INICIAR SESIÓNTHE GATEELIAN’S POVI was sitting in the garden, reading, when I heard voices coming from the front gate.At first, I paid no attention. The guards argued with delivery men from time to time. It was usually nothing worth getting involved in. But there was something about this one that made me look up.A man was speaking in a low, impatient voice. I couldn’t make out everything he was saying, but I heard the same question several times.Who sent you?I put my book aside and walked towards the hedge. There was a small opening between the branches that gave me a clear view of the driveway.One of the guards had a young boy pressed against the gatepost. He looked about seventeen or eighteen. A cardboard bakery box sat on the ground beside him, its lid half open. Several bread rolls had fallen out and were scattered across the gravel.“Who sent you?” the guard demanded again.“The bakery, sir.” The boy was struggling to speak. “Mrs. Bruno placed the order. I bring it every Thursday.”“Not
RECORDSNICO’S POVI’ve kept a notebook for as long as I’ve worked for Salvatore. Fifteen years, to be exact.I write down things people overlook. Who owes money, who avoids certain conversations, disagreements. Anything that might become useful later.It’s part of my job to notice things.Salvatore knows about the notebooks. He’s never asked to read them, and I’ve never offered.The morning after the vase broke, I opened a fresh page.I was in the kitchen at six, finishing my coffee, when Marta walked in carrying a cardboard box. Her eyes were red, and she looked as though she’d spent most of the night awake.I glanced at the box.“What’s that?”“The pieces of the vase, sir.”I put my cup down.“Why are you keeping them?”“Mr. Moretti told me to.”She adjusted her grip on the box.“He said I could keep my job too.”I looked at her properly.“Were you expecting to lose it?”She hesitated before telling me what had happened. The vase had slipped from her hands, and Elian had come into
THE VASESALVATORE’S POVBy the time Salvatore reaches the east hall, the vase is already in pieces.He stops at the foot of the stairs.It is the blue one, the tall porcelain vase that has stood against the east wall for as long as he can remember. His mother’s sister brought it back from one of her travels years ago. It has survived generations of housekeepers, servants, and children. No one has ever been allowed to touch it without permission.Now it’s scattered across the floor.Marta, the youngest of the maids, stands beside the mess with a dustpan in her hands. She looks close to tears.Elian is standing next to her.“What happened?”They both turn towards him. Marta looks ready to speak, but Elian gets there first.“I broke it.”Salvatore looks at him.“You did?”“Yes. I wasn’t paying attention. I walked too close to the table and knocked it over with my elbow.” He lifts his arm slightly. “I’m sorry. I know it was important.”Salvatore looks at the table.It’s against the wall,
THE LATE MEALELIAN’S POVIt was sometime after one when I gave up trying to sleep and went downstairs for water.The chain had been removed two days earlier, but I still caught myself reaching for my ankle whenever I woke up. I would touch the place where it had been and feel foolish when I remembered there was nothing there.Old habits, I supposed. Some things took longer to leave than others.The house was quiet. Most of the lights were off, except for the one coming from the dining room. I stopped at the bottom of the stairs when I noticed it.Salvatore was still awake.I considered turning around. I could get water from somewhere else in the morning. There was no reason to walk into a room where I wasn’t expecting.But I was already downstairs, and I was thirsty.When I entered the dining room, he was sitting at the long table with his jacket draped over the back of his chair. His sleeves were rolled up, and there was a plate in front of him. A piece of bread, some cold meat. He
THE QUESTION I NEVER ASKEDELIAN’S POVThere was something I asked Salvatore one evening that stayed with me for years. I didn’t include it in the first version of this history. At the time, I thought it was a small conversation, nothing worth writing down. Looking back, I realise it meant more than I understood then.It was sometime after the night we almost kissed, but before we finally did. Things between us had changed, though neither of us had found the courage to speak about it.I found him in his study one evening. It was later than usual, and I nearly walked away when I saw the light coming from beneath his door. Instead, I knocked.“Come in.”He looked up from his desk. “Elian? Is everything all right?”“Yes. I just wanted to ask you something.”He put down his pen. “What is it?”I stood there for a moment, wondering if I should go through with it. Then I decided I had already come too far to turn back.“Why did you choose me?”He frowned slightly. “What do you mean?”“Matteo
THE DINNERELIAN’S POVThere was one evening I almost left out of my story. I might have forgotten it completely if I hadn’t come across an old note from Rosa tucked between the pages of one of my books. She mentioned a dinner that neither Salvatore nor I thought was worth remembering at the time.It was about a month after the warehouse incident, before our first kiss and before either of us knew what to do with the feelings growing between us.Salvatore came home late that evening. He looked tired, though he said nothing about his day. By then, I had started to recognize that look. It usually meant something had gone wrong with his business, or that he had spent too many hours dealing with people who made his life difficult.I’d already had dinner and was on my way upstairs when I noticed him sitting alone in the dining room. His food was cold, and he was barely touching it.For a moment, I considered leaving him alone. I still wasn’t completely comfortable approaching him whenever







