crow's feather ( Penna di corvo)

The first feather

Everyone looked at her as if she were a curse…

If they got close, they would die;

But she was like my lucky charm,

A charm I turned into a curse, so no one would come near her;

For I would be cursed if I let her slip from my grasp…

She is my raven…

My charm and my curse…

Infatuated with her to the point of damnation,

Thrown in to the hell of her obsessive love…

A feather that lifts me from darkness to the luminous sky,

A feather that, despite its blackness, almost blinds me to everything else…

She is La Mia Corvo… ( my crow)

The beginning

*******

He entered that hospital room with the family, walking towards where his uncle stood beside his wife's bed, who sat exhausted from childbirth.

Holding a pink bundle, he gazed at it eagerly,

while his father quietly blessed him: "Congratulations, Ousso..."

Ousso smiled faintly, but his smile was for that small bundle.

He tried to tiptoe, his seven years seemingly insignificant, to see what it held with curiosity.

Ousso caught a glimpse of it and bent down slightly; Until he reached his level, he showed him what he was holding in his arms.

His eyes widened in astonishment as he saw a head full of black hair, and tiny, delicate facial features, slightly wrinkled, moving weakly with a soft meow. He asked in surprise, "What is this?"

Oso replied with strange tenderness, "La mia figlia...

" (My daughter)

. His uncle told him that he had fathered a curious little one, a doll- like creature in size and shape. He reached out his small hand to touch her glossy black hair, asking expectantly,

"Come si chiama?..."

(What's her name?). "

Penna...

" (Penna).

He gasped, his eyes wide, asking excitedly, "A feather!"

The corners of Oso's lips curled into a strange smile. He confirmed,

"Penna di corvo..."

(A crow's feather).

Then he heard his wife's disgruntled tone, her voice filled with weary reproach: "Oso... don't call the little one that..."

He straightens up, chuckling softly, and replies simply, "

She is, mia cara (my darling)...

look at her hair, it's like a crow's wing..." He chose the name penna, meaning a long, strong crow feather, not Piuma, which symbolizes a soft, fluffy crow feather... as if he were selecting the name to signify his little one's strength and what she would become in the future... Alicia sighs with a sigh of despair as he places the little one in her arms, leaning down to kiss her head, whispering in her ear, "mia corvo penna..." (My crow... Penna) And Matteo watches the little corvo... with eyes shining with a strange curiosity. He longs to hold her and play with her a little, even to touch her soft, black hair... He approaches the bed where Alicia, Oso's wife, is, and she glances at him tenderly. She knows Matteo's curiosity, and she has a special affection for him; Like her husband, Oso, whom she considers her godson,

who witnessed his birth and follows his every move, even more closely than his own father,

she asks him gently, "Have you grown fond of her?" He nods, smiling broadly, revealing a gap in his lower gum.

He dares to reach out again to touch the little girl's hair, even rubbing it lightly between his fingers as if captivated by its silky texture.

Alicia asks him, her emotions swelling, her eyes brimming with tears of affection, "Will you always pay attention to her and take care of her?" Oso makes a sound, annoyed by his wife's hormones, which have been surging since the beginning of her pregnancy,

and are now increasing after her birth.

But Matteo replies firmly, enthusiastically, "Yes."

The little girl opens her eyes at that moment, and he gasps in even greater amazement. He could see those bright, dark eyes, even though he couldn't see them clearly at the moment.

Oso placed his hand on Matteo's shoulder, telling him, "She'll be like a sister to you..." Matteo's brow furrowed in disapproval, and he said strangely, "No, non mia sorella..." (No... not my sister).

But he added spontaneously, "mia ragazza..." (My girl...). Laughter erupted at his remark.

Oso playfully slapped his back, saying amusedly, "You cheeky little rascal... you want to make my daughter your girlfriend?"

Matteo shrugged lightly, his eyes on the little girl's face, confirming, "lei è molto bella, e mora..." (She's beautiful, and has dark hair).

Oso said cheerfully, smiling, "Looks like mia corvo... just got a fan... she'll steal men's hearts where "Grow up..." Matteo frowned, saying with childish jealousy, as if it were his own private toy, one he would never share: "Mia ragazza..." (My girl...) His eyes gleamed with a determination that might have been childish at the time; but it was like a pact, or a curse he had uttered, and which bound him for the rest of his life...

*****

With quiet, cautious steps, he slipped into her room at his uncle Osu's house after finding the adults engrossed in conversation following lunch. Alicia had told him that Bena was taking her afternoon nap, but he hadn't listened and was sneaking around to see her. With an expectant smile, he approached her small bed, only to find her awake, playing with the blankets. As soon as she saw him, she exclaimed with the childishness of a three-year-old, "Matti..." His smile widened into something resembling a laugh, and he replied playfully, "Bena..." Laughing happily, she covered her face with the blanket, ready for a game of hide-and-seek. She pulled the blanket off her face, only to find him gone. In a moment, he raised his head from beside the bed, calling out, "Boo..." Her laughter erupted loudly and exhilaratingly. She quickly covered her face again, then pushed him away, repeating the action and his word, which made her laughter even louder, until he finished, delighted. He sat on the edge of the bed,

as she stood, reaching out to him in a grasping gesture, and threw herself towards him so he could catch her.

He lifted her into his arms, and she clung to his neck, kissing his cheek with wet lips,

saying innocently, "Amo Matti..." (I love you, Matti...) His features softened with the tenderness of his ten years, and he sighed with contentment.

With her, he was himself, he felt her innocent love, he was simply Matti...

Not Matteo Moreno, the son of Alessandro

"Capo" (head) of the Moreno family, whom his father treated with strictness and harshness to raise him to be strong enough to succeed him,

although Oso sometimes showed him leniency;

but there was so much he had to do to meet his father's standards.

Older children go to school, play, hang out, and fight amongst themselves...

While he rarely goes to school, mostly studying at home;

And then he is trained seriously.

He is ten years old and knows a lot about weapons and how to use them.

His physical training increases in intensity with each level he reaches.

He exhales deeply without losing his smile.

While she chatters and stumbles over some words, she jumps into his arms with an enthusiasm that suits her.

Her thick black hair, which reaches past her shoulders, flies about, falling softly, slightly tousled from her frantic movement.

She points to some things in her room, then leaves him, scrambling down from the bed towards a pile of toys. She squeezes her small body among them, trying to pick something up with annoyed grumbling. When she finds it, she lets out a small cry of triumph. She hurries back to him with her prize, standing before him with chubby, red cheeks and bright black eyes. She reaches into a bag of sweets, takes some out, and gives them to him, saying, "Dolce Matti..." Matteo...) His features softened towards her. He bent down slightly, lifting her to stand on the bed. The candy was still in her hand. She frowned when he didn't take it, then held it out to his mouth, encouraging him: "Dolce molto squisito..." (Very delicious candy). He opened his mouth to eat it when a voice called from near the door: "Anche i vorrei le dolce..." (I want candy too). Bina called out with a smile: "Ugo..." (Ugo). Possessively, Matteo wrapped his arm around Bina, pressing her against him. He glared at Ugo with a disapproving look, took Bina's hand, and placed the candy in his mouth, deliberately eating every last bit. Ugo frowned in disapproval, saying: " Leave some for me..."

Matteo took the bag from Bina's hand, emptied it completely into his fist, and put some of it in his mouth. With her mouth,

Then he eats the rest, muttering with a full mouth, "No..."

(No)

_You greedy bastard...

And those were the words of a disgruntled Hugo, his face contorted, to his cousin Mateo, who was two years older than him,

and who was possessing the attention of their cousin's doll, with an excessive protectiveness even from him.

He moved closer to sit on the other side of the bed, extending his hand to the little one,

who was about to approach him,

but Mateo held her close to him,

"What do you want?" Hugo asked angrily.

He shrugged indifferently, replying simply,

"I was bored with them downstairs... I came to play with Pina..."

He tightened his grip on her, as if Hugo might take her from him, ordering him arrogantly, "Go away... Pina's going to sleep now..."

Hugo threw him a look with a contorted face, saying angrily, "

There she is, awake... Don't be selfish... Let me go "I'll play with her a little..."

He addresses Penna with a funny face: "You want to play with Ugo... Vero?..."

(Don't you?...) She smiles at him, causing Mateo to frown sharply. He glares at Ugo angrily, threatening him: "I'll kick your ass if you don't leave..."

Ugo returns the angry look, moves to get up, knowing that Mateo won't let him play with the little girl. But in a quick movement, he leans towards them to give Penna a quick kiss on the cheek, saying gently: "Amo Penna..."

(I love you, Penna). She laughs, repeating innocently: "

Amo Ugo..." (I love you, Ugo).

And Ugo, who taught her that phrase, always tells it to her; She responds in kind, and to everyone she loves.

And Hugo hurries out quickly,

after Matteo throws the empty candy bag at him, shouting after him: " maledetto bastardo..."

(You damned rascal!)

And Bina echoes after him,

with a laugh: "

maledetto bastardo..."

He quickly silences her: "

Shhh... don't say that..."

She looks at him with raised eyebrows in disbelief,

and he said it a moment ago, so why not say it?!

Sadness settles on his face as he reproaches her as if she understands: "Don't say 'I love you' to anyone but me... say it only to me..."

She doesn't understand what he's saying,

and asks him innocently: "Hugo!"

His frown deepens, and he tells her seriously: "

Especially Hugo... only me..."

Innocently, she wraps her arms around his neck, offering him the words he longs for: "Amo Matti..."

(I love Matteo) Mattie...)

He encircles her body with his arms, keeping her like that, until her head rests heavily on his shoulder. He knows she's sleepy, so he gently moves her away, lays her down on the bed, and covers her with her soft blanket. He lies down beside her, his fingers caressing her soft, plump cheek, then brushes her hair away from her face. He rubs her black locks between his forefinger and thumb until she falls asleep, and he remains still beside her until he too falls asleep. Alicia watches them sleep with a despairing smile near her daughter's room door, where she came to check on her. She finds them both asleep, and Mattie, who hadn't heard her, had slipped away as usual to where her daughter was.

********