I stared at him in disbelief. Fabio seemed startled by my look, realizing how harsh his words were. But he didn’t take them back. Without saying a word, I climbed into the back seat. Serena lifted her chin proudly and sat in front.
On the way, she kept talking and laughing. Fabio didn’t say much, but I saw the faint smile on his lips as he listened. My heart ached.
I could only think to myself, ‘Fabio, I’ll forgive you just this once. Only this once.’
***
Montefioralle Village was indeed beautiful. A main road ran along the edge of the mountain, but fallen rocks often blocked the path. Fabio’s team was there to help clear the debris. Fabio directed his men, giving orders calmly and confidently.
Many other police officers’ families had also come along. I saw our neighbor, Monica Castellano and her brother, Leonardo Castellano, who was a police officer. We gathered in the village square, listening to the locals describe the mountain’s dangers.
Later, I wandered to the small village school. Inside, a few children were writing quietly, but there was no teacher. An old villager explained that the teacher had left and wasn’t coming back.