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Elio woke up early. It was impossible not to give into aunt Ida, who was insistently screaming his name. It was nearly dawn outside. He looked at the sky get pink and for a second, he pictured the image of the previous night's sunset and relived that feeling of peacefulness. But it did not last for a long time as he began to hear a sharp ringing in his ears that was cutting his soul and made him go back to reality.
Elio dragged himself to the kitchen still wearing his pyjamas and hoping breakfast would wake him up.
His aunt, cousin and sister were already dressed up with their hair perfectly combed as if it were 8 am rather than 5.30. There was a festive atmosphere in the house; Ercole was coming back home from summer camp and Ida was excited at the thought of having her son back home. He had been away for five days and she had been very apprehensive. She was always worried when their kids were out of the house after what had happened to Libero when he was younger. She would never have wanted to take her eyes off them.
As soon as she spotted Elio being unruly, Sergeant Ida sent him away to make him freshen up.
Ida was a strong woman who had been strengthened by the hardship of life. Following her husband's death and the issues with her son, she had to get accustomed to a totally different life from the one she was leading in the city with her husband.
Tough and determined as she was, she tackled that new challenge. Sometimes she would let herself cry in secret, but despite everything she would not lose her strength.
Her authoritative tone was her shield. However, on the inside she was as sweet and soft as a cupcake.
After a while, Elio came back fully dressed and almost freshened up despite his bad mood and his hunger.
He could smell milk and chocolate, and the fresh pastries that aunt Ida had made the day before.
They were milk, braid-shaped brioches in different flavours: cinnamon, anise, and sesame, his favourite.
His sister and Libero were already dipping them in the milk.
Libero asked him:
"Do you know who's coming today?"
Elio startled at his question.
"Who?" he replied.
"Ercole, my little brother!"
Elio did not say anything, but he had completely forgotten of his peer.
"From where?" he asked as if they had not talked about it.
"What?" replied Gaia. "Aunt Ida told us yesterday."
"He's coming back from summer camp." said Libero smiling.
"The attic is waiting for you two." hinted their aunt with a tone that brooked no argument. "Come on, Elio, finish up your breakfast and get to work." "Gaia will come and help you in a bit. I need her to run an errand for me."
Elio drank his milk in a sip, being relieved at the idea of spending some time alone in the attic. He was happy that he could go back to listening to his music on his mp3 player.
He looked for it all over the house but could not find it anywhere. He went back into kitchen and asked:
"Has anyone seen my mp3 player?"
"Unfortunately, something happened to it yesterday. You had left it on the sofa. When I opened the sofa bed, it got stuck in between the frame mechanism...There's not much left, but I’ve managed to save the memory card." said his aunt, who took the memory card from a saucer and gave it to him.
"The day has begun in the worst way" kept thinking Elio. He climbed up the stairs that lead to the attic with his usual pace and switched on the light.
Things were piled up everywhere. He would have had to tidy everything up and find a spot where to place two beds. The thought of it was too much for him. Therefore, he decided to open up the big central window to let some fresh air and some daylight in, and intended to sit down somewhere and wait for Gaia.
But then, something caught his eyes. It was a book placed on an old wooden box that looked weirdly similar to that book the old man was reading on the train.
It was a very odd coincidence. It certainly was not a very common book, which made his nervous. All of a sudden, the light went out and Elio began to hear that odd voice that, like a bad omen, was whispering into his ears words in an unknown language.
Although he knew it was impossible, Elio was scared that the old man could be standing right there with him, in the dark. He searched for the light switch, but could not turn it on. The light bulb must have burst. A deep-rooted fear took over him. The voice was getting stronger and stronger and kept echoing in his head. He was fumbling around in the dark to get to the window, dragging along with him all the objects he was running into.
When he got to the handle, he realized that the window was locked and started punching on the glass hoping it would unlock.
He was shaking and was covered in cold sweat.
Suddenly, the light came on. Elio turned around, he wanted to scream, but his throat got all choked up.
Then he saw Gaia.
"Elio, are you okay? What's with all this noise? Are you hurt?"
The boy, who was white as a sheet and was shivering, looked distressed.
Gaia hugged him tightly and worriedly whispered to him:
"Is everything alright? It happened again, didn't it? That thing that flusters you..."
Elio neither answered nor hugged her back. He was still far, far away, deep in his thoughts. He could not feel on his skin the warmth of her embrace. It was as if he were made of stone.
Gaia slightly let him go as Elio came to his senses.
The first thing that he did was check if that odd manuscript were still there where he had seen it, or if he had only imagined it.
Unfortunately, it was still there. And his stare turned cold once again.
Gaia noticed what had just happened and walked towards the old volume. She wanted to see if it was the cause of her brother's distress. She analyzed the trajectory of Elio's stare.
He was precisely staring at that old book. She turned around and grabbed it. And with the book in her hands, she addressed him:
"Is this the reason why you are so creeped out?"
Elio did not mutter a single word.
"Elio, talk to me. I can't help you if you insist on shutting me out."
"The train." whispered Elio.
"The train? What do you mean?"
"I saw exactly the same book on the train."
"What's weird about that?"
"This weird old man was reading it when you were off to the restaurant car. He was sitting in the row beside mine.
"A lot of people read books when they're travelling."
"But it's not an usual book, can you not see it?" replied Elio, who was getting upset.
Actually, Gaia had not noticed how particular the cover of the book was, and she looked even more astonished when she opened it.
It was written in a foreign language. The black and white pictures were portraying odd figures standing against some woods and full moons. Most of those figures were distressing,
but she pretended not see them. She immediately closed the book and threw it in the corner.
"Come on, it's just a coincidence. It's just an old book."
Elio remained silent; his ears were ringing again.
The young girl tried distracting him, although those spectral images were not leaving her mind.
"Come on, help me move these boxes towards the light. And let's make some space under the skylight. That's where I want our bed to be. Unfortunately, we'll have to sleep in the same bed, and I want to fall asleep under the starlight."
They worked all morning at a good pace. Gaia managed to distract Elio with her gab and he seemed to be reacting with more energy after what had happened.
They spent most of the afternoon tidying everything up until aunt Ida encouraged them to freshen up a little bit. That night Ercole was coming back home and they wanted to celebrate.
Libero had promised that he would take them dancing at the harvest festival that was going to be held in town.
They heard the sound of a car's horn honking. It was the old local bus that would pass by twice a week. After going through different neighbourhoods of the city, it would eventually reach their town. Usually, kids would use it to go back from the summer camp in Tresentieri, a wood not too far from the main town.
Libero jumped out of the house, and, as usual, he lifted up his brother, who did not even manage to his massive backpack, and spun him around up to the front door. After Ercole had managed to move out from the "squeeze" position, he had to deal with his mother.
He was happy about that expression of affection, but it seemed to him they were slightly overreacting considering that he had been away only for five days.
He affectionately kissed Gaia on her cheeks, whom he found very pretty, and coldly said hello to Elio, because of whom the TV and his beloved video-games were gone.
Ercole was the same age as Gaia, and just like a greek hero, he was tall, muscly and athletic, and he was in the local wrestling team.
His black hair was combed in a crew cut. His dark eyes and olive skin made him look more rugged that he actually was. In fact, he was a good-natured boy, incapable of holding grudges.
Dinner was served earlier than usual so that they had plenty of time to get ready for the festival. They had hours before the actual festival, but Ida had prepared a real feast for the occasion, and they needed all that time only to pass on to everyone all the dishes.
After that, they would be set to go.
All the men in the house had to wait longer than expected, of course. Both Ida and Gaia were taking ages. Elio was not in the mood. Plus he thought that the outfit he had showed off all day was more than appropriate. Ercole put on a pair of jeans and an exorbitant amount of hair gel.
Among the boys, Libero took the longer. He did not get out of his bedroom until he was fully ready. He looked lively with his blue capri pants and his multi-colored shirt that would have looked excessive on anyone, but was great on him.
His eyes were sparkling. It was one of the festivals he enjoyed the most.
As soon as everyone got ready, Elio tried escaping that torture, but was caught up in his auntie’s enthusiasm, who looked unrecognisable. She was wearing a black flowery dress, high-heeled shoes and her hair was loose on her shoulder. Moreover, she had put make up on her face. She took him under her arm and escorted him outside.
Along the way, they could admire the lights, the little flags and the decorations that were set up by the organizers of that year's festival.
On the edge of the road, bales of hay in all shapes were decorating the town.
In the city centre, the war memorial was surrounded by enormous wheels made out of straw.
The main square was hosting the stage where the marching band would be performing.
All around the dance floor, all the chairs were occupied by the elderly, who were chatting and waiting to admire all the young things dance. The younger kids were already running around the dance floor, imitating the adults that would have to avoid them during the dances.
That night everybody in town was talking about the arrival of Gaia and Elio. The elderly and the adults were recalling the old times when the two siblings would come into town.
People had different views: Some of them would recall them as two hotheads, some others as good kids. Their old friends, on the other hand, were remembering the old the times they would skip school and get lost in the fields.
Someone would say that Elio looked like his father, some others would say that Gaia did. Others would try and solve the mystery by saying that they looked like their grandparents.
In the meantime, the marching band was rehearsing. Everything was almost ready. The host, or stated more correctly, the man that every year was responsible for speaking from the stage, invited to the stage by the local authorities.
He finished up his speech by thanking the sponsors, whilst all the town dwellers were utterly uninterested in what he was saying and began yawning. Shortly after that, the audience broke into an applause hoping that the host had finished his speech for good and he would finally leave space for the band.
When it was announced that the host would be stepping down, the wilder applauses broke out. The orchestra's conductor jumped onto the stage and began waiving the baton around. At that precise moment, the trombone kicked in, followed by the drums, then by the saxophones and lastly by the clarinets.
Libero was the first to throw himself on the dance floor, accompanied by his favourite partner with whom he would always start the dance. Surprisingly, Libero was a graceful dancer and all the local women were used to enjoy at least one dance with him. He would give attention both to the younger girls and the older women. He loved to dance and was able to transmit his disinterested passion to his partners.
The dance floor filled up with people dancing. Gaia was receiving many invitations to dance and she was not backing down.
For a second, Elio felt an odd sensation. Without even realising it, his feet had begun bopping along.
As soon as the dance became more spontaneous, his aunt grabbed him by his dangling hand and made him dance and spin around.
He strangely did not oppose that decision. For an instant, he felt the rhythm kicking into his body. He was having so much fun that his cheeks started aching because of that odd contortion of the facial muscles that he had not experienced in years.
He went from dancing in his auntie's arms into several other girls's that were intrigued and were amusingly staring at him.
After he had finished dancing with the last girl, Elio returned to his seat. He could feel his blood flow through his limbs. Suddenly, he began hearing that odd ringing his ears, which forced him to move away from the main square. That same music he had been dancing to up until a few moments ago became deafening.
He walked towards the lawn beside the church, where some old tractors were displayed. A group of children kept looking at them and running around them.
Elio sat down in a dark corner and started observing them.
All those laughs were resounding in this mind and were reminding him of an old happiness buried for a long a time.
He was jealous of a child who was happily running towards his father and grabbing his hand. When he saw that, an old memory came flooding back: the warmth and the perfume of his father's hand.
A sharp pain shot up his temple. He could not think. He grabbed his head in his hands. He was cold.
"Elio, what are you doing here all alone? Are you in pain?"
Aunt Ida, who had not lost sight of him during the entire night, sat down beside him. Elio did not reply.
Ida put her arm around his shoulders and gently held him in between her arms. But Elio could not feel the warmth of that embrace. It was cold in his world.
On the way back to the farm, Gaia could not stop talking about her amusing night and her new acquaintances.
For the first time they spent the night in the attic. They had set the bed right below the skylight so that Gaia could fall asleep watching the stars, and so did she.
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