The Valley

Cheek kiss

She woked up at 6 am because she wanted to be up at the farm at 6:30 sharp. She was fast, not the type of woman that need hours before being ready even if today was being hard. Elisa kept her awake till midnight with tv on blabbering all evening long not understanding that she was to red and is in need of sleep. It happens every night since her arrival, and Aurora thinks it's because the lady was to long alone. Covid is taking a toll on all of us especially on lonely people. Aurora watches her self on the mirror, in a few months she will be 32 years old and she is alone. It's the first time in her life that she is ok with being alone.

 Before coming back to Italy she found her self searching for the contact of her old priest from when she was living with her mother as a teen. She didn't believe in God also back then and she was used to call him Uncle not Don like it's costume in her country, she always felt him as a family member more then her own family. He told her that he became an Exorcist, she didn't knew that and took her by surprise same as when she confided that she felt lonely and he answered "Aurora, you were always lonely also when you had a family. ". That phrase give her power somehow and she found her self with renewed will power that was helping also now after months not working and with very few finances on her bank account.

 She dresses casual as she always did with a pair of black Levi's a dark blue wool man pullover and her brown leather ankle boot. It made her look skinnier and hide her 'in the right place' forms. She tied her hairs in a pony tails and thought how many times people didn't get were she was from, people asked her if she was from Argentina, Spain, France, Turkey but not once Italy and looking at her reflection she felt they were right because she also couldn't tell where she was from. Clearing her mind with a shake of her body she went back to the present and headed out. 

The way to the farm was up hill and walking around a couple of days before she had discovered a path in the woods that was cutting some of the way so she took it. The fog was coming up from the bottom of the valley up and while crossing the offroad path she felt the same chill from the night before going through her spine, she quickly spinned around for find nothing but her self and feel like little child that saw a horror movie the night before. What was she afraid of? 10 years before she moved like nothing was with like no money to Norway and later after they stole everything from her leaving her without a passport or a place to stay at night in November and never once was she afraid but since last night she felt uneasy. 

Once at the house the old man with his wife, Elke, were waiting for her. They talked a little and after having some coffee they went to the farm where Aurora was eager to be of any use.

 Around lunch the old man dismissed her so Elke and she when to the house. They talked a while and by the time the lunch was ready the old man and the younger son joined. He was still in school, following it with video classes since the pandemic, Aurora found him a happy and funny boy.

 She had overall a very pleasant morning, the food was delicious as the company and by 13 Aurora and Elke were having coffee when the door opened. She knew who he was, she has seen it on the family portrait and Elke also told her about him as about the other of her children. The older one, Rebecca, was a nurse and some years younger then Aurora, she lived with her husband in a house not far from theirs. The second one was Giulio, he was 23 and not much in helping in the farm, he had his own job and loved his mountain bike more then anything, more than his car. He did races and was supposed to be good as well. When she saw him on the photo, with his smug on, she straight away though "another classic Italian boy that care more about appearance then if the world would fell apart! ".The younger of the siblings was Gianluca and was at lunch with them earlier. 

She turned and saying " Hi" She waved her hand whilst Elke was introducing her but he instead moved confident towards her making her hand fall. 

She was not used to the classic Italian kiss on the cheek after so many years in the northern Europe and when he grabbed her hand, drawing her towards himself at the same time for do it she was surprised. His skin felt so soft on hers even with his day old beard and his smell was simply something else. Something was getting agitated inside her, a huge allarm sign with red leds was lighting the word DANGER in her mind. This guy was something else and she didn't want to know so there and then she decided to stay clear from him.