Lizzi Bizzi and the Red Witch

by Stefano Pastor

  Patrizia went paled. It was them. Maybe a year younger. They were smiling.

  «It’s not possible».

  «Let me check». The officer took her wallet from her hand and Patrizia didn’t dare to intervene. In front of her eyes he took out the documents but couldn’t find any other photo.

  «There must be an explanation», said Patrizia.

  «Follow me, please. Let’s talk about it in the office, calmly».

  «No, wait! It’s a mistake, I’m sure of it».

  «You will have a way to show it, but first follow me».

  Was this really happening? There, in public? Was he arresting her? So many stopped to look at her, they already considered her a monster. She just wanted to collapse.

  «I bed you, don’t do this to me».

  The officers look was cold, he already condemned her.

  «Mum!», shouted the little girl, making everyone gasp. She grabbed the brothers arm and started to pull. «Look, there’s mum! She’s over there».

  The officer frowned, while Patrizia released a breath of relief. «Are you sure?».

  Even the young boy nodded. «Yes, it’s her!». Then he ran away being pulled by the sister. «Mum, Mum! It’s us!».

  «Wait!», shouted the officer. «You can’t escape like this. Wait!». And he ran behind them.

  Under everybody’s eyes Patrizia had a greying colour. «You see? it was a mistake. They were wrong».

  The kids and the agent disappeared behind a corner. They stopped there. The officer took out the money from Patrizia’s wallet and counted them «Eight hundred euros».

  «I was expecting more», said the kid. «Considering the way, she was holding tight to it».

  They divided the amount in equal parts and each other went in their own way.

  July 2015

  OTIS

  Translation by Cinzia Albanese

  There was a bare, ordinary establishment, and there the darkness felt at home. There was no sign either, it was too dark to be readable.

  In an angle table, there was a strange couple. Nico, the waited went at the right time to order, but the couple were engaged in a heated discussion.

  She was about fifty, even though she would wear makeup like a 20-year-old, and perhaps once might have cared. The hair in Marilyn Monroe style, old-fashioned, and even more fake than fake. The man, surely her husband, was precise, seemed like an accountant, with round glasses and the start of baldness.

  When Nico came closer he lowered his voice, but did not stop. «… you did not follow the indications as I told you», the woman complained. «Who knows where we are».

  «What do you need?», Nico asked.

  She glanced at him. «Bring us two coffees».

  Nico did not move and was more explicit. «What are you looking for?»

  The man shuddered before the wife answered again. «Do you know Otis?»

  Nico shook his head slowly, his adventurers knew a lot, but that name he had never heard of it.

  «Then there can be no help!», she cleared her. «Bring us some coffee».

  At the counter Nico waited for the bartender to prepare the order and commented. «Who knows why we all get them all?». At the counter Nico waited for the bartender to prepare the order and commented. «Who knows why we attract them all?».

  Otis arrived an hour later. The establishment was nearly empty, there was only the rude couple who didn’t stop talking.

  Nico raised his eyebrows, seeing him come in, and immediately ran to send him away. «Hey, kid, this is no place for you. What do you want?».

  The kid must have had a maximum of eleven years, maybe less, and didn’t seem lost. He looked at him with innocent eyes and with a nod he indicated towards the couple sat in that establishment.

  Always more surprised, Nico asked him: «Are you Otis?».

  The kid nodded, agreeing.

  He moved aside to let him go through, and when the barman asked him why he had let him in, he did not answer him. It was too curious to see what would happen.

  The little boy reached the table and stopped. There was a free chair but he did not sit down.

  «I am Otis», he said.

  The couple exchanged a look, too surprised to answer. Her husband first resumed. «You are very young. More than we expected».

  «Is this a bad thing?»

  The woman was also uncertain. «Like this it’s too young». She asked for her husband’s support. «Isn’t it true, darling?»

  The man shook his hands. «I do not know what to say»

  «If you prefer me to leave», Otis said.

  In two, they stopped. «No, sit down!»

  The child sat in front of them, composed. «If you’ve been here, then you’ve done all the initiation».

  «It was not easy, some tests were terrible, but we really did», said the man.

  The child nodded. «I understand. Now you are entitled to your reward».

  That word lit their eyes. «It’s true? Is it all real? You are not joking?»

  «Do you want to become like me?»

  The woman could not stay silent «It can’t be a bit older?».

  The baby shook his head. «Like this you have a lot more time».

  Her husband immediately gave him reason. «He is right, dear. We will have much more time».

  The woman surrendered. «As you want, dear. You will understand that at first it will not be easy if we are so young».

  He shook her hand. «Do not worry, we’ll figure it out». He turned to the child. «What else do we have to do?».

  He answered immediately. «Kill me».

  The couple stiffened. «What are you saying?», Asked the man.

  «Do you want to be young? Do you want to live forever? Well, the only way is to get the youth from the one who has it. You have to kill me».

  The agitation grew. «What’s the point?», asked the man. «What do you gain from it?».

  «Do not worry, there is a reason why I’m doing it».

  The couple exchanged another look. «We could never do it», said the woman.

  «Not even to live for eternity?».

  An uncertain new look. «You would like to be killed?».

  The child sighed. «Oh yes, I would like it».

  Now it was all a matter of exchanging looks, in a mute dialogue. The man believed to interpret the child’s words. «You are immortal, aren’t you? How long? Are you tired of being that? Do you consider it a curse? Would you like to die?».

  Absolute silence.

  «I think. don’t you think, my dear, if this is his will it seems…».

  «I don’t know dear… it’s all so horrible… I don’t think I could… you could do it…».

  The child interrupted them. «I have one last thing to say. Maybe you didn’t understand, but I want to be clear. There will be a new life only for the person who kills me, for the other, unfortunately, I can’t do anything».

  The hands which they had them tight together detached in a bang. «What do you mean?», asked the woman.

  «If you want my power you have to kill me. Whoever will succeed in doing so will inherit it».

  «We can kill him together», she suggested.

  «I’m sorry, it doesn’t work like that. It will always be one to ensure the death».

  They forgot about him, now the couple stared at each other. «His joking», said the husband. «surely it’s a joke. We don’t have to believe a…».

  And the wife: «What would be the point of being young and beautiful without you? I would never do it…».

  «Let’s pretend nothing has happened, let’s go home».

  The wife nodded firmly. «That’s right, let’s leave everything».

  He put his hand in his pocket to get the wallet, and her in her bag. What they took out, however, were two identical daggers

  Otis remained motionless as the woman lurked over him, but her husband was faster and slipped the dagger into the woman’s back. He pushed it deep, while she gurgled.
>
  «Forgive me dear, But I cannot let you do that. There is only one, you heard».

  The woman’s look was in disbelieve, while her life abandoned her body. In front of her eyes she had the innocent look of the boy’s face.

  The man pulled the dagger from the woman’s collapsed body. He smiled at the child. «It will be me, then».

  Otis surprised him, because he jumped to his feet and shuddered, dropping his chair. «Help!», he shouted. «This man has gone mad, he killed his wife!».

  The man went mad. «What are you saying? Are you kidding me? Now you don’t want to be killed anymore?».

  «Help!», the child continued shouting. «His crazy!».

  Nico had sensed the smell of trouble from the beginning and was ready to intervene. He took the baseball bat he had hidden behind the counter and went forwards. «Calm down, you, and put that knife down».

  The man looked at him desperately as the boy ran to hide before the waiter. «You don’t understand, I have to do it! I don’t have a choice!».

  It was pathetic when he tried to hit, Nico hit him on the wrist with the bat, fracturing it. The dagger well to the ground.

  «Call the police», said Nico to the bartender. «I’ll keep an eye on this one».

  Behind him, the child was crying, terrified.

  The police came, they took the corpse and the killer, and soon after Otis mother, who they tracked down.

  «What else has he done? I can’t turn for a second that this little pest disappears».

  The police officer had yet to establish, the acts of the assassin didn’t make sense. «Do you have any idea what your son is doing here?».

  She was a stubborn woman, older and resigned to everything. «He has done another of his things. His always attached to the computer, that disgrace. I told him not to give confidence to anyone, but he does nothing more than talk to strangers and pretends to be someone who he’s not. He has fun picking on them».

  «What has he done?».

  «How do you want me to know! Who knows what he has done this time! Last month, he pretended to be a kidnapped woman in a cellar. It was close to get arrested».

  The police officer began to understand: The game took a bad turn. He had found a crazy man. That poor child was terrified and was still crying. After such experience, he would stop making these kinds of joke.

  «Can I take him home?», asked the woman. «It’s nearly midnight».

  «Tomorrow you will have to come to the police station, but», the police officer granted. «Bring your husband».

  «In what mess have you put me in!», she screamed at the kid, who sobbed.

  They watched them go away, hand in hand. «Poor kid», said the police officer.

  Nico preferred the silence, better not to get into trouble, but to him that poor kid gave him Goosebumps.

  «Have you got it?».

  «Of course I have».

  In the alley, just outside the room, Otis and his mother stopped.

  «What we are doing is horrible», said the mother.

  «We have never killed anyone», said Otis.

  «That doesn’t change anything, we provoked these deaths».

  «Sooner or later the same thing would have happened. They are the evil ones, you know that».

  The woman sighed. «Nobody saw you getting it?».

  «It was a piece of cake».

  The woman set aside her scruples and let the excitement kick in. «Let me see».

  The child opened his hands slowly. Inside there was a red drop shinning with its own light.

  «Life», she murmured. «It’s so beautiful, so wonderful. Even from a woman so pitiful».

  The child lifted his hands and the woman drank it. The drop disappeared through her lips.

  «Does it work?», he asked.

  Her body mutated. She was rejuvenating.

  «It always works, my love. It will work always, for eternity».

  She waited until the transformation was completed, then he holds the little girls hand and they disappeared into the darkness.

  September 2012

  HANDS IN PASTA

  Translation by Talida Mantegna

  I was kneading, and in the mean time I was calculating: we were six, but down in reception there was three, and they had done so many favours, so I had to keep them happy. Then there were the neighbours, another two, and when Gianna cooked she always brought some for me. Then there’s Fernanda, upstairs, I had to ask that favour, so it was better to make a good impression. And then Rosa and her family, I couldn’t forget them. Sixteen, better do twenty to be sure, someone who I can give a plate to of tortellini is always good, they all become loved, after it.

  «Mum, bring me a glass of water!».

  Luigino, poor creature, he was doing his homework. He also put effort into it, the little angel.

  «Can’t you get up and get it yourself? Can’t you see that I’ve got my hands in pasta?».

  «I would never dream of it, mum! That’s your task. Mine is to study, isn’t it? I’ve only asked you for a glass of water, what does it take?».

  The mother interposed, like always. «But how have you taught these kids to talk? You think it’s right?».

  «Mum, don’t meddle!», I said, and immediately tried to take advantage. «Why don’t you get it».

  My mum got mental. «Me? I wouldn’t dream of it, that’s your duty! It’s never said that I get involved in the education of your children!».

  «Mum!», I shouted, but she grinned with her arms crossed.

  Then I turned to the oldest one «Cettina, get a glass of water for your brother».

  Is not that I asked for the world!

  «I wouldn’t have expected that from you!», she shouted. «To be his servant? Me? I’m not the oldest one! He should be the one helping me!».

  I tried not to scream. «Dad, please. You can finish the crosswords later. Give Luigino a drink».

  It looked as he just fell from the clouds. «I don’t work anymore, Maria, you should remember that. I’m retired. I spent forty years paying tax, I’ve finished».

  «Well, then an extra minute. Give something to drink to your grandson his thirsty. Your grandson, remember?».

  He stood up muttering. «Water! Water!».

  Luigino started screaming. «His getting it from the toilet, I don’t drink that stuff!».

  «From the fridge, dad! The fridge! And make sure it’s the fizzy one, he doesn’t like still water».

  «Ah, what times! Everything is going downhill! In the fridge you said? There isn’t any, it’s empty».

  Did I forget to buy it? «Look at the sideboard, over there».

  «Also!».

  «If you want the tortellini you have to obey!».

  «It’s empty».

  Yes, I forgot it.

  «Could you please go and buy some. Just down the road».

  «I’m thirsty!», shouted Luigino. But dad went back to his seat.

  «Dad!».

  «Don’t annoy me! I told you, I’m retired!».

  «Luigino, could you go?».

  «Do you want to get paid? Just because I asked you for a glass of water you want me to work for you? This is exploitation!».

  «No, no, forget about it. Cettina, what about you, that you aren’t doing anything…».

  «I do the shopping Tuesdays and Fridays! What day is it today? Wednesday! Arrange it yourself!».

  «Mum!», I shouted.

  She disappeared. A voice was heard from the bedroom. «I’ve gone on strike!».

  «Well, I can’t!», I shouted. «If I go, who will make the tortellini?».

  My dad answered. «Why don’t you call that good for nothing that you married. He should be finishing work at any moment now. Tell him to go by and get some».

  «Cettina, could you at least get me the phone? Can you do this? Remember that Saturday night you will moan wanting to go out, so try to be kind».

  «Blackmail! We have arrived to blackmailing!».

/>   «Put it here, on my back, and put the number in that I can’t touch it».

  «Maybe you want me to scratch your nose at the as well!».

  «Yes, what’s wrong?», was the answer on the phone. He recognized the number.

  «My dear, when you come back could you get a bottle of water? The baby is thirsty».

  «Don’t give me responsibilities, Maria, you should know this! I already bring money home, of these things you should be the one to do all this».

  I counted to five before answering. «Didn’t you want to do that specific thing?».

  «Eh? What are you saying? Today is not Saturday».

  «Well, I promise to fake that it is. And tonight, with the lights off, you and I…».

  «But it’s not Saturday!».

  «If you don’t want to do it, for me it’s the same».

  «This is corruption you know? Beautiful and good corruption!».

  «Don’t worry about it, I will ask the milkman as soon as he arrives! Maybe in exchange he can do me a small favour».

  «Don’t be so vulgar! What do you want me to get you?».

  «Water, w-a-t-e-r, you know what it is o you want me to send you a fax?».

  «Go to hell!».

  «Is he getting it?», shouted Luigino.

  «Yes, his getting it. His arriving in ten minutes».

  «Is this how you guide your family?», shouted my mum, appeared from nowhere. «With corruption, blackmail, with…». Pointed at my tortellini. «With bribes!».

  «You are on strike, did you forget? So don’t get tired and go back to bed!».

  «Ah, poor kids! What an example they have in front of them!».

  «Did you tell him that I wanted it fizzy?», asked Luigino.

  «He has lived in this house from before you were born, he must have learnt something, I hope!».

  Luigino snorts.

  «Yes, now I should make double request, and maybe this time even in paper!».

  My husband arrived ten minutes later, with a box with ten bottles of natural still water.

  I swallowed my anger. «For ones, just be happy with it, Luigino!».

  «No! No! No! I’ve done my homework! Ask me if you don’t believe me! And I demand that you do yours! You are my mother, damn! Not even a glass of water for your son! Do you want me to tell everyone what kind of mother you are?».

  I left the tortellini there and I went to wash my hands.

  My mother was horrified. «What are you doing? Are you mad! I promised a plate to my friend Anna, you know that she loves them!».