The Gift- Short Story

The Gift- Short Story

Lucia awoke to the echoing ring of the cathedral bells that she had known for nineteen long years. As the new day dawned so did her trepidation and her fear of what it would present. As she pulled herself up and glanced across the room she had known since childhood a tear came to her eye and her uneasiness had turned to turmoil. Her childhood was gone and cold, bleak decades of subordination beckoned her. Lucia glanced up to see the usual sight. The dust danced like the wild flickers of a flame in the sunlight that pierced through the gaps of her velvet blinds. She often dreamt that she could be rid of the mundane sight she was greeted with every morning but now all she felt was sorrow that she would never see it again, stuck in some eternal night.

Lucia opened the curtains and stared out into the city over the sloping slate rooves of Florence and towards her new home along the rolling Tuscan hills.

“Lucia!” Her mother called. “Today you are Lucia Moretti no longer, today you’re a Romano.”

Lucia gave the view one last parting look as she pushed her tears and her golden brown hair back as if splitting her face apart. She sighed, bracing herself for the task ahead and consigned herself to her fate. As she descended the stairs to the hall her uncertainty and her anxiety began to settle further in her heart. No longer was she a person, with an identity or any importance, nothing more than a gift, a transient for political and economic means; she scanned her home, looking for memories, something to remind her of what she once was.

Rosetta had told her tales about the Romano’s before. They were infamous from Venice to Napoli; they were cold, calculating, sly and according to Rosetta had the intention of gaining dominance over all of Italy. Rosetta herself held a personal vendetta against the family after they framed her brother and had him silenced, that’s what terrified her, one wrong move and everybody she ever loved could end up a bloody shambles along the banks of the Arno.

“Morning Lucia,” Her mother said, sitting at the table counting the dowry money. “Time you go on to become a proper woman, stop this nonsense with the writing and the dreaming and the loving. It’s all very well valuing happiness and humanity but what’s that to you when you’re on the streets broken and penniless? This marriage is just what you need, time you –“

“Mother, I know you would do everything in your will to make me happy, and I know you deem this best for me, but why is it-” She paused to gather breath. “That when Firenze is the peak of the world and we sit at its pinnacle surrounded by gold and power and security that no matter where I turn I can never seem to find a love considered acceptable or a form of happiness that is deemed correct?” Lucia snapped, her voice seeming to be caught in her throat as she struggled to form her words.

Lucia paced the room breathing heavily, her hands caressing her forehead scouring for thoughts. She stopped to look out the window towards the Ponte Vechio, remembering that day that seemed an eternity ago when Rosetta had turned to face her during a night stroll.

“How do you like my new hair?” Rosetta asked.

Lucia turned to face her, her eyes widening and for once in her life letting out a beaming smirk. Rosetta was fairly pale skinned; her thick auburn hair stretched down to her shoulders and her cyan eyes sparkled like diamonds. Her clothes were battered and torn. To anyone other than Lucia she would look out of place and out of time but to Lucia she was the right kind of different.

“It’s beautiful.”

“Are you implying that it wasn’t before?”

“No, I just… I” Lucia replied unable to find her words.

Rosetta giggled, letting out the usual zany, outlandish grin that she had when laughing. “I know Lucia. You mustn’t be so scared that you’ll upset me, I’m your friend, not the Pope.” She said with a content and amusing smirk on her face.

Rosetta and Lucia both sat down at the edge of the bridge staring out into the depths of the Arno. Lucia looked down to see the reflection of them both glistening on the moonlit tranquil waters when she began to giggle along, for the first time in all her life finally feeling a sense of contentment and pleasure.

“It’s so liberating out here, don’t you think?” Rosetta whispered, her voice so soft that if Lucia had not been so enchanted in the conversation she would not have noticed. “I do so despise small, compact spaces, here I can be free, here I can be myself, not just some cog in a system, some pawn to be played. You best enjoy this liberty as much as you can, those Romano dogs will strip it from you soon enough. Giovanni especially, now he…”

Lucia looked up to face Rosetta, her eyes sparkled and her auburn hair cascaded down to her shoulders but most importantly she made Lucia smile. Lucia brushed her hair out of the way and twirled her tawny eyes around, too enchanted in the conversation to bother joining in with her rant.

“Have you ever been in love Rose?” She asked abruptly.

“I…” she said, shocked at how the conversation had turned. “I… I’ve loved before, back in Venezia. I wandered into Cannaregio, the Ghetto. God knows what I was thinking, only 16, barely knew who I was let alone what I would become. What I did know was the girl I met there, Christina, I loved her, it’s not something I chose, but her smile was all I needed.”

“A woman?” Lucia asked intrigued.

“Not just a woman but a Jew and a homeless one at that. Impossible loves I’m afraid can become quite the addiction. I didn’t tell my family obviously and nothing ever came of it, I never told her how I felt but while she wasn’t even aware of it she taught me who I was and what it is I value.”

“I respect that Rosetta, really. I felt the same once to a certain extent, never let myself believe it though. Love is something more than just bonds and natural attraction, to me anyway. The things you talk about, I never would have imagined people felt those sorts of feelings, you’ve let me in on a dream.”

“What sort of dream?” Rosetta replied.

“The type of dream I never want to end.”

“I value humanity and its capacity for progression Lucia, I value a society free of the pestilences of religion and nations, all I have ever wanted is to live free of tyranny and oppression and all other manner of foulness the Church and the cowards bathing in money and power spew out. An end to the esteemed Romano would be just the start.” She said with a hasty satirical snarl in her voice.

“What of my husband Rosetta, you’ve yet to speak about him.”

Rosetta stood up with a grin on her face clearly enjoying talking about all the things she despised. “He’s a solitary one, ex condottiere, hired thug went on some bloodlust rampage after the sacking of Volterra apparently, when he was asked to stop he carried on, couldn’t tell friend from foe. He’s been silent since, no doubt plotting like the rest of them, I’d keep an eye on him, silent ones are always the worst.”

Lucia smiled. “One last thing Rosetta, here, take this.” She said passing her a bracelet she had bought earlier that day. “Now we both have one.”

Rosetta kissed Lucia on the cheek and walked off, she would never be seen again but Lucia had such a smile of utter pride, bliss and euphoria that any further pursuit would never top it.

Later on the day of her marriage upon arrival of her new home, she stood before the house in awe of the overwhelming magnitude of the villa. Sweltering under the unwavering reign of the Italian sun, Lucia walked through the crisp, sun-glazed yellow grass and opened the door to the Romano house. Opening the door she made her way into her new home and was met with a stale and unenthusiastic welcome. As she looked around at her new family she was met with a plethora of different attitudes, as she looked at her new mother she was greeted with a look of disdain, when she turned to face her new brother he licked his lips and grinned lustfully, when she turned to her new husband’s scarred, twisted face a deep feeling of unease and helplessness began to dominate everything else.

“Hello Lucia.” He said. “I hope we can get to know each other a little better soon. Cosimo will show you around the villa, I have business to attend to.”

Lucia looked upon the gnarled and decrepit face of her new husband wondering what vile and saturnine tales it had to tell and could possibly tell in the future. Lucia was trapped, separated from all those whom she loved, to sleep in filth amongst the rats and vermin who had done them wrong in the first place. Lucia looked down to be met with her mournful reflection on the pristine marble floor; she wiped away the sorrow from her eyes and donned the guile of contentment as Cosimo gave her the tour.

Cosimo was bruised and beaten so violently beyond Lucia’s understanding that she looked at him as if he were some lifeless specimen to be examined on a slab. She knew at that point that there was no possible way for her to live contently under the oppression of the Romano.

“Here is the study, be careful going in there, the locks a little stiff these days, down that way is the pantr-“

“Are you happy working for these people Cosimo?” Lucia interrupted.

“Well, er… how happy can anyone be when they have to dust bookshelves and mop stained floors everyday?” He said cheerfully with a smile.

“I believe a person can find contentment in the most mundane of tasks, I find more joy in writing than I ever find chasing boar in the forest. It’s not what life gives you that constitutes to happiness, it’s what you make of life and what I want to know is what you make of those scars you bear.” Lucia replied speaking with a crisp and poetic flow.

“I serve the house loyally; I have done for many a year now and while some of them may not treat me well I have no quarrel with them. They pay me and I do the job set at hand, which as you can see from my face involve a fair deal more than simple dusting. I made an oath to Giovanni, I could leave of course but where is the logic in that?” He said, his voice growing louder and fiercer.

“Oh, so you’re just some common mercenary, a soldier?”

“I’m sorry?”

“You’re one of those men who call themselves honourable when they do what their told, when they “protect” a group they feel “pride” in. Ignorant to the pain they cause to the groups they don’t belong to. The type of slave that reduces everything to abstractions, “enemy”, “hero”, “villain”, all that nonsense.” Lucia snapped, expressing her distaste. “The type of man who lives in wild fantasies where he can cheer the death of a 6 year old boy because in his eyes he is some demonic beast that needs slaying. It’s easy to cheer the death of a fantasy creature Cosimo, not so much a person with feelings.”

“I care not for feelings.” He replied coldly.

“Yes but what does you heart say Cosimo? I can help you; there are better ways to obtain coin. Tell me, what it is you truly love?” Lucia replied attempting to strike a rapport.

Cosimo leant forward and grabbed Lucia by the neck pinning her against the pillar behind him.

“Some doubt I even possess a heart my lady and I know not of love but I live by my oaths and my creed and I care not for who you are but if you do wrong by my lord just like any yapping dog you will bite no more.” He whispered fiercely in to Lucia’s ear before snatching the bracelet she wore on her wrist and snapping it in two.

“It’s inevitable that dirty sodomites like you stop yapping anyway.” He said before leaving the corridor.

Lucia was left broken on the floor; desperately doing anything she could to repair the bracelet, weeping in utter despair until something clicked inside her, till something awoke that had been put to sleep years ago. Rosetta had mentioned it before, kill Giovanni and flee to Genoa. Live a life where she served to progress humanity, where she could live to love like any other human and rid herself of the burden she carried. It was clear in her mind; the biggest evil would be to leave the tyranny to rule and pull more innocents down into the abyss. She hadn’t understood it before, but now it became clear to her, this was more than just a desire for love; this was a desire for freedom, a desire for vengeance and it called to her like a lost friend.

A few hours later as the sun set over the illustrious streets of Florence, Lucia stood leaning over the wall of the balcony, wondering, dreaming and hoping that one of the civilians like mere ants below endured a pain similar to her own. She didn’t want to live life as a pawn or a gift any longer. She knew what she had to do. She called the courier tending to the horses in the yard.

“Yes milady?” He replied.

“I have a message for a Rosetta De Luca; she lives in old Oltrarno near Santo Spirito. Tell her.. tell her, tell her that…”

“Tell her what milady?”

Lucia tossed the Courier a piece of the broken bracelet. “Tell her that I finally realized what I love and what I loathe. Tell her to ready herself for Genoa, tell her to meet me at our old spot near the Palazzo. Tell her that I love her.” She said proud of herself for once with a tear in her eye.

The courier stood there gawping at the message he had been told to deliver.

“Do it then. Andare! Andare!” Lucia shouted with a confidence and assertion in her tongue as he mounted the horse.

Just as she was about to leave to prepare herself she could hear the secretive whispering of Giovanni and his brother plotting elusively behind the lush vineyard below the balcony.

“You can’t be serious Giovanni.” His brother said. “She only just got here and you’re getting rid of her already?”

“It’s for the best Mario. We need to deal with that Rosetta girl as well, you should…”

Lucia knocked over a potted plant resting on the balcony wall, interrupting the conversation.

“What was that?” Giovanni shouted as Lucia hid herself behind the wall.

“Just the wind brother. I’m heading to Carnevale with everyone else in town, are you coming Giovanni?”

“No, I’ve got to finish some business off in my study.” He replied.

Lucia knew that not only her but Rosetta were now at risk, action had to be taken immediately and she would happily kill or die if it meant that she could protect Rosetta. It was time to put an end to things. The frenzied Lucia marched down the stairs with one thing in her mind, justice. The time had come: Giovanni was alone at home, working in his study, the voices called to her pleading for his swift execution. Lucia scanned the room for something she could use, a weapon, poison; anything that could do it quickly, a wall mounted display rapier glistened from atop the hearth. Lucia rushed towards it under fear of having second thoughts, leaping and snatching in one swift action. She was ready and the blade demanded blood.

As she began her charge towards the study she could hear something in the background, something getting closer.

“I knew I would have to put you down sooner or later.” Cosimo shouted as he emerged from behind a stash of crates in the corner. “I don’t usually act without order but I see it as a request from God himself to silence your tongue.”

Cosimo clutching onto his dagger charged forwards towards Lucia, she managed to evade his attack quickly and sprinted back towards the fireplace. Lucia was unsure of how to act, one wrong move and she could end up dead, she had killed before but had little idea on how she was to wield a blade. Suddenly Cosimo managed to throw a dagger towards her, piercing through the fabric of her dress and into the wall behind her. As she struggled to break free Cosimo strolled forwards with an arrogance that guaranteed a grizzly demise for her. He clutched onto her hand and quickly disarmed her throwing her rapier across the room. Lucia was unsure of what to do, with no way to defend herself and a seemingly horrific existence if she were to survive she began to resign herself to her fate.

As Lucia began to close her eyes in fear she looked down and noticed how Cosimo was standing atop a rug. She rapidly slid the rug aside with her foot toppling the otherwise life threatening foe. As a result she found herself in a rather odd predicament, a position she had never found herself in before, a position to kill with purpose. Rosetta’s voice began to echo in her head demanding vengeance and death upon Cosimo but Lucia was unsure and in her pause Cosimo took the opportunity to strike as he crawled across the floor towards the rapier. With his hand inches away from the sword he was shocked to find Lucia push against his arm with her foot. He turned to face her.

“Your kind will burn in Oblivion for all eternity, never dying, an eternity of ash and ember and desolation. That’s what you beg for!” He shouted scornfully.

Lucia grabbed Cosimo from the floor and brought him forwards towards the hearth with fire and fury burning in her eyes like a wildfire. “Unfortunately it is you who will burn” She said mournfully as she pressed his face into the flame until he stopped screaming. Shocked at what she had done she lifted herself up and clutched on to the rapier.

She was not proud of what she did but she understood that for any of it to make any sense she had to kill Giovanni, she hoped that it would perhaps justify Cosimo’s death but she knew now that no matter what she did she would live with this decision till the day she died. She turned to face Cosimo one final time before starting her advance. Bloodied, shameful and full of a wrath and fury so rampant that she could burn a man to death she darted forward like a breath exhaled from the Earth, ignoring any feeling that told her to turn back, with vigor in her heart she thought of Rosetta and the damage Giovanni could do should he remain alive. This was her chance.

She creaked the door to the study open and closed it swiftly behind her as she unsheathed the blade. He sat working at his desk his back towards Lucia unaware of her intentions.

“I often wondered what it all meant.” She said alerting Giovanni to her presence. “Love and liberty, all these years I awoke every day only powered by the human capacity for love, it was the fuel that drove me forward even though I hadn’t a clue what it truly meant. Now that I know the meaning of the two, I realize I’ve yet to experience either of them till now.”

“What do you mean, mio carlo?”

“The only true liberty is in death, the only true love is in living, I give you liberty, you give me love.”

“Listen, I have a plan…” He said getting off the chair and approaching Lucia.

“No more.” She exclaimed, plunging the blade deep inside her husband’s chest. “Goodnight and may you find liberty at last.”

Giovanni gave one last bellowing sigh as did Lucia. She was horrified at what she had done but she couldn’t help but feel a certain degree of relief and awe that she had done it.

“It’s over.” She sighed.

As she withdrew the blade from his body she noticed he had been carrying a note behind his back. Lucia looked over his shoulder at what had been written and began to cry in guilt and disbelief.

“Dearest Lucia.” It read. “I understand your discontent and repulsion of this house, this family is a poison on the streets of this city and I can not stand by and see a similar fate befall you as it did my past wife. My time as a mercenary gave me great understanding, humanity can not work as a machine and we need our freedom, our equality and our love to keep us sane. We can not follow orders blindly as I was made to do during my service. Disobey an order and you are labeled a psychopath for it. I sense the willingness for liberty inside you, your love for Rosetta proves that and I will do everything in my power for both of you to love each other freely.”

Lucia walked backwards into the wall from shock, collapsing onto the ground wiping the blood and tears on her face away as she continued to read.

“I will do everything in my path to annul this marriage and I have already made plans for both you and the girl to flee to Sicily so that you may live freely. I would talk to you personally but I fear you distrust me, so I send this to you via Cosimo and hope that he puts his prejudices behind him and hands this to you respectfully. Please leave before the venom of this family corrupts you too. Good luck Lucia Moretti.”

The blade fell from her stinging fingers. She stumbled backwards and rushed to open the door soaked in the blood of an innocent only to find it jammed as Cosimo had warned her previously. She sat in the corner of the room breathing heavily and sobbing staring at the mess she had made. The voices were screaming at her now, she curled up more and more as if there was some great evil moving in to get her. She looked around the room discovering a coil of rope atop a table in the corner and looked up to find a support reaching from one end of the room to the other just below the ceiling. She had experienced love, now she believed it was time to experience liberty. She looked down, shivering in emotion.

“Rosetta.” She whimpered as she got up and made her way to the rope. “Goodbye and keep on loving.”

Lucia blinked, her eyes fading to white. It was over and yet once her eyes opened once again she found herself on a shore bathed in pale white sand surrounded by small strands of wavy grass. As she pulled herself up she found herself atop the sand dunes she played on as a child. She looked around and the beach was identical to the one she spent those few nights of freedom on when she was young. She looked out to sea.

A small rustic, forsaken dock stretched out from the shore and into the ocean surrounded by a thick fog. Lucia may not have died as the person she was but she found the person she wanted to be. She looked out towards the edge of the dock gawping in pure excitement and joy, there was Rosetta, staring out to sea. When Rosetta turned around presenting that same zany smile as she always did, Lucia put her guilt behind her and just ran. Bounding forward, born anew Lucia had finally found the liberty she had been searching for so desperately and as the new Lucia darted forth the old Lucia was left to cry and decay living with her guilt for an eternity to come.

Rosetta smiled. “Welcome home.”