The Sky Is Red

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© 2021 Julia Purdy. All rights reserved.

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Published by LitPrime Solutions 08/23/2021

ISBN: 978-1-954886-99-5(sc)

ISBN: 978-1-955944-00-7(e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021917871

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When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites, ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye not discern the signs of the times? A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall be no sign given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. Matthew XVI, 2, 4

1

The river was a slow-moving and not very long waterway that rose from the marsh just where the big plain began. From that spot you could see various bluish mountain chains that reared up behind the line of hills that took different forms, some high and conical, others low and rounded, like mounds. And on the hills were fields and houses and chestnut trees and rows of grapevines, and the distance gave all things a faint and even somewhat unreal appearance, almost as if not made for humans.

Where the hills ended, the big plain began. At first it was narrow, closed in between the mountains and the sea, but then it broadened out toward other mountains even more remote, so that you could barely make them out. Looking from the hills on clear days, you saw the whole extent of the fields, which on one side were limited in the distance by the edge of the sea, and on the other appeared limitless. Still, rarely could the view reach as far as the sea, as a light mist almost always lay over the plain and blotted out the landscape.

Up to the feet of the hills, the soil in the plain was fertile. People had partitioned it with ditches and rows of mulberries and poplars and cultivated it intensively, with an ancient devotion, and perhaps an even more ancient fatalism. Then the vineyards and fields came to an end at the edges of the marsh.

The marsh was a broad area of bogs covered with reeds and tall grasses, and the unexpected change of vegetation quickly created a sense of dreariness. There were no houses in the interior, and one lonely road, narrow and not well-trodden, struck off across the bogs, traveling on the tops of a series of dikes connected by old bridges built of brick. Solitude and light and silence lay upon the marsh.

From there the river arose. Between the bogs there opened a number of small and not very deep springs, with clear water that continuously welled up from the grassy depths and joined in channels, soundlessly finding their way toward the sea. The river had been busy for years—centuries, in fact—with finding its path to the sea, because the terrain it had to traverse was level, and the sea lay only a bit below the marsh. For this reason, the river course had become uncertain and slow, and in fact for a long stretch the newborn river kept the appearance of a marsh, although the waters developed two distinctly different qualities, one stagnant and covered with the mosses of the bogs, and the other, limpid and flowing because of the springs and the channels.

Proceeding into the plain the channels joined and little by little assumed the aspect of a river, even though two broad, marshy strips of reeds and grasses lingered along its banks, creating a lonely and almost secluded, yet always melancholy and sweet, impression, while the view remained of the hills and the chain of mountains beyond.

This river did not produce floods. Even in the event of abundant and continuous rain, such as happened in springtime, it rose only a little, since the water collected in the marshy zone, from which it flowed, unhurried. Sometimes, when the rains were especially violent, the water became turbid and arrived at the sea yellow, with a stronger odor of muck and moss.

The river continued to flow in this way, hemmed in by marshes, for about six more miles; eventually, little by little, the riverbanks became more solid, and rows of willows alternated with the reeds, and at last the occasional humble house appeared, facing the river, with its stucco discolored and eaten away by damp along the base of its walls.

But the current remained sluggish, and the water was not very deep, so that at a certain spot people had confined it between two banks, in order to narrow it and assist it to reach the sea. And here the big seagoing boats were able to overcome the current to the point where the banks began.

Closer to the mountains, the city had arisen in ancient times. The main river and two of its tributaries passed through the city, and two additional canals had been excavated, so as to encircle the walls with a moat. So you could say that the city had been born from the river, because the river provided three indispensable things in those times, water and safety and a way to communicate with the coast, where the world opened up.

You saw immediately that the city was centuries old. Viewed from the outside, it appeared, huddled within the circle of walls, as a multitude of rooftops from which rose the towers, the churches, and the old city hall. Outside the walls stood the railway station, the broad asphalt streets and the orderly houses. Inside, everything was different. Indeed, there were the radio tower, the cafés bright with chrome, and even a transit bus line. But the squares and streets retained an almost medieval atmosphere.

The streets were for the most part narrow and contorted and the squares crooked, austere, hemmed in by the huge walls of some church, by the irregular rows of closed and gray houses, or by the low porticoes, each one different from the others.

Two of the more important streets connected the monumental gates in the walls and divided the city irregularly into quarters, which were named San Tommaso, San Francesco, San Sebastiano, and Sant’ Agnese. Each quarter had its own principal church and various smaller churches.

Since earliest times a kind of hierarchy had been established among the quarters, according to the people who lived in them. The quarter of Sant’ Agnese found itself occupying the lowest position. It was as if wedged between the two branches of the river, and it had, even more than the others, kept its medieval aspect. An ancient brick church reared up in a vast square, the only place where the quarter was open to the sky. All the rest was an intrigue of alleys, where the pavement still consisted of stones laid slightly concave, so water could flow down the middle and empty into the river. Via Sant’ Agnese, only slightly larger than the others, became known as the grand avenue.

The houses rose serrated one above the other, for the most part dark and distressed looking. But there were, as well, mansions that retained a certain graciousness in the proportion of their construction or in some window or in the remains of frescoed stucco, where the design and the colors were by now faded. But the old noble families had abandoned them long ago, and poverty had invaded. Small doors had been cut in the great portals, and in the interiors, the spacious salons were subdivided with partitions, so they might accommodate large numbers of people. Thus were the houses and the mansions all similar on the inside, small and dark places where the odor of filth stagnated.

The things and the people of the quarter seemed to share equally in the squalor, which they both still bore with not a little pride – the things, for their antiquity; the people, out of who knows what dignity or contrariness.

From time to time there appeared a polished doorway, framed with colorful tiles, with a door-plaque of bright metal. That was a brothel. All the brothels of the city were located in the Sant’ Agnese quarter.

The inhabitants belonged to the lowest levels of society. The women were almost all washerwomen or, if they weren’t ugly, prostitutes. The men were itinerant peddlers and ragpickers, even thieves. In general they moved easily from one occupation to another, taking extended periods of rest in between. The old people and the children furnished the city with a considerable number of beggars. It was a populace that accepted its own situation. Whoever wanted to live differently moved out of the quarter.

There had been a lengthy discussion in the city about the rehabilitation of the Sant’ Agnese quarter. And at last the work began. It opened up a broad, straight street that connected the cathedral square to a new portal in the walls, cutting through only one district, at the margin of the quarter. A few ancient mansions remained standing to the side and were scraped and cleaned and then covered with fake antique frescoes, following the suggestions of scholars. Ultimately, they appeared very interesting. Alongside them would be constructed some house of five or six floors, which the populace accepted with enthusiasm and immediately dubbed skyscrapers. Not knowing where else to go, the poor people, chased out of the demolished houses, took refuge in the intact center of the quarter.

The city had also begun another project, at the opposite end. An old mansion had already been selected and restored and repainted. Then the war came, and everything was suspended.

The war did not change many things. Even if things to sell became scarce, at the same time money became inflated, and vendors charged more for their merchandise. And so a little more poverty was added to those who were already poorly off.

People doubtless believed that war was evil. But this war was going well and was being fought elsewhere, and so people said that it was holy and just and necessary. But otherwise they did nothing. They only held onto the vague hope that it would end soon.

And, naturally, many of the boys of the city left and went to fight, and of one or another the news would come that he was dead. But this happened in faraway places, in Greece or Africa, and eventually even farther away, in Russia. The people were unable even to imagine places so far away and different, and they never thought about the suffering of the soldiers or of those civilians. Each person worried only about himself, trying to get by as he always had done.

That was how things were at the beginning, when the war was going well and was far away.

But then the war began to go badly, and got closer, and the danger and the inconveniences increased. The populace was manifestly unhappy. They said the war was a horrid, beastly thing, and they wished for peace, any kind of peace. The government and national order collapsed, and people were divided against each other. Almost everyone lived in expectation that the war would be over some day, perhaps even soon.

Nevertheless, the inhabitants of the city thought themselves safe from danger. It was a small city, with no industry. Not even the railroad station was very big. The railroad had one main line, to which other shorter lines connected. No one would come to bomb a city of such minor importance to the war, where its people lived in anticipation of peace.

Every day at ten the siren on the tower of the city hall blew, as a test, and perhaps to remind the citizens that there was a war going on. Frequently the siren sounded at other times as well, now that the war was close by. The inhabitants were not terribly impressed. Some went down into the shelters and the underground cantinas just in case, but the majority stayed at their occupations or their recreation. Still, uncertainty and trepidation crept into everyone’s heart and lasted until the alarm ended. And when it did end, they thanked God that this time it had been intended for someone else.

Some of the more important cities in the interior had been struck and devastated by bombardments, and many refugees had sought shelter in the small, peaceful city. These people brought with them pain and destitution, because they had lost everything they owned. The people of the small city did not regard them with sympathy. The refugees constituted a nuisance that everyone would have preferred to keep away from themselves, or at least to ignore. By now everyone was withdrawn into himself, as if disoriented, and men were divided and without compassion for one another.

So the people went on living as best they could, as long as someone gave them enough food to keep them from dying. They anticipated that the war would end. This was essential—to survive until then. Then, someone else would help them to stay alive in a world that they believed would be better.

2

The taxi driver arrived in the square in his dark green automobile and parked it in front of the exit doors of the train station. He covered the radiator to keep it warm, then walked across the square, toward the trolley stop. It was an interurban that came from another city, twenty miles away.

The wind was blowing from the east, coldly and steadily.

Arriving at the stop, the driver looked around on the ground, where the streetlamps projected the shadows of the trolley wires onto the asphalt. The wires were vibrating, a sign that the car was approaching. So he decided to wait outside, in spite of the cold. No one was waiting to board because that car was the last one of the night and would be returning empty to the trolley shed.

He began to pace back and forth, stamping his feet hard on the pavement. Meanwhile the wires vibrated even more, and then the trolley car burst from the top of the overpass, descended clattering, and stopped with a squealing of brakes.

Taxi, taxi! he called to the few who got off.

The driver of the trolley observed that the taxi driver was left without a fare. Slim pickings this time, he said, spitefully.

The taxi driver ignored his tone. Lucky for you that you’re done for the day, he said. I have to wait for still another train.

What about me? said the trolley driver. I still have five miles by bicycle to get home.

Some trip, with this cold, said the taxi driver, returning the attitude.

Five miles, from the depot to my house, said the trolley driver, and immediately he shifted a lever, and compressed air hissed as it passed through valves, and the doors closed.

The taxi driver watched the trolley slowly and jerkily make the curve and then swiftly climb the ramp of the overpass with the rumble of wheels on asphalt and the wires shooting out sparks.

Then he recrossed the square, making for the café. The lighted clock high on the front of the station read twenty minutes to two. It was the end of January, 1931.

The station café stayed open until late at night for the arrival of the last train, and inside there was a total of five or six people. The taxi driver went straight to the counter. He wanted to order a cup of coffee and initiate a conversation with the counter girl. It’s cold as a bitch tonight, he said.

Be patient, said the counter girl. By now we’re almost done with it.

Hey, we can’t talk about being done with it just yet, returned the taxi driver. He had pushed his hat back onto his neck, and he stood with one elbow propped on the counter. The girl wore her bleached hair in a permanent with tiny curls.

The coffee began to gurgle in the spout, and they both watched it in silence.

"Shall I put in a little grappa?" the girl asked.

Sure, said the taxi driver, and his face squinted with concentration. I don’t know if you remember, he said, but two years ago the cold spell came right in February.

Oh, you could tell right away that it had to turn colder, that time, said the counter girl.

You never know, said the taxi driver. A cold wave might turn up from Russia or who knows where. These unexpected cold snaps happen, right? And it suddenly drops to twenty below. I say the worst is yet to come.

The girl at the counter made no comment. She admired the taxi driver and his black leather coat tremendously, but she was sleepy, and in the meantime she warmed her hands on the coffee urn.

The taxi driver drank his coffee with the grappa in it, with slow sips.

I feel sorry about the figs, he said. We had lots of fig plants in ’29 and they died from the cold. Now we have only two, in front of the house. They should produce fruit this year. I would be sorry if they died.

The bell at the station started to clang for the arrival of the train, and the girl at the counter cheered up a bit at the thought that soon she could go home. She looked at her reflection in the gleaming espresso machine and adjusted a curl here and there with languid gestures. One by one the customers approached the counter to pay and then went away. These were people who were meeting someone on the last train.

The taxi driver had previously invited the girl to his house to eat some figs, and now he boringly resumed his discussion about the cold. Then he heard the sound of the train approaching and even he left to cross the square and position himself by his car.

A few people passed in front of him, all in a group, heading for the city center. No one asked for a taxi, but the taxi driver wasn’t unhappy about that, because he was thinking of taking the counter girl home. Instead, at the last minute there emerged from the station a girl with two big suitcases, and she stopped in front of him and asked if he was available.

Yes, he replied, and looked attentively at the girl, then at the suitcases, then back at the girl.

All right, said the girl indifferently and got into the taxi.

The taxi driver loaded the suitcases into the back, and before closing the trunk he suddenly asked, Want to go for a drive, Beautiful?

Take me to Via San Bernardo, the girl responded curtly.

The taxi driver shrugged his shoulders and feigned great indifference as he uncovered the radiator and sat down behind the wheel. Still, he was miffed and stayed in a bad mood for the whole trip. He liked the girl well enough, but she was surly, and it would have been better if she had not come along if she was going to be that way. With the counter girl, something might have come of it.

He stopped the car in Via Sant’ Agnese, on the corner of Via San Bernardo.

Where do you want me to go? he asked.

It’s all right, here is good enough, said the girl.

The driver turned around. But there are no houses here, he said.

It doesn’t matter, answered the girl, getting out. Since the taxi driver did not move, she unloaded her suitcases herself.

That’s seven plus twenty, said the driver. There’s the nighttime surcharge.

The girl found the money in her purse and handed it to him without speaking. Then she stood still, expecting the car to pull away.

Okay, Beautiful, said the driver again. Don’t you want to tell me whose house you’re going to? I’ll come find you, if you tell me.

It doesn’t matter, said the girl again.

Grumbling, the driver engaged the gears and left. Then the girl picked up the suitcases and walked along Via San Bernardo, which was located on a gentle slope toward the river. She stopped in front of a small, plain door and knocked loudly several times.

The girl was impatient. As soon as she thought she heard sounds from inside, she left the steps and stood in the middle of the street, looking up at the floor above. The house was low, just two levels.

A window opened noisily, and an old woman looked out. Who is it? she shouted.

It’s me, answered the girl in a low voice.

Oh, how come? said the old woman. We weren’t expecting you. She spoke too loudly, and her words echoed all the way to the end of the silent street.

Hurry up and let me in, please, said the girl. It’s cold out here.

The old woman closed the window and took from the bed her black shawl to cover herself. As she reached the landing of the stairs, a man’s voice asked from the other room, What is it?

Giovanna’s here, answered the old woman, descending the stairs.

As soon as the old woman opened the door, the girl entered with the two suitcases. It was cold indoors also, but at least the cold was not biting, as it was outdoors. There was the smell of a burnt-out fire and rotting garbage, but right away every other smell was masked by the girl’s perfume. It was a heavy, almost thick fragrance.

Her face was garishly made up, and she was wearing good silk stockings and a very showy fur-piece. She removed the fur with care before sitting down near the table, under the harsh light of the lightbulb. The old woman sat down as well, waiting. Overhead there was a sound, and a baby began to scream.

How are they? asked the girl, nodding with her head toward the stairs.

Fine, said the old woman.

The little one too? asked the girl. Her voice sounded deep and tired, and it could have been she was talking just to pass the time.

The old woman answered, Yes, well enough.

She’s crying, said the girl.

She woke up, said the old woman. She must be hungry, I guess, that’s why she’s crying. Usually she’s good, she doesn’t cry much.

There was a silent pause, and the old woman waited.

Suddenly the girl said, I’ve come home to stay, Mamma. I’m going to have a baby.

You? went the old woman.

Yes, said the girl. I think I’ve got three months to go. As she spoke, she did not look at the old woman but at a peeling pattern of red roses in the oilcloth table cover. With a finger she scratched absentmindedly at it.

And you don’t know who the father is? asked the old woman.

The girl smiled bitterly. How do you expect me to know, in my profession? she said.

But don’t you even have someone in mind? the old woman asked, sourly. Someone who thinks he might be the father? You women always have someone.

The girl made a gesture of annoyance with her shoulder. Yes, she said. Someone who paid.

They lapsed into silence again, caused by the resentment and lack of understanding that existed between them. The child upstairs continued crying. Soon footsteps were heard on the wooden stairs, and a man came into the kitchen. He was at least thirty years old, unshaven, and wore a threadbare overcoat the color of tobacco.

Oh, he said in the direction of the girl.

She said, Hello, Augusto, giving him barely a glance.

She started crying and hasn’t stopped, said the man. A person can’t sleep.

Then he fell silent and fixed the old woman with an inquiring look.

She’s come back, said the old woman. She’s going to have a baby.

A baby, a baby! said the man, looking in amazement at the girl. What’s got into you?

You heard it, didn’t you? It seems to me that Mamma spoke clearly enough.

The man’s voice sounded mean. You must be out of your mind, to make a bastard.

What do you care? said the girl, almost in tears. It was convenient enough for you that I took on this work, right? And so now that I’m going to have a baby, I’ll have it.

The man was getting more furious by the minute, and he moved toward the girl to give her a smack. But the old woman jumped up and blocked his way with her arms raised. No, not this, for the love of God! she shouted.

The man turned away slowly and went to sit in front of the girl, without taking his gaze off her. She sat with her head lowered, and her fingers stopped moving on the oilcloth.

The old woman paced a little around the room, then moved closer to the girl again.

Listen, Giovanna, she said. Augusto should not have spoken to you that way, but when all is said and done, he is right. A bastard is always a big mistake. There are always so many unfortunates in the world that there is no need to add another one. And then, how will you work at your trade? You need to think carefully. You would not be able to work carrying a baby on your back.

The girl listened attentively to the words of the old woman but did not reply.

So the old woman continued, In my opinion, there is only one thing to do. With a little courage, you can free yourself up right away. And it doesn’t cost much. Here there are some safe people, who do it for not much money.

The girl obstinately kept her head down and did not reply.

How long has it been? asked the man.

Still the girl did not respond, and the old woman quickly said, She says six months. It could be done.

Sure, it could be done, said the man. So that’s that, do it right away. It’s a business that only takes a few days.

Yes, yes, said the old woman persuasively. She’ll sleep on it tonight, and you’ll see that tomorrow she will have decided. It’s the only thing to do.

Finally the girl raised her head. Listen, Mamma, she said. At the beginning, as soon as I became aware of it, I didn’t want it. I’ve done everything to free myself up. I’ve taken so much of that stuff that anyone else would have been rid of it.

You must not have done things the way they’re supposed to be done, said the old woman.

No, said the girl. It’s just that he didn’t want to go away. And then I began to feel him move inside me, and to love him. And now I want him. I may be stupid, but I want him. I don’t care if he’s a bastard.

The man became infuriated again and jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair. You wretch! he shouted. A bastard, and she still wants it. She has no shame!

The old woman tried to calm him down. Be nice, Augusto, she said. Be nice. Don’t let yourself be heard in the street. It’s better that they don’t know.

But the man was more enraged than ever and shouted, waving his arms at the girl. I’ll give you the bastard! he yelled. I’ll give you so many blows that I’ll force you to abort, as sure as there is a God!

The girl angrily raised her head and she also began to shout.

Oh, yes, she said. You want to make me abort, right? Do you think I don’t know why? You shout bastard and shame, but it’s the money you’re thinking about. Up to now I have supported you, all of you, including that slut that you married. And now you’re afraid for the money. You think that if I have a child, I’ll care only about him and I won’t give anything more to you. This is what you think, isn’t it? Out with it, at least have the guts to say what you are thinking.

But no, no, said the old woman. It’s not what you think.

What do you mean, it’s not? shouted the girl. You think I don’t have a brain to reason with? I already understand too much. But now I know what I need to do. I’m going away from here. I have enough money to live until the birth, and if it’s not enough I’ll work. And I’ll go to the maternity ward to give birth. There they’re not on the lookout to see if it’s a bastard. Don’t think I came here out of need! I came because I thought that this was still my home! I thought that someone besides me would love him.

The voice of the girl was rising with emotion, and finally she put her head on the table and began to sob, hard and desperately. I’ll go away, I’ll go away, she said, repeatedly.

The man now wavered indecisively, and he only mumbled some unintelligible words. Gesturing with her arms and head, the old woman signaled him to go back upstairs, and he went off. In the kitchen there remained the girl, crying, and the old woman who watched her cry. The wailing of the child could no longer be heard.

Gradually the weeping of the girl became less desperate.

Then the old woman put a hand on her head, caressingly, and spoke to her with a voice that she forced to sound affectionate. You don’t have to take it that way, Giovanna, she said. We’re advising you in your own interest.

I’ll go away, the girl said again.

"But where will you go? Don’t think that you’ll find a better spot than your home. Here everyone loves you, even your brother, even though he’s so rough. And we are insisting only so that you’ll think about it, while it’s not too far along. It’s above all him that you need to think about, how he will fare in this world after you’ve brought him here. Look, I had you two, I raised you however I could, and you grew up. Now I don’t know if you two are happy to be alive, we never speak of these things. But maybe you are not happy, it’s not possible to be happy in our poor condition. I as well have felt bad many times, and I’ve thought maybe it would have been better if I had not been born. It’s better to be nothing than to be poor."

My child will not be poor, said the girl. I will not let him lack for anything. I want him to be happy to be alive.

Happy to be alive, said the old woman, and her voice was now low and pensive. We think that in order to be content to be alive, all that is necessary is to have things we’ve never had, enough to eat and wear, and a nice house. And maybe it’s not even that. But even if it were that, what are you sure you will be able to give your child? If work goes well, you can give him enough to eat and wear for a few years. And then what? And do you think that even eating well he would not feel the shame of not having a father, and of being born to someone who works at your trade? He could never be happy to be alive. The world is too wicked for such a thing.

The girl raised her head with a jerk.

It’s useless for you to insist, Mamma, she said. Before I came home I thought it over, for so many months. And I have decided he must be born. He and I want this, of that I’m sure. And if you or my brother don’t like it, I’m taking my stuff and going.

The old woman heard the hard resolve in the words of the girl. She had this idea in her head, and no one was going to get rid of it.

And so she replied, almost meekly, There you go getting mad again. You shouldn’t get mad that we are advising you to think it over. We give you our counsel, but you can do what you want, at your age. It’s your business, bringing this child into the world and supporting it, we’re not going to interfere.

The girl said nothing for a long time. She was gazing with a fixed stare at the oilcloth, and silently a few tears slid down her already smeared cheeks. She was no longer so sure of herself, nor of the one who wanted to be born, nor of what would happen afterward. For long months she had carried her pregnancy in the brothels, amid indifference and sneers, and always it had given her courage to think that at home she would find a refuge and even a little comfort. Home, instead, was worse than anywhere else, a matter of calculating money and convenience. Without a father to pay for him, a child was not convenient and should not be born.

The old woman watched the girl and in the silence she thought hard to find something to tell her, anything, and found nothing.

Finally she said, Maybe it’s better if we went to bed, Giovanna.

I thought of calling him Giulio, Mamma, said the girl. "And I thought that if he were to resemble any man, he might resemble just that man."

Who knows, said the old woman. "If he had lived, many things would be different."

Both of them remained quiet for some time.

Then the old woman asked, Where have you come from?

From Parma, said the girl. I left early this morning.

You must be hungry, said the old woman. And just now we have nothing. We weren’t expecting you.

It doesn’t matter, said the girl.

There’s a little milk for tomorrow morning, said the old woman. You can have that. We’ll buy some more.

I don’t want to, Mamma. I’m not hungry.

Just the same the old woman moved to get the milk, and she prepared a bowl on the table with bread.

Eat it cold, she said. It will do you good. Meanwhile I will go upstairs to make a place for you to sleep. You’ll have to content yourself with a place on the floor, for tonight. Augusto took over your bed for the child. But tomorrow we’ll find something else for the child. She is so small she could sleep in a basket.

I’d like to sleep by myself, said the girl. I can set things up down here, if there’s a spot over there.

Yes, yes, said the old woman. Tomorrow we’ll see. Over there it’s a big confusion of stuff, but tomorrow we’ll put it to rights. We’ll put everything to rights.

She moved toward the stairs and mounted the wooden steps, trying not to make noise.

The girl listened to her footsteps on the stairs and then overhead, crossing the ceiling. And meanwhile she looked at the peeling walls, and the old kitchen range, and the dirty plates piled to one side, the whole aspect of squalor that her home offered. And in her mind were only random and slow thoughts, because her head was empty and feeble from so much weeping.

Then, when she no longer heard the footsteps moving overhead, she went to the kitchen sink and washed her face in the basin. Finally she pulled from one of the suitcases some garments for the night, and a mirror. She looked a long time at herself in the mirror. Her face was pale, too pale now that she had washed, and there were two dark circles under her weary eyes. This might also have been a result of her pregnancy, perhaps.

So she turned off the light and climbed the stairs, she too trying not to make noise. She left the bowl of milk and bread on the oilcloth with the red rose pattern. She couldn’t eat anything. Always, whenever she suffered from the misery of living, pain took over, from her mouth to her stomach, and she was not able to eat.

But now she became a little calmer, as beneath the blankets she waited to warm up in order to fall asleep. She touched her belly with her hands, tenderly, and it seemed she was already caressing the baby that would be born. Once more she felt secure. She wanted him at any cost, for herself, so she could continue living.

3

The main street of the city extended from the cathedral to the station, crossing the city hall square. In that area were the hotels, the cafés, and the more modern shops.

At fixed times, twice a day, the main street filled with people who walked back and forth and appeared to have nothing to do. They just walked back and forth, chatting placidly together, admiring or criticizing each other. This was not a thing of minor importance for the little city. It was the elegant life that emerged on the main street twice a day, at fixed times.

Two little girls came out of Via Sant’ Agnese and turned toward the main street, and began to stroll in a more leisurely way, because now there were lots of things and people to see. Well-dressed people, who didn’t give off bad smells.

Even so, the little girls soon got tired of watching the people, as the people paid them only enough attention necessary to avoid them. So then the little girls turned their attention to the things.

First there was a bicycle shop, then a shop for optical devices, and the little girls didn’t stop there. Those things were beyond their curiosity and their desires. They stopped before the window of a third store, a large fashion store. Things in wonderful colors were on display—neckties, handkerchiefs, scarves.

These are things for men, said one of the little girls, who was called Carla.

They looked a little while into the display window, keeping a step or two away, then, unconsciously, they approached the glass until they were pressing their hands on it, and finally their faces. They were only able