The Heart Thief

by Richard A Swingle

  The voice belonged to Johnny’s mother, Nawal. She was a beautiful woman and, though fairly strict, she always knew how to smile and care for her son and his best friend. Ilaria hadn’t known who else to call. Last time her grandfather had collapsed, he was still conscious and rang for the doctor himself. This time, Ilaria had rung Johnny’s house in a panic and explained to Nawal what had happened.

  Johnny had come over with his mother and the three of them left together, following the flashing blue lights of the ambulance to the hospital. It was the longest journey of Ilaria’s young life.

  Johnny looked over towards her but she remained silent, staring out of the car window as they went. He did the only thing he felt he could and took her hand in his own, feeling her squeeze it tight, as though clinging on for dear life.

  When they arrived at the hospital, Ilaria saw her grandfather being wheeled out of the ambulance on a stretcher. A white sheet was completely covering his face and she knew that her silent prayers had been useless.

  The following moments passed like a dream. Ilaria was consoled and given sympathies over and over. She listened to rambling sentiments of several nursing staff and the doctor who had received her grandad when he was brought in. She didn’t pay attention to any of it. Eventually Ilaria ended up in a tiny office with a counsellor from social services who she could barely bring herself to look at. Ilaria remained silent as she was told that her grandfather’s heart had given up.

  Ilaria felt numb. It was a state of shock that felt cruel. Like when you wake from a dream and remember the thing you had in that dream is left behind never to be yours again. It didn’t make sense that she could be the only one left. Her entire family was gone.

  She thought of the dragon and all the lessons she’d been about to learn. It was her twelfth birthday and her grandfather had promised to teach her. Now she was all alone with nothing but questions buzzing around inside her mind.

  Finally, Ilaria allowed her attention to drift back to her surroundings inside the hospital. She was sat in the family room opposite a large but friendly looking man called Jack.

  ‘I’m aware that this is going to be a very difficult time for you,’ said the calm and soft voice. ‘With no other next of kin, we’ll need to follow up in a couple of days to make our plans but for now your friend’s mother has agreed to take you home with them and look after you for the weekend.’

  Jack rifled through some paperwork and looked up at Ilaria again. ‘Do you have any questions for me, Ilaria? These can be very confusing times and I just want you to know that I am here to support you.’

  Ilaria remained silent for a moment, dreading to ask the question that was playing on her mind the most. She looked up at Jack through her tear-filled eyes and with a fractured voice she asked, ‘What is going to happen to me?’

  As Ilaria was being led down the corridor to re-join Nawal and Johnny, a nurse came to speak to them.

  ‘You can see him now. If you would like to,’ she said.

  Everyone turned to Ilaria who looked panicked, not knowing what to do. Of course she wanted to see him, but he wasn’t there anymore. In the room was just his body that would lay still. If she spoke, there would be no reply. If she took his hand it would remain still and cold. She thought of old movies where loved ones lined up at the coffin to say goodbye, not because they wanted to but because it was expected of them. So, Ilaria nodded her head timidly, unable to speak.

  ‘Here, take this.’

  The nurse handed Ilaria a plastic bag.

  ‘These were the possessions we found on him. Don’t worry, someone will be there to help you sort everything out.’

  Ilaria took the bag and followed the nurse into a room where the white sheet in the shape of her grandfather lay before her. The nurse pulled back the sheet and Ilaria shuddered.

  ‘I’ll leave you alone for a moment, anything you need, just pop your head outside that door and I’ll be there,’ said the nurse before leaving the room.

  Nawal took Ilaria in her arms and sobbed, ‘Ilaria, I’m so sorry, sweetheart. Johnny and I will give you a moment alone. We’ll be right outside.’

  Nawal left the room, taking Johnny with her. He looked as helpless as a young boy would under such circumstances.

  Ilaria stepped closer to her grandfather. She lifted her hand to his head but was too afraid to touch him. Instead she opened the bag to see what was inside. The pendant containing the dragon’s heart fragment had dropped to the bottom of the bag along with some random items and, most intriguingly, a rumpled letter that had been sealed. The envelope simply said: Ilaria.

  Dearest hummingbird.

  So much you do not know about your silly old grandpappy. Just know how much I love you so. And don’t feel sad for me, for if you are reading this then I have passed on. But don’t see me now as a poor old man who has reached the end of his years. See me for how I lived. You gave me a purpose, even in my old age when your parents were taken from us. Caring for you has been my life’s privilege. I was a young boy once, running around the streets with my friends, causing trouble with no direction to be sure of. I was a young man, sent to fight a war that I didn’t understand. I lost my first love in that war and thought I would never recover. Then an officer took me in and made me his right hand, he treated me well and I made it through. Years later I was a grown man, with sad stories to tell, but ready to love again. I met your grandmother when we were both older. But we acted like teenagers, riding the amusements at the fairground, pulling candyfloss from each other’s hair and talking until the sun came up, oblivious to the time that had passed. Sleeping seemed like such an inconvenient way to spend time when we were together. She never quite settled in Southbourne and we eventually moved back to her hometown of San Casciano. She revealed her secret to me there and I could hardly believe it. But she showed me a world I never knew existed. When your mother was born, she was raised to have a good life. An Italian education is so rich and fulfilling and I know that your mother wanted so much to teach you the things she had learnt as a girl. I’m sorry I couldn’t share more with you. I’m just a foolish, timid boy trapped in an old man’s body after all. I wish I could have taken you myself to see the delights of the Tuscan hills when you were older. We would have watched the orange sun set across the vineyards and tasted the finest wines in the world. You must go there as soon as you can, for if I am gone, Speranza will need you dearly without a moment to spare. You truly are a remarkable girl.

  That was all the letter said. Ilaria didn’t know if it had made her feel better or worse. Why did she have to wait until now to learn so much of the man who had raised her? Not once had he spoken to her about her grandmother in such a way. Ilaria flipped over the page, praying for more. But it was blank, he had written as much as he felt he needed to. Ilaria folded the letter up and tucked it into her pocket. She was desperate to ask him questions; so many questions were swimming around her mind and she couldn’t stand it. She wondered what came next for her; the world had suddenly become a huge and scary place. Nothing had ever mattered before as her grandfather had been there to take care of her. Now she was to go home with her friend and wait for Jack from social services to tell her where she had to live. She had never been so afraid. The door behind her opened and Johnny’s face gawped at her. He was a sweet boy. Without looking back, Ilaria walked straight out of the room, leaving behind the only family she had ever known.

  6

  Volcanic rock and ash flew into the air from the core of Mount Etna, the Sicilian volcano on the outskirts of the city of Catania. It was the largest eruption since the eighteenth century when the Icelandic volcanic fissure, Lakagigar, had disgorged billions of tons of lava and acid. Half of the livestock on the island had been killed, which led to famine and wiped out a quarter of the Icelandic human population.

  The news was breaking on TV as Johnny, Nawal and Ilaria sat and watched, stunned. Apparently, there were several other volcanoes erupting at the same time all over Europe, an event
completely unprecedented.

  ‘I can’t believe it. What could have caused this?’ said Nawal, concerned.

  ‘Mum, do you think those people will be alright? They live right close to the volcano.’

  ‘I hope so, Johnny, I do hope so.’

  Johnny became panicked as he thought about his father stationed in the Andaman Islands. They had visited him one year, shortly after he was stationed there, working as security for a private contractor. It was a tough decision to make and Johnny’s father, Benjamin, had made sure to involve both Nawal and Johnny, though Johnny had only been eight at the time. Several of the men and women in the police department in Dorset where Ben had worked were being made redundant so they all agreed that he should take the job offer while it was there.

  They had explored Port Blair and other parts of the island on their brief stay, taking a boat ride around the active volcano. Ben had described how it made him feel humble, living with such a powerful natural force as a neighbour.

  ‘Don’t worry,’ Nawal interrupted Johnny’s trail of thought. ‘Your father already called to say he is safe, the Barren Island volcano is far off the coast from his office.’

  It had been months now since they’d last seen him but he always kept in touch with Nawal and Johnny to let them know he was safe. Every Sunday he called with the same uneventful updates.

  ‘Maybe he will have to come home,’ Johnny exclaimed, excited.

  ‘One can dream, darling. One can dream.’

  Ilaria sat silently, trying her best to digest the news. It was a welcome distraction and she felt bad for Johnny, worrying as he did. But she couldn’t stop wondering if this somehow had something to do with her grandfather. Had Speranza caused this unbalance? she wondered, knowing that even Johnny and his mother would think she was mad if she told them her suspicions.

  ‘Ilaria,’ Nawal said, with a tone that suggested a change in subject. ‘Would you like me to sit with you in the meeting tomorrow? I’m not sure what they will have to say but if you want me to be there I’m happy to sit beside you.’

  Ilaria thought about this. She didn’t want the meeting to happen at all.

  ‘Can’t I just stay here?’

  ‘I wish that you could, but,’ she paused, ‘these people know what is best for you, and they are looking for a long-term solution.’

  ‘I wish they would just forget about me, I can go home and take care of myself.’

  Smiling, Nawal said, ‘And I’m sure that you could, but things don’t often work the way we would like them to.’

  ‘I know.’ Ilaria stood up from the sofa to head upstairs to Johnny’s room where they had set up a camp bed for her. Johnny motioned to follow her but his mother signalled for him to leave Ilaria alone for a while.

  Ilaria lay down on her temporary bed, exhausted. She stared up at the ceiling and breathed out a huge sigh as a breeze trickled over her. She hadn’t remembered leaving the window open but she enjoyed the refreshing kiss all the same.

  After a moment lost in her thoughts, she decided to read her grandfather’s letter again. She sat up and pulled the letter out of the bag of possessions that he had left and it was then that she noticed the pendant was missing.

  ‘Oh no,’ she said under her breath. She was certain she had put it back in the bag as it was far too important to be lost. She racked her brains about the places she had been where she could have left it but she knew in her heart she had kept it with the letter. Suddenly the open window appeared ominous to her. A dark place that had been soiled while her back was turned. Someone had climbed into the room and stolen the pendant; she knew it as surely as she knew her grandfather was gone.

  Later that evening, the reports were coming in that there had been twelve volcanic eruptions around Europe. The worst of them were centred around Italy but some eruptions were affecting people even as far as Iceland, and there was no sign of it stopping. It was a match for the eruption that had hit almost two hundred years ago.

  Johnny remained transfixed by the television in case the eruptions spread further and there was any news of his father’s island. He felt bad as he wanted to take care of Ilaria, but right now, he could think of nothing else.

  Nawal was cooking dinner in the kitchen and listening to the radio; the news on every channel was about the volcanoes. A tremendous ash cloud had spread across most of southern Italy and another in Iceland was being blown south by a storm and would soon affect northern Europe. But it was just off the coast of Italy on Oglasa Island where the biggest cloud of all had formed, grounding all nearby air traffic, possibly for weeks to come.

  ‘Ilaria, dinner is ready,’ cried out Nawal from the bottom of the stairs. But no answer came. ‘Ilaria,’ she shouted again, louder but still without response.

  ‘Johnny, turn that television off and go and check on Ilaria, let her know that dinner is ready please.’

  ‘Yes, Mum,’ Johnny said as he switched off the television and ran upstairs into his room. When he creaked the door open, to his surprise, he found the window wide open and some of Ilaria’s things were missing, as was she. He found a note left on the bedside table that she had weighed down with one of his toy dinosaurs. Johnny ran straight to the kitchen clutching the note and stared at Nawal, panicked.

  ‘Oh no,’ Nawal sighed as she saw the note. ‘Well, read it to me then.’

  So Johnny did, in a sombre voice.

  ‘Johnny, I hope you and Nawal will forgive me for leaving unannounced, but I have something to do that is very important and I can’t waste time being carted around by social services. I am worried that something very bad could be happening and I need to know if it has something to do with my family. Stay safe, Ilaria.’

  Nawal and Johnny shared a look of confusion, and it dawned on them both in that moment that they didn’t know anything about her family at all.

  The port was in a state of frenzy. Queues to the ticket office were spilling out onto the streets and blocking the roads that led to Plymouth harbour. Holidaymakers and business men and women were all shouting and scrambling across each other trying to reach the ferry that was soon to depart.

  Ilaria, who awoke aching from her overnight coach journey, strained her eyes to see the chaos ahead through the window. She realised that she wasn’t going anywhere fast if she stayed seated on the coach, so she got up, gathered her things and made her way to the front where the driver was slumped over his wheel, frustrated and bored.

  ‘Excuse me, sir,’ Ilaria said. ‘Can I get off here, please? I’m late meeting my family.’

  The driver hit a button without saying a word and waved her off, and soon a flurry of other passengers on the coach followed her lead.

  Ilaria ran through the crowds, clutching her bag tightly, apologising to everyone as she knocked into them on her way to the ticket office.

  ‘Excuse me, young girl, there is a line here for tickets, thank you very much,’ shouted a stern middle-aged man in a suit.

  ‘Oh yes, I am sorry, but my family is already boarding you see.’

  ‘Then you’re in the wrong place, this is the line for buying tickets, we won’t be getting on a ferry for days. You’d better go and speak to that man over there.’ The stern man suddenly became a lot friendlier and shouted out to the port worker to get his attention.

  ‘No! It’s alright, I can find them on my own,’ Ilaria suddenly panicked, not really knowing what she was doing, but she certainly didn’t want any unwelcome attention.

  The man didn’t pay any notice however and replied, ‘Don’t worry, he’ll get you through to the ferry.’

  The port worker approached the fence that was crowded with people. He craned his head over the throng to improve his chances of hearing what the fuss was about.

  ‘I say, over here, this young girl has been separated from her family. They are boarding the next ferry.’

  The port worker looked about anxiously. ‘Right, well. You’d better come through to me then. Come on push through.’ He cupped h
is mouth in his hands to make his voice travel further. ‘Ladies and gentlemen, please make way for the girl, she’s lost her family.’

  Ilaria’s cheeks flushed scarlet but she pushed through the crowd of people all the same. She turned and gave a wave to the smiling businessman who seemed very happy with himself for doing such a good deed. But Ilaria felt anything but safe now; her plan, not that she really had one, was about to fall apart around her. She would be sent back to Southbourne and collected by the authorities in no time.

  ‘So, where are you headed, young lady?’ the port worker asked as he walked her through the workers’ pathway towards the ferry.

  ‘Erm, well, Italy,’ Ilaria said, not knowing where this particular ferry was headed at all. She had intended to buy a ticket and figure out a route but amidst all this uproar, that idea had gone by the wayside.

  ‘Italy, ay? You do realise this ferry is headed to Santander, don’t you?’

  ‘Er, yes of course. I meant that eventually I… I mean we will arrive in Italy. By way of Santander of course.’

  ‘Strange route you’ve picked. I suppose it can’t be helped, what with all air traffic being grounded. Well, here we are then. Can you see them anywhere?’

  Ilaria pretended to look for her family and shook her head.

  ‘Oh dear, well. Do you have your documentation with you?’ asked the port worker.

  ‘No, you see, my father has it with him,’ Ilaria lied.

  ‘You mean he boarded the ferry carrying your documents without you?’

  Suddenly a burly woman in a very tight fitting uniform interrupted them. She had a worried look on her face.

  ‘What’s all this fuss then? This girl shouldn’t be on this side of the fence, Max, you know that.’

  ‘Yes, sorry, ma’am, but she lost her family. They boarded without her and I think her father forgot he had all her paperwork with him.’