A week after that night, I felt like a boat abandoned in the middle of the sea without a rudder or oars.

The Fair Ferroniere reached Ariminum safely and docked to repair the damage caused by the raging waves. Manriolo, having secured a room for us at the port tavern, took me there, and disappeared to get the news before going to the house of d'Este, where Signor Roberto's father was in charge. When he returned, he said that Julia and Roberto had gone to Venetta, so we had missed each other. My companion paced the room nervously, ready to gnaw his fingers in annoyance. I didn't care.

This morning Luigi went to get some news again. I stayed with Pulcino in my room. My friend was sitting sullenly on the windowsill. His wing was slowly healing, but I knew that the terrible events of that night would inevitably leave an indelible mark on his character. Such things never pass without a trace. I offered him some water and fish I had bought the day before and then went downstairs into a long hall with a low, sooty ceiling. It was cramped, but cool, and the air above was boiling hot. I sat down by the window that looked out on the street. The innkeeper looked askance but did not object; he had enough work to do. The door slammed, new people came in one by one, and there was a harsh, unaccustomed chatter. They were all talking about the flood that happened a week ago. A terrible wave destroyed several houses and collapsed the old five-arched bridge, remaining from quirites. “The wave rolled such heavy blocks, can you imagine?!” people were talking. “The quirites built the bridge to last!” In the last few days I had heard so much about that unfortunate bridge that I could reconstruct it in my head.

I looked up only when I heard the familiar footsteps – confident, and light. Manriolo flashed a smile as he strode across the room and sat down in front of me on a low stool which grunted piteously. Instead of dining tables, there were old blackened barrels there.

“Donna Julia and her husband made it safely to Venetta,” he said happily. “I have just got the news from signor d'Este.”

I bowed my head and said nothing.

“What a fuss it was when don Ricardo found out about the wedding!” Mariola continued, clearly intending to arouse my interest. “He was mad at his sister. However, he immediately subsided as soon as don Roberto offered him to participate on shares in a profitable business. All is well that ends well, thank Madonna!”

“And what about Enrique? Hope he wasn't too upset by the guile of a bride who married someone else.”

«On the contrary, I have heard that he was the first to congratulate the young couple, and even helped them to make peace with Ricardo!”

My lips formed a smile. Surely Enrique was relieved that he no longer had to marry a chiamati!

“I've never seen you smile. It suits you,” Luigi said. «Don Enrique was, of course, saddened by his father's death. The Venettians say that Arsago alone tried to cope with those-who-live-under-the-waves and died a hero.”

That`s funny. But let them think so! I thought.

“I`ve also heard that there was a maiden ready to comfort don Enrique in his grief. What was her name again? Ines Sacketti.”

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Well, Ines has got what she wanted! She will be a wonderful wife for Enrique. He needs a woman like her, to admire and inspire him.

“There are rumors has it that Pietro Soranzo will be chosen as the new Doge, but I doubt he will stay long in the Golden Palace. The Venettians don't like him. Mark my words, another political merry-go-round is about to begin.

Would you like to come back? Donna Julia would be delighted. In fact, she even insisted that you should live with them.”

“No, I won't. Venetta is a dead city to me.

Because I lost too many people there. I was afraid that at night I would dream of donna Assunta, see Karita's eyes glowing in the glare of the water, and search for Alessandro's strict grey gaze in the crowd....

Luigi, who had been watching me like a cat watching its prey, suddenly sighed.

“To be honest, I didn't want to let you go. “The Ferroniere” is going to Sankla now, and signor d'Este has given me a commission to the local agent. I'd love you to come with me. You could teach Grigio and me a lot. And I have no doubt that captain Mairano will be happy to welcome you on the board –after all that happened that Night! But since I can't bear to see you looking so sad, I'll say: he's alive.”

Very slowly, I raised my head.

“What did you say?”

“Don't cry. Signor di Goro is alive. Although he suffered a lot, indeed.”

He's alive! The whole universe spun off its axis in front of me. Luigi was looking at me with a kind smile, but there was some confusion in his face. I let go of his hand and folded my hands on the table – or, better say, the barrel. I didn`t remember when I grabbed his wrist. Suddenly I felt as light as if a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I looked with renewed interest around the cozy, sooty room, the good-natured innkeeper behind the counter, the small windows that let in the dusty grey light…

“Is this Venusian so dear to you?” Manriolo asked softly.

“How is he?”

Luigi shrugged his shoulders.

“The doctor who treated him was surprised by his vitality, for the venom of sea monsters is deadly…”

“Oh, doctor Faletrus!” I sobbed.

“..But it's all right now. If Faletrus doesn't suck all signor di Goro`s blood, trying to find out the secret of the antidote, he'll survive.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and coughed, for the air in the tavern was blue with tobacco smoke. All the week I'd been hoping for a miracle. It was difficult to explain, but it seemed to me that back then, in the crypt, the guest-from-the-sea listened not to me, but to Alessandro. Maybe he didn't want to hurt him. Maybe in some ways Alessandro was even stronger than me. I remembered the first rule sister Agatha had tried to teach us: «a true chiamati sees her own life as a gift to be spent on other people.” Me and the other novices perceived this rule as tedious moralizing. For Alessandro, it seemed to be his way of life.

I wasn`t going to explain that to Luigi, who was watching me with his cunning eyes, waiting for my decision. For the first time in many, many days, I smiled.

“Okay, I'll go with you to Sankla.”

Until the rumors about don Arsago's death subsided, it would be best for me to stay away from Venetta. Sankla was located at the other end of the Polybyan «boot», and that was good for me, too.

“I'll go with you to Sankla, and will teach you everything I know. I hope it will be good for you and Grigio. But one day ... one day I will return to Venetta.”

After all, I promised that. To a man I loved.

We packed our things and went outside into the heat and blinding light. Pulcino sat on my shoulder. The walls of the low houses glittered with white, and the streets were crowded with people carrying bales and crates. The city was arranged so that from any point of it one could see a bright patch of turquoise sea. The sea surrounded us everywhere. There was a smell of fish and hot stone, and in the distance the weary shapes of longboats loomed on the wharf. Manriolo and I slowly walked toward the port, and before my eyes I could see a completely different city – cool, enchanting, magical. The city, rising above the lagoon as if out of thin air, like a mirage in a smoky glass frame of water and fog. Frowning and mysterious, affable and cruel at the same time.

One day I`ll return to Venetta. Maybe.

============= The end ========================