Quarter Moon

"Yeah, that's right." replied Carlo. "Why?"

"Because it seems like everyone uses it as if they were playing music at a party! They never stop honking!"

Everyone burst out laughing, except for Elio, who was wondering whether Libero was joking or not...

Third Chapter

He realized that the boy was in terror, and burst into laughter

The following morning Libero got Giulia out of her bed, after he had tripped over the corridor's carpet. So, Giulia and he found themselves having breakfast before everyone else had even opened their eyes. When the smell of fresh coffee had invaded Carlo's bedroom, he also made his way to the kitchen and started explaining what had been wrong with Elio lately.

"Do not worry." Libero assured them. "This out-door experience will help him. And mum already has a strategy!"

Once they had reached the train station, Giulia could not stop giving recommendations and making sure that the kids would behave.

Gaia could not wait; she was excited and curious. On the other hand, it was clear that Elio was only being dragged into this. On top of that, he was also carrying along Gaia's heavy luggage only because Libero made him : "Ladies should not carry weights!" he said, which caused Elio to roll his eyes. He could not bear his cousin already.

Libero was wearing a pair of jeans, t-shirt and a civil protection yellow ocher baseball cap, which seemed completely out of place to his cousins. Moreover, he was carrying the remaining luggage with such easiness that they might as well have been empty.

The train departed perfectly on time. There was no one else in the car they had been allocated to. After Libero had arranged all baggage onto the overhead compartment, he suggested:

"Gaia, come with me. Let's go to the restaurant car and let's get some more breakfast. It's going to be a long journey and you'll need all your strength. Elio can watch the luggage. No one will even come close to them. If someone does, bark!" said Libero to his cousin. "And if you stop pulling such a long face, we might even bring you something to eat..."

Gaia and Libero exited the car, which turned out to be a great comfort for Elio who wanted to be alone.

He was staring at the repetitive landscapes outside his window. They had just travelled past the industrial area of the city and they had begun to be surrounded by fields and hills that were alternating again and again.

All of a sudden, on the window pane he noticed the reflection of an old man sitting in the aisle seat next to his.

When did he get into the car? He did not hear the doors open.

The old man was dressed in black and was wearing some odd glasses on his nose. He was reading a black leather book that looked about a century old, whose pages were made out of tissue paper. On his head he had a wide-brimmed hat that was covering up his face. The whole scene was rather unsettling.

Elio did not turn around, yet was keeping an eye on him through the reflection on the window pane. He felt frightened of being on his own with that man. At that moment he surely did want his big and strong cousin to be by his side. However, neither he nor Gaia were approaching.

In the meantime, the old man was still reading his book. Every once in a while, he would look at an old watch that he was keeping inside the breast pocket of his waistcoat, elegantly worn underneath his old-fashioned suit.

This would annoy Elio even more, who kept wondering what or whom that man was waiting for. It certainly must have been something of extraordinary importance given that he was constantly looking at his watch.

Suddenly, after checking the time once more, the old man closed his book and bowed down to get something inside a black bag that he was keeping between his legs. As he was bowing down, his trousers slightly went up and revealed his black ankles and some odd black thin socks that looked like black fur.

Elio was not able to contain his apprehension and started shaking. As he was going through his own bag, the old man burst out laughing as if he had perceived Elio's terror. It was a long, deep and gloomy laughter that resounded into his ears. Elio coved up his ears with his hands to try and stop hearing that noise. He closed his eyes to avoid looking at the man's reflection on the window pane and started praying to himself: "Libero, come back. Libero, come back."

Then, the automatic door of the car was abruptly opened.

"Elio, what are you doing? Did you catch an ear infection in the city? Do not infect us countrymen with these urban viruses!"

Elio startled. Then, after he had recognized Libero's playful voice, turned around and saw his cousin laugh; he was holding a shopping bag and a soft drink in his hands. Gaia was standing right behind him and was biting into a huge croissant.

There was no trace of the old man. He disappeared just like he had previously appeared. Everything belonging to him was gone: his book, his watch and his bag.

Libero sat down next to Elio and after having passed him a croissant, he noticed that he was shaking.

"Did something happen?" he asked.

"I think it's just some motion sickness." lied Elio.

Gaia understood that her brother was having one of his crises and promised herself she would address the problem to Libero.

The rest of the trip was quiet. Libero described the harvest festival that was going to take place soon and was going to involve all neighbouring villages. It was going to be held outdoors and the evening was going to be livened up by traditional dances like the taranta, and more modern ones.

Elio was looking at his sister and cousin, and asked himself how those two had managed to get along so quickly. Despite that, he was glad to be travelling with them. All those events were worrying him. Was he being victim of some sort of plot against his persona, or was he going insane?

Libero got nervous as it was time to get off the train. He saw from the window Mrs Gina's house, which was taken as a reference point. As soon the train stopped, he took the bags. Then, after Gaia had opened the door, he nervously rushed out of the train like those who are not used to travelling very often.

The locals would consider that a station, but actually it was nothing but a stop in the middle of nowhere. The only comforts were given by a pierced platform roof and a broken ticket machine that would transmit a pre-recorded message saying "Be careful, this station is not under surveillance. Beware of pickpockets".

Libero took a deep breath and said:

"Finally, fresh air. Welcome to Campoverde."

"I can already smell the fields." noticed Gaia. "Can you, Elio?"

Elio could not feel any difference compared to the city, and he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Elio, take Gaia's luggage. I will carry the other ones." ordered Libero.

Gaia unexpectedly enjoyed Libero's gentlemanly behaviour, which usually would have annoyed her. But Libero was so genuine that she was amused by it and played along with him. Maybe she had been too hasty in judging him as a fool...

Gaia and Libero walked right in front of the speaking ticket machine, which was repeating the same sentences all over again, and then they headed towards the underpass smiling.

Elio had to grab Gaia's big luggage by its handle in order to climb down and up the stairs of the underpass. He was completely worn out.

On the last few steps he made the last efforts hoping that aunt Ida would be waiting in the parking lot to drive them home.

But when he got into the parking lot, he noticed that no one was waiting for them. Libero, with Gaia by his side, headed west along a narrow road that was poorly paved. Two canals were flowing alongside the road and were separating it from the corn fields on one side and wheat fields on the other.

Elio, who was desperately trying to catch his breath, yelled at them stop for a second. His sister turned around confused. She could not remember the last time her brother had spoken with such a tone, let alone had yelled in that way.

"Where's Aunt Ida's car?" asked Elio.

"Oh, sorry I forgot to tell you. She called me saying that she could not come. Camilla, our cow, is in labour and mum cannot leave her alone at the moment."

"Camilla? In labour? What are we going to do?" asked Elio panting.

"Don't worry. It's only four miles and then we'll be at the farm." Libero soothingly replied.

"Four miles?" were Elio's last words.

"Come on! Your sister's luggage is a carry-on!" Libero teased him, and then he got back to walking.

In the distance the first couple of houses can be seen.

"Here it is! The house behind the cherry tree is ours. It's the farm."

Libero pointed at a venetian red farm with green blinds. A luxuriant and well looked after garden stretched from the front door to the clotheslines that was marking the beginning of the stable. Only fields beyond it.

"Mum, we're here!" yelled Libero, dropping off the baggage on the driveway and running towards the stable.

Aunt Ida came out of the frontdoor.

"My niece and nephew!" she screamed out of joy.

Gaia threw her arms around her neck. Elio, who was exhausted, moved close to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. just to be polite.

Ida was in her 50's, but her natural beauty had not faded yet. She was a thin, average-heighted woman... Her body was well proportioned even though, her arms and legs were more muscly and stronger that a runner's. The hard life of the farm was her daily work out. She had her blonde hair in a ponytail, and her fair skin would make her beautiful green eyes stand out, just like her nephew's.

Meanwhile, Libero was coming back from the stable, all smiling.

"Camilla had a female baby cow! More milk for us!"

Aunt Ida invited them indoors. The table was set and the smell of a delicious lunch was floating in the air. The kids were hungry and ate everything. Gaia could not stop telling her aunt her emotions that she had felt throughout the journey.

After lunch, Gaia helped Ida cleaning up. Libero, on the other hand, dragged Elio around the farm asking him, or rather ordering to help him out.

In the evening, aunt Ida explained that the attic was going to be their summer bedroom. However, for now they were going to sleep on the sofa bed in the living room up until the attic was going to be ready.

Gaia rushed upstairs and followed her aunt to see the attic. Elio, on the other hand, was shocked by the additional bad news.

They walked up to the first floor, where Ida and Libero would be sleeping. On the same floor, there was also Ercole's bedroom, the youngest cousin who was off to summer camp. Ida pointed at the wooden ladder that was leading up to the attic. She was not going to climb up there as she was already tired of going up and down the stairs. In fact, she had already been during the day in order to air the room.

In the meantime, aunt Ida went into her bedroom and secretly called up Giulia, her sister-in-law, to update her.

The phone did not even ring twice. Giulia picked up straight away.

"Hello dear, how is it going?" asked Ida.

"Everything is going well, thanks. But tell me. How did he go?"

"He managed to walk here from the station without passing out. He thought I was going to drive them home. Libero lied and told him that our cow, Camilla, was in labour." Ida was laughing.

"I would have liked to see him sweat!"

"After we had lunch..." Ida began to say, but Giulia interrupted her.

"Did he eat anything?"

"Yes, he ate both the first and the second course."

"Wow! At home he doesn't even have a bite of a sandwich."

"It's hard though." said Ida. "But I'm sure he will get better."

In the background she could hear Carlo ask questions and laugh.

"TV and video games are gone. In extremis, extremity."

Elio, was lying on the bed. He could not move his body. It had been years since he moved that much.

At school he would always make up excuses to skip gym class.

"Elio call your sister here. I need some help with dinner."

Elio could not believe what he had just heard. She could not be for real.

But Aunt Ida spoke with such a tone that would not allow any negative answer.

"Elio, did you hear what I say?"

"Okay." he replied and proceeded towards the stairs all grim faced.

He stopped right beneath the wooden ladder and began yelling her name.

Despite her brother's yells, Gaia was not answering.

Then Elio, even more upset, decided to climb up the stairs. In the semi-dark room of the attic he was feeling anxious. Step after step, the journey to the attic seemed never-ending. As soon as he arrived with his head underneath the hatch, he began yelling his sister's name. But again, no one replied. He forced himself to walk the last steps. And then something from above grabbed his arm.

Elio stayed still, with his eyes shut and the terrorised look on his face.

"Got ya!" yelled Gaia, who had noticed that Elio was in awe.

"Get away from me. You scared me. You should've answered."

Gaia did not take the bait as she was intrigued by what she had found, and said:

"This attic is packed with odd things. Come over here. Look at this..."

Elio finished walking up the stairs and followed his sister, who was browsing through old pictures.

"This is so funny." she said, passing the pictures to Elio.

"What is funny?" asked Elio.

"What?" asked Gaia. "Do you not recognise him?"

"Who?!" asked again Elio.

"It's dad!" exclaimed Gaia.

"Dad? You're right. I didn't recognise him dressed up like this. He looks a little bit like Libero. They're basically wearing the same clothes!"

Finally, after a very long time, he smiled. Gaia, in the meantime, kept looking at the other pictures.

"Have you seen this one? I think it's a very young Libero. He seems so serious and sullen that it doesn't even look like him."

The picture portrayed a pale and frail child with a blank stare in his eyes.

"He looks so alienated" commented Gaia.

In the picture, he was standing in the garden and was holding in his hands his toy cars. The photograph had been taken at dusk with the sun setting behind him. Libero was alone in the picture, however there was a second shadow running along his.

Elio spotted it and worriedly said:

"Can you see this shadow?"

"Which one?"

Elio began feeling nervous.

"This one here. Do you not see it? This shadow does not correspond to anything" he said, pointing his finger at the picture.

"This? It's the shadow of the tree."

Gaia was not really convinced either, but she tried to reassure her brother.

Elio did not want his sister to think he had gone crazy, and decided to switch topic of discussion.

"We have to go downstairs. Aunt Ida made me come here and call you. She needs your help."

"Are you staying in here?" asked Gaia as she was jumping towards the stairs.

Elio thought that there was not a chance that he was going to stay there on this own.

"No, I'm coming with you" he replied.

Gaia found her aunt busy making dinner and began helping her out.

Elio was about to lay down on the couch when he heard Ida's voice.

"What are you doing? Come and help us. It's not time to rest. Set the table, please.

"Where's Libero?" asked Gaia.

"Surely he's closing up the stables." replied Ida. "Elio, if you are finished, could you go and call him over here?"

"I'll go." offered Gaia smiling.

"No, I need you here. Let your brother go."

"Yes." Elio tiredly replied, who was unusually hungry.

He stepped out of the front door and looked around for his cousin, who was sitting on the tractor in the field and watching the sky.

Elio walked towards him and had the impression that everyone in the family had gone deaf: he called him several times, but Libero did not answer.

"I really hope it's contagious. At least I'll be able to lay down and I won't need to listen to anyone's orders. " meditated Elio.

He had to walk right under the tractor to have an answer.

"Why are you yelling?" asked Libero.

"You should come inside. Dinner's ready" replied Elio.

"Come on up." said Libero, as if he did not hear any of the words Elio was saying.

"Up there?"

"Yeah, up here. I'll show you something."

Elio climbed up the tractor and sat down next to him.

"Look how beautiful it is." exclaimed Libero, pointing at the sky. "A few years ago I could not see it."

"What?" asked Elio as he tried to spot what he was referring to.

"The sky." repeated Libero.

"The sky?"

"Yeah, the sky. It's a beautiful thing. But most of the times in our lives we don't raise our heads up. And I don't mean just to check the weather, but to contemplate it, in silence, in the same way we contemplate the sea. It's just that it is easier to admire the latter; that's why it's appreciated more often. Have you ever stopped and admired the sky?"

"No."

"You should. It lifts you up and makes you look at things in the right perspective."

Elio, amazed at his cousin's profundity, stayed in silence with him and looked at the sky for a while.

From blinding white to smokey grey, the clouds were floating between two strips of sky. The strip beneath them was lead grey, the strip above them was deep blue, illuminated by the last glares of the sun that was setting. The edge of the clouds looked golden, as if they were brightened by light of another world, as if they were there to illuminate a past life. The white ones were thick like firm peaks, the grey ones were squiggled like a child's scribble.

Amongst all of them, one can be easily distinguished. It was unicorn shaped and was standing against the white background as if the grey animal were running in the white celestial meadows. Just like a fresco painted by Tiepolo¹, that natural infinite roof was stretched over what is visible, over the mystery of the existence of our souls: so small, yet eternal.

All of a sudden, Libero jumped down.

"I'm starving now" he said, laughing out loud.

"Aren't you, Elio?"

"Yeah."

"Come on, let's go and eat. Maybe another time I’ll drive you around on the tractor."

He said, heading towards his house.

Elio did not waste any time and began following him. He was starving too.

¹ Tiepolo was a famous Venetian painter in the 18th century.

Fourth Chapter

A voice was whispering into his ears words in an unknown language.

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.