush tore down the back wall of the church, crossing the aisles with the speed of a bullet. Water splashed from the facade, filtering through the carvings of the marble rose window. The facade could not withstand the pressure and crashed to the ground. Then, a subsequent wave flooded everything.
Water, mud, trees and rocks poured into the corridors of the monastery.
Father Romualdo was still in his cell when the wall was torn down by the fury of a battering ram. The stones, the bricks, the life of the monks poured into a river that scattered along the plain.
Shortly after, the lake finished overflowing.
The whole valley, from the slopes of Montevicino to the mouth of the river, had become a cemetery of mud.
"Save... we are save", said Caterina among the tears, seeing the waters of the lake widen from the top of the hill. It
looked like a placid sea stretching across the plain, with the rounded profile of the hills rising out of the water like so many islands in an archipelago.
Sister Cecilia began to pray. Her eyes suddenly filled with guilt and guilt.
Guido thought she, like Adriano and the monks, had been subjugated by the monster's evil influence for so long.
Filippa, several miles away, in the company of Manuel and Leo, cried and blasphemed without restraint. It was her lay prayer to survive the earthquake.
At that moment, the fog, that grey curtain that had hidden unknowable realities opened, illuminating the theatre of visible things.
28
Secret file n.6
The editorial staff has received the recorded documentation.
To interview the witness is (omissis)
THE REGISTRATION IS COMPLETE
"Hi."
"Hi."
"How long have we known each other
? Do you remember?"
"Since high school."
"Yeah. You were 14."
"That's why it won't be a normal interview."
"We all know that. Too many emotions, too many memories, and too much pain."
"Yeah. There's gonna be pain. But we have to talk about it."
"One question: Why have you kept the truth from your friends all this time?"
"It's obvious. Because they would never have believed me."
"I understand you. I myself have been blind to the very last."
"I know. I had to take a lot of testimony before I could reveal everything. This is the last interview. And I have decided that they were present as well."
"Guys, what do you think of this story?"
"Do I speak for everyone?"
"Go, Filippa."
"Okay, then I'm going. At first we thought Guido was having a nervous breakdown. We were convinced he'd gone completely out of his mind. Then we heard the interviews. Alberto the Larvone, the cathedral priest, Luca's mother. Personally, I tried to find rational answers. Collective psychosis, for example, was the most convincing hypothesis: a mass of self-suggesting people. By that I don't mean that they are mentally ill people. Some people were educated and intelligent, completely reasonable. But psychology teaches that sometimes logic goes haywire selectively. It happens when you are influenced by a set of circumstances so unusual that you believe something supernatural exists. That said, we're here to get a definitive idea of what really happened.
"Very well. Now, boys, let's start listening to Sandra."
"Where do we start?"
"From the death of psychiatrist Roberto Salieri. What really happened that day?"
"Shall I tell you again?"
"Yes, and this time with microphones on."
"Let's say right away that everything you read in the papers is a convenient truth. I didn't want to pass for crazy either.
To sum up: Professor Salieri comes into my house, wants me to get my son to sign the release form for his publication. There's talk of the treachery of the respective spouses, there's talk of my husband's suicide, when..."
(pauses. Like the first meeting, I have a feeling he's hiding something. Find the right words and then start talking again)
"I mean, here comes the earthquake. I think I hit my head somewhere and passed out. And I had a dream. At least I thought it was a dream."
"Can you tell us about it?"
"Well... I saw Roberto Salieri hanging over me. Not standing up, but just hanging off the ground, like a big, invisible hand grabbed him by his jacket and lifted him off the floor. I read a deep fear in his eyes. He was kicking to tears, without really understanding what was going on. Then he screamed, and I saw him fall down. Next thing I know... shit... now comes the hardest part. And here, I usually cry."
(general emotion)
"Guys. We can't all cry, all right? Sandra, what happened next?"
"I came to my senses. I saw Daisy. My poor Daisy was there. She was filled with an inner light that I can't explain. She embraces me, kisses me on the cheeks. She kisses me and dries my tears. I slowly recover. I realize the house has cracked walls, broken window panes... everything was completely upside down. The earthquake had done a lot of damage. I was confused, scared and hurt. Daisy hugged me, stroking my hair. I can still feel her warm hands. She didn't say goodbye. She didn't say anything to me. I looked over the banister. I saw Roberto Salieri on the ground floor, lying in a pool of blood with a broken neck. It scared the hell out of me. I tried to hold my daughter. Daisy hugged me again, giving me a calm and serenity that was hard to explain. Then she walked away quietly. I saw her go into her room. I
followed her. The room was empty. And the window was wide open. I never saw her again."
(she struggles to hold back tears)
"Sandra, the investigation established that it was the quake that caused the doctor to lose his balance, throwing him downstairs and killing him instantly."
"Yeah... let's say so..."
(I'm sure she's not telling the whole truth. Looks like someone heard her arguing with the doctor. She always denied it.)
"Sandra, you know the rest, don't you?"
"Yes. Adriano told me everything. He said that when I saw Daisy, she was already dead."
"About Adriano. How is he now?"
"What can I say? I lost a daughter, but I found my son. A boy who'd never been sick before. He was really haunted by that damn evil entity. I'll never forgive myself for realizing it too late. His last song is at the top of the charts in half of Europe. As you know, it's dedicated to Daisy. My son lives in London now. He hasn't wanted to talk about the incident any more. And he never came back to Castelmuso. Is there anything else we need to talk about?"
"No. Thank you, Sandra. Thank you very much."
"Guys, before you leave, can I ask you something?"
"Of course.
"Are you all going to the conference?"
"Why, did you have any doubts?"
The crescent moon was hanging over the rooftops of the village, clothed in its timeless indifference. Under the street lamps in the square, small groups of people from the worldly air spoke amiably, their souls cheered by the warmth of spring.
Some strolled under the arches of the theatre, many admiring the tower of the village, wondering when they would remove the long scaffolding that would harness it to the top.
A year had passed since the earthquake. The last in a sequence of tremors that seemed endless. That day a village was swept away by water, a monastery destroyed, a valley completely buried in mud. Luckily, the centre of the village was a long way from the towns, and that was enough to prevent a massacre.
“Only a few rotten apples fell from the tree of life” said the last song written by Adriano Magnoli.
Guido thought it was about the monks being run over by the lake. The monks were the only victims of the earthquake.
On the square, Leonardo Fratesi walked under arm with Filippa Villa. She, who overlooked him by a span, walked with the step of a grumpy gorilla smoking the usual Tuscan. The girl wore a grey pinstripe, a silver brooch pinned to her eyelet, for the occasion. An eccentric bowler crushed her shiny, plump raven hair on her forehead. Leo was of sober, sporty elegance, wearing a three-buttoned blazer with a coat of arms on his breast pocket. A mismatched couple who spoke with the knowledge that they were, if not like-minded souls, friends enough to let themselves go into rather intimate intimacies.
The chatter between the two touched an unexpected button. Leo suddenly stopped.
"Say it again, please."
"Come on. You've got it all figured out” she said, taking the cigar between her fingers to look at it with an expert eye, then squeezed it satisfactorily between her teeth. Halfway through the smoke, she appreciated the smell of leather and walnut from the tobacco.
"Are you serious?"
"I mean it."
"Do you like men?" exclaimed Leo, surprised.
"I like men too” said Filippa.
"For fuck's sake. And you're just realizing this now?"
"It was a surprise to me too" she admitted, the sad tone of someone who didn't think it was an argument to be taken lightly.
"Jesus Christ, you've been bothering little girls for years, and just for the sake of sex. And now you're falling in love with a man?"
Filippa blushed as if he was ashamed to expose a new and unsettling feeling he had yet to measure up to. Leo regretted making an indelicate remark about his friend's sexual orientation.
"By the way, you look great tonight” he made up for it by trying to shut her down. "Let's say less repulsive than usual” she smiled, appreciating the compliment.
The square in Castelmuso became more and more animated. Bunch of people were standing under the porch of the theatre. Many scholars were in Castelmuso for the first time, invited personally by Eugenio Zevi.
The professor, hunched over himself, his weight resting on the silver stick, entertai
ned the mayor and a couple of people who were writing notes with their heads down.
"It's not nice. But he's a big shot. And he's a genius. Just like you” Leo remarked. "I think yours is going to be a good story."
Zevi was sick, and he wasn't a kid anymore. Filippa was a vulgar, contemptuous big girl. But love had this beautiful thing about it, he cultivated imperfections as if they were the buds of a perfect flower.
Manuel Pianesi arrived. Unusually elegant, the thick hair was a memory of the past. Now he showed an ordinary cut that made him look more mature. Manuel had been the first to pass the licensing exam. He worked at the Union's editorial office under a contract as a professional journalist. His financial independence had convinced him to leave
university, abandon two tedious parents, and move into a one-room apartment.
The young reporter walked through the crowd like a little Moses, who was cracking waves of envy. It was tough, but little by little, he would get used to it.
Anyway, he had to introduce her to his friends.
"Who's the hottie?" asked astonished Filippa, respectfully taking off his bowler hat.
"This is Annabella” replied Manuel nervously.
"Well, I'll be damned. Is she your secret girlfriend?" exclaimed Leo.
"In fact, it took him a while to decide I was her type” she smiled, a tall, elegant girl with diaphanous skin who, at first glance, seemed to be perfect.
Leo shook her hand, staring at her in search of some flaw that would make her more human and less like a goddess. The more he looked at her in detail, the closer he saw her, the more he realized that her beauty was not a matter of perspective. She was beautiful.
"We met at Dancing Sports. I to survived to the collapse of the attic” she said.
She said she only picked Manuel up because he was sitting at a table full of important people that night.
"There were producers, artists, businessmen. I worked for an agency. I was one of the cubists that night. I was ambitious, and I wanted to get noticed. "Then fate turned sideways and..." Annabella lifted the edge of the elegant evening gown. A titanium prosthesis supported her right leg, amputated below the knee. She smiled back, slipped her hands under Manuel's arm and squeezed him. "Manuel and I have been in touch all this time. Now, here we are."
The Dawn of Sin Page 29