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-Old pirate, I thought you were not coming anymore. I am happy that you are here. How are you? How is everyone back home?-
-Yes, thank you…how are you? When are you going to get rid of this piece of wood? Or maybe it is a distinguishing feature….I bet it makes you look more interesting-
- For sure, all the beautiful girls in Milan are after me, especially those who are married!-
- Is there anyone left for me?-
- Don’t worry, I’ll spare someone for you-
They walked to the way out patting each other on the shoulders and laughing together like those people who have been waiting a long time to meet up, while the cold night on December 1st was slowing lit up by the lampposts along the road.
Fosco lived on his own. The house was located in the old part of the city and it was a small flat with three rooms, with books and magazines all over the place, it was a holy mess which perfectly matched the owner. Despite his objections, he insisted on giving him his bedroom: he was happy enough to sleep on the couch in the study where he would often fall asleep and spend the whole night there.
-How long can you stay?- he asked
-A few days, I’ll have to be back to the Headquarters in a week-
-I am not going back…- he said solemnly- my leg is still hurting…I don’t think it will ever be the same…bloody Yugoslavians!- This statement was customary now and had the power to chase away the saddest thoughts and put a smile back on his face.
-It’s late, let’s go out for dinner. There is a lovely place down here. I ‘m a right disaster in the kitchen-
The kitchen area was in fact dreary; Rudi did not turn his nose up at a good meal and was quite happy to go.
The family-run restaurant was quite close to the house, just at the corner of the road. It was a small restaurant with a lovely family atmosphere. They sat at a table beside the wall. Rudi watched the pictures on the walls: sketches, caricatures, inscriptions, there were so many of them that they nearly covered the whole wall.
-Painters leave them there to pay for their bills- Fosco explained- Totò, the owner, does not mind that, he says that sooner or later some of them will be famous and he’ll make up for the others with his painting-
-Totò is great!-
-He is nice, but he is from Naples and knows very well what is doing. Do you like the meat? It’s quite a lovely dish-
Totò went up the two steps that divided up the kitchen from the dining hall and showed up at the door.
-Good morning sir- he said to Fosco. His friendly manners well matched his stocky body. His round head and virtually without neck was straight up and alert, framed by hair which was a bit long, black and curly. His eyes were big and dark, and were able to take a quick general look of the whole dining hall and had stopped on them. It was true that you could see that he was a smart business dealer that people appreciate because he was not doing it behind the scene but it was openly showed.
Fosco replied in a tone that was equally friendly.
-Good morning Totò, I have a friend with me today. I’ll get the usual, for two, and red wine, the good one, though!-
-In your dreams!- the innkeeper replied laughing and went back down below.
He sat down keeping his stiff leg over the stick which was across the room. He did not eat very much but he drank quite a lot indeed, he spoke the whole evening about going back to work at the newsroom and he hoped to work as a reporter again. He said that he was trying to write what he saw and experienced. He wanted to put them together with the articles he sent when he was at the front to try and make a book out of it.
They spent the four days that Rudi was in Milan sightseeing. His friend would show him areas that people did not know of, which reminded him of personal memories, tragic or funny events. He was a good speaker, witty and lively who would easily draw people’s attention and curiosity. Rudi was in line with his apparently easy-going picture of the world. He realised that if you look just a little beyond that façade to see in him a true wish to know and analyse the events, an ability to commit oneself to the fullest leaving behind all personal needs.
They spoke about the latest news about the war, the horrifying things they saw and Fosco passionately reiterated the reasons that led him to support the non-intervention in a undertaking that cost a lot of sacrifices.
They split up at the station. Fosco looked more peaceful, as if in those four days he could relieve his mind from visions and words which had been long restrained. As for Rudi, he was aware to have discovered a territory unknown to him up to now and to know now who the right guide was to get to know it.
1 Chapter IX
1918
Back at his battalion, Rudi was engaged on the sidelines, no more at the front. The war there did not look so frightening.
After that terrible day on October 24th, 1917 when the Austro-German broke through the Italian armies and invaded Friuli, several events had taken place. On November 9th Marshal Cadorna had given his place to General Armando Diaz. What was mostly worrying about the war was the situation in Russia, where on November 8th the Bolshevik got the power and now they were preparing to ask for the armistice to keep an eye on the internal situation. This was a huge problem for the Coalition which following Brest-Litovsk peace agreement on March 3rd, 1918, the Russian army was not part of its army anymore.
People feared the worst. Boys born in 1919 were called in to go to war. Boys who were born in December of that year were not 18 yet.
The new Italian headquarters tried to organise themselves fast. At the front, the troops tried to hold on courageously against the enemies.
The last determining offensive started on Mount Grappa on October 24th, 1918 and on November 3rd the victorious Italian army was in Trento. At six o’clock in the afternoon the armistice was signed at Villa Giusti.
On November 4
, the Italians got the news from the newspapers:
‘The Italian army is in Trento and Trieste.
Supreme Command, November 3rd (7pm)
Our troops have occupied Trento and have landed in Trieste. The Italian flag is flapping on the Castello del Buon Consiglio and on the Torre di San Giusto. Sections of the cavalry have reached Udine. Signed A. Diaz.’
That Monday the Italians read or got someone to read it for them over and over again the war bulletin no. 1278 released by the Supreme Command:
-The war against Austria Hungary, led by HM the King- Supreme Commander- the Italian army was outnumbered and was not endowed with many means, started on May 24
, 1915 and with firm faith and tenacious courage led a continuous and harsh resistance for 41 months, it was won.
The huge battle engaged on last October, 24
, which involved 51 Italian divisions, three British divisions , two French divisions, one Czechoslovakian division and one American regiment against 73Austro-Hungarian divisions is over.
The quick long awaited advance on behalf of the 29
army corps in Trento, blocking the roads for retreat to the enemy troops of Trentino blown over in the west by the 7th army troops and in the east by the 1
, 6
and 4
army troops, caused yesterday the complete destruction of the enemy front.
From river Brenta to river Torre the overpowering effort of the 12
, 8th and 10th army and the cavalry divisions push the fleeing enemy back.
In the S.A.R. plain the Duke of Aosta rapidly advances leading his undefeated 3rd army eager to go back to the positions which they had already victoriously conquered which were never lost.
The Austro-Hungarian army is defeated: they suffered heavy losses during the tenacious resistance during the first days of battle and during the chasing; they lost huge amounts of materials of any kind and almost all their warehouses and deposits; so far he left in our hands about 300 thousand prisoners and all the commanding officers and no less than 5 thousand cannons.
What was left of one of the most powerful armies in the worlds are getting back up the valleys that they had previously descended with proud confidence all scattered and without any hope.
Signed A. Diaz -
It was the end of a nightmare.
Giovanni had dashed back home from the village after buying the newspaper and now, surrounded by the women and sitting at the kitchen table, he was reading the latest news aloud, his voice was cracking up from time to time.
Maria was nervously rubbing her apron and said in a soft voice – Thank God, at last it is all over!- Ada was keeping her hands on her chest, as if she was trying to keep her heart which was beating so fast that she could not speak.
Giulia, standing behind Giovanni, was reading quietly with eager eyes the lines that he was reading loud, eager to get to the bottom of the page
-Rudi is coming back home, everybody is coming home- she was repeating to herself. The last letter dated back two months earlier and had he had reassured her about his health condition. She could have hugged him again and go back to the everyday life.
Giovanni finished reading and his eyes were wet.
-I’ll go to the village. People are organising a parade to celebrate the victory. I’ll bring the kids with me.-
-Only Antonino e Clara, not the little ones- Giulia said worried.
-It is a memorable day, people will remember it forever. Why you don’t want them to come? The whole village will be there…-
-That’s why- she reiterated – they could get lost
-I’ll be happy to come- Ada said, the lump in her throat was loosening up and was giving way to an anxiety that she could only get rid of by doing something.
-What about you?- Giovanni asked the others.
-I’d rather stay at home- Giulia replied.
-So do I- Maria added.
They got ready and they got on the buggy. The children felt the excitement in the air and were waving little paper flags that the twins had coloured, crammed on the seat, one on top of the other. They headed off all excited to the village full of the joys of spring, where everyone was celebrating in the streets and the local marching band was playing the royal march, which now was the National anthem.
They got there just on time to see the parade arriving. Clara and Antonino jumped off the buggy and ran under the makeshift stage, where the authorities could praise in turns the great deeds of the Italian troops. The marching band would play national anthems in between the various speeches. Everybody clapped their hands when they heard the pretentious sound of the words Nation and Italy.
To be free to run round among the crowds would excite the little ones who were chasing one another boisterously making the most of the general leeway. The old veterans were waving the flags and women were hugging happily. Agnese and Luciano would have liked to follow their siblings but Ada’s hands held them tight. She would often stumble when one would pull from one side and the other from the other side. That would go on until with a tug she would put an end to all that. Giovanni had moved away and was involved in a heated conversation in the middle of the square with a group of men.
When the parade broke down in a shouting crowd, Ada went over to him and asked him to go home. She felt tired and the November stinging and damp air convinced her to go back home despite the celebrations were still going on, worried that the little ones could get sick.
They went back home despite the children were complaining and unhappy to go home, the day should have been endless for them.
Ada was complaining about a bad headache and said that she would go to bed while everyone else had a load of things to do.
The following morning she did not get up, her headache was worse and she also had a little temperature. They forbid the children to go into her room, making sure they would not make too much noise. They were used to be told – Don’t make too much noise, auntie Ada is not well- so they decided to do quieter activities on that day.
Over the next few days her health condition got worse. The temperature was higher and she was complaining of pains in her joints. She had shivers and no cover would keep her warm.
They sent for the doctor. After visiting her, dr Marinucci went downstairs to the kitchen and was visibly concerned.
-Giovanni , I am sorry, but I fear that she has the Spanish flu- he said sorrowful- I thought that the epidemic was nearly gone, that the worse was over, but there are still some sick people in the village and I really believe that Ada is one of these-
Everybody feared this news and they were speechless.
-The Spanish flu? Are you sure doctor?-
-I fear so. I saw too many of these cases-
-What can we do?- Giovanni asked with a sigh.
-Give her quinine morning and night. Hopefully it won’t be as infective as it was at the beginning-
-What about the children? – Giulia asked.
- It is pointless to take them somewhere else. The chance to get infected is everywhere. Try to keep them far from their aunt and often ventilate the rooms. There’s nothing else that you can do. I’ll come back tomorrow to see her again-
Giovanni took the doctor to the door, leaving the women in their silence.
-You know it better than me- he said to him when they were on the doorstep- don’t keep your hopes high. I have recently seen very young and extremely healthy people die in a few days. That is the last tragic consequence of the war. This is probably the war we fought at home. Come on, I’ll see you tomorrow.-
They shook hands. Giovanni was sick with worry. Dr Marinucci saw him and his children being born, he was an old doctor who had carried out his job with dignity, and suffered with the limited means that medicine would offer at the time. In those few words he could sense the tiredness and the despondency of a person who can’t cope anymore with all the pains and sufferings he had been experiencing over the years plus he was getting older and everything was becoming too much and was pushing him to retire.
The epidemic had been terrible and had infected children, young people and old people. The death toll was huge and in the village there were no more coffins to bury them. The dead bodies were brought to the graveyard on a cart and buried underground. It had been like a horrible axe on the population already tired down by years of war. Whole families had been destroyed. Only a few weeks before, two very young sisters had died within a few days’ time; the mother’s grieving, among many other people’s, had particularly upset the whole village.
Giovanni’s mind was crossed by these thoughts and their burden seemed to drop on his shoulders all of a sudden. He fought with himself to try and keep them at bay and get back a little hope to let him give reassurance to the others once back in the house.
1 Chapter X
Ada
The next few days the women were going back and forth to nurse the patient.
Ada’s condition was getting worse. The very high fever did not give her a break and in a short while her prosperous body had become so thin that it was hard to recognise it. Lucia had been called in to help with the family chores. She looked after the little ones taking them outside even if the days were now quite cold. Antonino and Clara were aware of what was going on and were just carrying on quietly, the twins were quick to shake off the sadness that they could feel within the house walls. Once they were out, they would play happily without any worry. Lucia used to bring Andrea along when she got some work at the Barrieri’s because she did not have anyone to leave him with so they three of them would play happily together. In the evening, all the time spent playing in the open air would make them more tired than usual and they were sent to bed very early.
During the night the women would take turns to look after the sick woman. They tried to alleviate her suffering placing some damp cloths on her forehead. The temperature was so high and in the last few days her rasping breathing seemed to fill the whole house.
Ada’s death left a great void as usually unexpected death do and everything felt really unbelievable. What happened, unexpected and tragic at the same time, got the adults to live with the thought of how life was precarious. This feeling along with the tiredness and bewilderment, would make them feel out of energy. Giovanni was walking around the house and could not decide when to get back to work, Maria seemed to have aged, within those few days, quiet and skinny in her black dress.
Giulia was in control of the situation and was hiding behind a painful and efficient silence. When she realised that there was nothing they could do, she had immediately changed her attitude. Without wasting time in commiserations, she organised the family life to try and cope better in those stormy days. She would talk very little and she would be there day and night for the sick woman tirelessly. Maria and the rest would follow her instructions, like sailors who, in dangerous situations, see their captain as the only person to put their full trust in and not someone who just give orders.
The children reacted differently to the news about the death. Antonino cried for quite a while and lost in his suffering, he had sought shelter in his mummy and aunt’s arms. He had never got into her room and he did not want to see when she was dead. Clara had kept aside. She did not ask for updates. She would look around quietly, then she would spend whole afternoons locked up in her room, forgotten by everybody and just get out when her brother would come in to her looking for company and consolation and they would go downstairs together to eat. When her father asked her if she wanted to say her last goodbye to her auntie, she said yes. They held hands and she went over to the bed where Ada’s lifeless body was resting, dressed as she had seen her on special occasions, with the black shawl over her head that she wore in the church and the rosary beads in between her fingers. She looked at her for long and thought that she seemed to be made of wax, her thin nose and her plump body, always willing to give a warm hug, now still and cold. She felt the distance and Giovanni felt her little hand in his shaken by a nervous tremor. He put his arm around her shoulders and held her in the attempt to shelter her from that sorrow that for the first time, without any tears, was shaking her soul. She got her to leave the room holding her tight to her leg and she could not the warm smell that was comforting her greatly.
1 Chapter XI
Worries
There were not many people at the funeral. People were afraid to get infected and many people did not get back from the war. In the church there were especially the women who sat in the front seats, they were dressed in black with big dark head scarves which were covering their hair. Few men were standing at the bottom of the church, with their hats in their hands. Rudi arrived before the coffin was taken out of the house. He got the news when he was still at Fosco’s where he had stopped a few days after the end of the war. He left right away and his friend did not want to leave him alone and went with him to Viterbo.
