by Mr.
“Unfortunately, I know for certain that it’s true,” said Leonardo in a sad voice. “I lived on the island for almost two years, completely alone. I examined all your things – the book, the telephone, everything – and I… I found the bodies – men, women, children...”
Sophie gulped at the thought of Leonardo on the island all by himself, surrounded by mass graves.
“For almost two whole years I closely examined and sketched the bodies – or what remained of them after so many years, which was mainly bones. I learned an awful lot about anatomy during that period.”
“Enough,” Sophie said, unable to take any more. “I get it, and I also understand why you did it, but can we stop talking about it! Ugh, the thought alone, that island…”
Everyone had gone quiet. They were all thinking of the gruesome image of thousands of bones and skulls buried on some haunted island.
“And the backpack… you examined everything, but where is the backpack? Sophie needs to get her phone back before she goes to Venice,” Lisa suddenly said.
“It’s buried on the island.” Leonardo said it as quickly as he could in the hope that it wouldn’t come across as bad as it sounded.
“Buried?” the sisters said simultaneously in a high-pitched voice.
Sophie’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. “My backpack? Buried? On that island? Why? How?”
“Sorry, I’m so sorry. Before going back to Florence two years later, I buried your backpack and everything in it so that no one would ever find it. That was the reason, remember? That was the reason I left Florence in the first place. I had no choice but to leave your stuff behind on the island.”
Sophie reacted by clenching her jaws and saying, “I’m leaving for Venice in two days, I need to have my telephone before then!”
Distressed, she wondered how she would tell her parents that she’d lost her phone.
Lisa gave her sister an encouraging pat on the back. “We’ll think of something. Really. Trust me!”
“But Leonardo, what else did you do on that island during those two years?” Lisa continued talking in the hope of changing the mood.
Leonardo perked up again. “Everything. Everything you could think of. I studied everything. I spent the first few weeks examining your phone, carefully trying it out without breaking it.”
“What did you do exactly?” Lisa asked.
“There was a miniature painting of you on the phone.”
“You mean a photo?” Sophie said in her know-it-all voice.
“Yes, the photo you took of Lisa last time.”
“Were there more photos on it?” Lisa asked.
Sophie shook her head. “No, I had transferred everything onto my laptop at home. Your photo was the only one.”
“Yes, but I also took a few of those miniature paintings myself.”
“Photos!” shouted Sophie and Lisa in unison.
“Okay, photos,” Leonardo apologized. “I took a few photos myself, too. You can do a whole lot of stuff with that phone, did you know that?” Leonardo said, beaming. “After a couple of weeks I managed to figure out how to combine some paint… I mean photos.”
“Haha!” Sophie suddenly began laughing hysterically. “You were photoshopping on my phone! You can’t be serious? What did you make?”
Leonardo rummaged through his pockets. “Well, I was playing with the phone and messing around with some of the photos on it, when suddenly one of them popped out of the other device!”
Sophie looked at Lisa dumbstruck. “You’re joking?” she asked. “Did you really print a photo?”
“Yes,” said Leonardo. “Wait…” he continued nodding as he felt around his pockets. “I did. I had Lisa’s photo, but I had also taken another picture with a nice background. I discovered I could merge the two photos using your telephone. I tried to insert the background behind Lisa, but before I could finish, a miniature image rolled out of that other device. Ah! Here it is!” He handed Sophie the photo.
“No matter what I tried after that, I was never able to eh… print another one. I’m really sorry if I broke the printing device,” he said apologetically. Sophie didn’t react, but instead stared silently at the photo.
“I didn’t do it right, did I?” Leonardo said. “You see that the horizon on the right is higher than on the left.”
Sophie stared silently at the photo with her mouth open. Leonardo had no idea what to make of her reaction. “I wasn’t finished, but then the photo just rolled out. If I had had more time, then…”
“No,” said Sophie firmly. “It is a beautiful photo. Really!”
“Really?” Leonardo was delighted. “Do you really like it? I wanted to use the photo to make a painting. I think if I carefully copy the photo I can capture Lisa’s magical smile in a painting. Wouldn’t that be nice?”
Sophie looked at her sister with raised eyebrows and handed her the photo.
When she saw the photo of herself Lisa bit her lower lip. Leonardo had pasted a background of mountains and water behind her image and accidentally printed it. She instantly thought back to the Louvre and what Sophie had said when they were standing there looking at the world’s most famous painting.
When she looked at Leonardo Lisa’s eyes were shining. “Sophie’s right, you made a beautiful photo. It would be supercool if you painted it. Who knows, maybe I’ll be famous one day,” she winked at her sister as she handed the photo back to Leonardo.
Sophie nudged her sister. “Just as long as you don’t get a big head or anything, sis.”
Leonardo put the photo back into his pocket and continued his story. “We have to hurry, I already hear people out on the street. We don’t have much time left. It’s almost dawn, you guys really have to get out of here.” Leonardo began pacing nervously back and forth. “Really, my friends from the future, I already hear voices downstairs, you have to hurry!”
Jack and Tom nodded. They unfolded the metal rods and set up the portable planetarium in the middle of the hall.
“So you were able to use my phone?” Sophie said, looking at Leonardo. She had obviously connected all the dots in her head. “You were also able to use the phone to translate my geography book. That’s why you know so much about the earth, the stars…”
Leonardo nodded.
“And because you spent two years on that island with all those bones…”
Leonardo nodded again. “Did you know that you saved my life? When I was on Poveglia working with all those bodies, I became sick, really sick. There was a moment when I thought I was actually going to die, but then I took your pills. Without those I would probably have died from the plague or some other gruesome disease.”
“And the planetarium?” Sophie asked. “You traveled through time? What did you do? Who did you meet?”
Leonardo looked up at the windows; the orange glow from the morning sun was clearly visible. “You have to go, it’s a matter of life or death now, hurry up!” he said in a panic.
“Leonardo!” Sophie sounded desperate. “Tell me!”
Leonardo shook his head. “There’s no time left.” He looked her straight in the eye and spoke rapidly. “Yes, I was able to use it. Thanks to your phone! I met somebody…” He looked up again and saw that it was getting brighter outside. “Actually, I made a mistake when I used the planetarium, a small mistake. I was on Poveglia and I was looking for Christ. I was hoping he would return to earth five hundred years into the future, in 1976. I wanted to visit him, but I made a spelling mistake.” He quickly glanced up again.
“But where did you end up?” Sophie asked.
“At someone’s…” he shook his head. “You really have to go now!”
“Sophie, grab a wire… fast!” shouted Lisa. “Leonardo’s right, people are coming. If they see us and that painting up on the wall! That can never happen, we have to get out of here.”
Still panicking, Leonardo ran to the hallway and came back a few seconds later. “You have to go now! My assistants are coming up the stairs. I’
ll occupy them for a few minutes, but you really have to go, now!”
They stood around the planetarium while Jack hastily dripped water into the planets.
Leonardo ran around in a circle, kissing each of them firmly on the cheek before running back towards the hallway.
As Jack began counting down Leonardo turned around abruptly. “Sophie!” he shouted from the doorway. “You said you were going to Venice two days from now?”
“Yes!” Sophie shouted, nodding frantically. “Together with Jack!”
“Your backpack!” The words echoed through the hall. “Poveglia isn’t far from there. Your backpack is buried three steps from the easternmost point on the island’s southern half.”
“Poveglia?” Sophie said startled. The thought alone was enough to turn her stomach.
“Make sure you find that backpack,” Leonardo shouted. “It’s important! Then you’ll have all your answers. There is someone who…”
FLASH!
Wednesday, June 25th, afternoon
“How was school today?” Lisa asked as she reclined on her sister’s bed. “Did you hear any cool stuff about Venice? Are you excited about going?” She didn’t even wait for her sister to respond before continuing. “I would be so psyched, man. I mean, tomorrow!”
“Sshh,” Sophie put a finger to her lips and continued reading. “This can’t be true!” she muttered in a low voice. She rolled back and forth in the office chair while leaning with her elbows on the desk.
Lisa sat up and listened to her sister.
“Here!” she pointed to the screen. “Loads of information about Poveglia,” said Sophie a little nervously, “and it’s even worse than I thought. Listen to what it says: Poveglia is a small island off the coast of Venice. A narrow channel divides the island into two separate parts.”
“You see,” said Lisa, “I told you you’d find your backpack and telephone… Tomorrow you’re leaving for Venice. Just go to the island and dig up your backpack.” Lisa looked at her sister with a deadpan expression.
“Lisa!” Sophie looked upset. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. Listen! It says the island is closed to visitors!”
Lisa shrugged her shoulders. “Maybe you can hire your own boat?”
Annoyed at her sister, Sophie shook her head and continued reading. “Legend has it that in Roman times the island was used to quarantine thousands of Plague victims. Ugh! The island was used as a Plague dumping ground whenever it threatened Europe. An efficient quarantine station that separated the healthy from the contaminated.”
“No way!” Sophie was shocked by the numbers she read. “Apparently more than 160,000 people died on the island!”
Lisa shuddered at the thought, but she was also a little amused that her sister was scared stiff before she even got there.
Sophie turned around silently and stared directly at her sister.
“Is that all?” Lisa asked. “Nothing else? I mean, it’s all really horrible, of course, tragic even, but it happened a really long time ago. The island’s probably just very peaceful and sunny now.”
Sophie shook her head. “Come on Lisa, did you hear a word of what I said? More than 160,000 people died on Poveglia. And I have to go there all on my own to dig up my backpack?”
“Jack’s going with you, right? He even boasted about doing it. So there’ll be two of you! It’ll be exciting, a little boat ride, a bit of island hopping, some backpack digging.”
“What about all those bones!?” Sophie yelled.
“So okay, there’ll be some bones, that’s not ideal. But then again, you will get your phone back. What else does it say?”
Sophie looked at her sister suspiciously. “Why are you so eager for me to continue reading? Do you already know what it says?”
Lisa couldn’t suppress a smile and nodded subtly. “Yes, I read some of it last night.”
Sophie turned around and continued reading. “In 1922 a mental hospital was built on the island, where a deranged doctor then proceeded to conduct horrific experiments on his patients. He tortured them terribly and then killed them. This doctor later went mad himself and jumped off the hospital tower. The ghosts of those killed continue to haunt the island today.” Sophie gulped a few times and tried to steady her breathing.
“In 1968…” Sophie swallowed again and began reading the sentence anew. “In 1968 the mental hospital was shut down and the island abandoned. No one is allowed to set foot on the island. To this day it is closed to visitors.”
Lisa had in the meantime climbed onto the bed and was pretending to be a zombie. She wobbled back and forth across the mattress, gurgling and with her arms stretched out, until she fell back onto the bed laughing hysterically.
Sophie sat silently in her chair.
“Oh, sorry Sophie,” Lisa said, “but don’t you think it’s kinda ironic that you of all people have to go to that island to recover your backpack?”
“Haha, funny… not! How am I supposed to get onto the island?” Sophie said, looking annoyed at her sister. “You always have an answer for everything, so let’s hear it. How am I going to recover my backpack and all the other stuff?”
Lisa jumped up from the bed and walked back to her own room with a smile on her face. “I’ve already thought of that,” she shouted from the hallway. “Let me just grab a few printouts you can take with you when you go.”
When Lisa came back into the room, Sophie was staring breathlessly at the screen. She dropped the printouts on the desk with a thud. “Last night I did a lot of research and it’s true – no boats go to Poveglia. It is officially off limits. And if you don’t believe me, Google it yourself.”
“And your point?” Sophie responded. “How am I supposed to get to that horror island? I’m not like Leonardo, I don’t have an infinite amount of time to build a boat!”
“Who said anything about building a boat?” Lisa pointed at one of the sheets of paper. “This is Venice and that there is Poveglia. It’s about two miles, that shouldn’t be a problem.” Lisa tried her best not to laugh at the terrified look on her sister’s face. “What you need to do is…”
Thursday, June 26th, late afternoon
Sophie was sitting at the back of the bus, leaning against the window. Immediately after boarding, Jack had purposely thrown their bags across a few seats and claimed the entire back row for the two of them.
Sophie looked out the window pensively, silently counting the trees racing by, just like she always did. Every time a tree passed, she twitched a toe slightly. It was almost dark. She’d hardly uttered a word since the bus departed several hours ago.
Jack had already read the skateboard magazine he’d brought with him three times and was bored. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked. He looked at Sophie and tried in vain to get her attention. “Hello!” He waved his arms, but still no reaction. He kicked Sophie in the knee with the nose of his sneaker, yet still no reaction. In a final desperate attempt to get her attention he pinched her thigh.
“Ow!” Acting on instinct, Sophie punched him and irritably massaged the area of her thigh he had just pinched.
“What?” She looked at him angrily. “What do you want?” she hissed.
Taken aback, Jack moved up a few seats and leaned back against the window. “Sorry, man.” He shook his head in astonishment. “I just want to know what’s up, that’s all. I don’t get it. We’ve done some amazing stuff already… and now we’re off to Venice! It’s all so awesome, and I just don’t understand why you’re so angry?”
“I’m not angry. Well okay, I am angry, but not really.” Sophie fumbled her words. She grabbed her travel bag, pulled out the sheets of paper, and tossed them at Jack.
“My backpack, remember? And my phone? Well, read these.”
Jack picked up the printouts and read them quickly. He held his breath as his eyes darted across the pages.
“Holy moly,” he said, “that’s some island. It’s just as scary as it was in Leonardo’s time. Scarier even.�
�� He gave her a sympathetic look. “I’m really sorry you lost your things.”
“Lost?” Sophie said indignantly.
“Lost, yeah, I mean that they’re on that…” He shook his head.
“I haven’t lost them, I know where they are. I’m just not looking forward to retrieving them. That island’s a nightmare!”
“It sure is!” Jack responded. “And off limits.”
“Now do you understand why I’m not all happy-go-lucky? I mean, sure, I’m looking forward to the school trip, but the idea that we have to go there…”
Jack gulped and coughed hard. “We? That we have to go there?”
Sophie nodded her head and pointed at a map on one of the prints. “Last night, Lisa and I looked it up on the internet and we read that access to the island is strictly sealed off. No boats go there either, so we have to figure out a way to find ourselves a boat. And to make matters worse, I think we’ll have to go there at night so no one sees us. That’s the only viable option.”
“Uh,” Jack stammered. “I, uh, I… do you mean that we… you and I… that we have to go in a boat, in the dark, to that island?”
“Yes, Jack!” Sophie said resolutely. “I need to get my things back, you know that. At Leonardo’s you were all macho about it and said you’d go… or are you backing out now?” She stared straight into Jack’s eyes, waiting for his reaction.
Jack recalled what he had said while caught up in the moment in the Hall of the Five Hundred. But now that it was actually happening, he would have liked nothing more than to bow out. He quickly weighed up his options, but realized he didn’t really have a choice. He couldn’t let her go alone in the dead of night.
“Are you nuts?” he did his best to sound brave, “of course we’ll dig up your backpack together. I’m not afraid, you know.” He sat up straight with his back against the window, chin up, chest out. His legs were stretched out across the seat. Sophie made a quarter turn and sat exactly the same way so that their feet touched in the middle.
“That’s a relief, Jack. But I sure hope we don’t die in the process.”