Chapter V - Sofia
1103 Words
I open the fridge again to check what's inside,
as if, on the fifth inspection, something vaguely more intriguing might have materialized.
But no: there's still the usual lonely carrot
and that poor, shriveled tomato that's wasted its life in the fridge.
I wonder if it would've been better for it to end up in a sauce...
or chopped up in a salad. Something worthy, at least.
Anyway, nothing.
I should've gone shopping, like Mom suggested before leaving for her book club dinner —
an evening that, I'm sure, could bore a rock to tears.
But Dad, Auri, and I are simple people:
we'll celebrate his first day of college with a delicious plate of pasta with butter.
And parmesan, of course.
I kill a little more time playing with Bella while I count the minutes.
I can't wait for her to come back: I want to know everything, every detail of her first day.
But she should've been here half an hour ago,
and this delay is starting to get on my nerves.
As soon as I hear the key turn in the lock, I'm already at the door.
«It's about time!» I exclaim, tapping my wristwatch.
«I've been waiting forever.»
Aurora lifts the shopping bag up to my eye level.
«Will you forgive me if I tell you I bought ready-made roast chicken?»
I stare at her with narrowed eyes.
«And French fries, of course,» she adds, knowing my tastes perfectly.
A smile spreads across my face.
«Always one step ahead, my sister.»
I jump on her to hug her —
but as soon as my hands touch her shoulders, a groan makes her double over.
«Hey! What did I do to you?»
I pull back suddenly, my hands up.
«What happened?»
«Nothing, it's just... I got a little bruise this morning,»
she replies, a hint of embarrassment in her voice.
«Bruise?» My eyes widen instantly.
«Did you have an accident? Did something happen? Did they—»
«Calm down, Sofi.»
She interrupts me with a quick kiss on the forehead
and walks away toward the kitchen as if nothing happened.
«It's nothing.»
I grab her arm, the one holding the bag — assuming it's the healthy one.
She doesn't let me stop her.
She keeps walking at a brisk pace, humming to herself,
and reaches the kitchen island.
She sets the bag down with her usual grace,
then opens the freezer, takes out a synthetic ice cube,
wraps it in a cloth, and sits down, calmly placing it on her shoulder.
I look at her, amazed by her strange behavior.
For a moment, her eyes rise and seem to be looking elsewhere.
Then she blinks and smiles.
«Oh, of course! I bought dinner, yes.»
I narrow my eyes, puzzled.
«And... is that how you got the bruise?»
Aurora lets out a melodious laugh.
«Sorry, what did you ask me?»
Still humming, she slowly turns on the stool, as if nothing happened.
I lean over her, exasperated, waving a hand in front of her face
without even trying to hide my irritation.
«What the hell is wrong with you?»
Auri laughs again.
A strange laugh, out of rhythm. Meaningless.
«I asked you how you got that bruise.»
She shrugs with an air far too lighthearted.
«I bumped into a wardrobe.»
«A... wardrobe?»
She nods, convinced.
Then she looks down, nibbling the inside of her cheek.
«And then... I met a guy.»
A guy.
If I had to bet on the story of her first day at university,
I would've picked three options:
one, boring classes;
two, snobby classmates;
three, technical details that would make me regret my curiosity.
But this?
Definitely not.
«A... boy?»
I must look so shocked that she rolls her eyes without even glancing at me.
«Yes, Sofia. A boy. Those two-legged creatures, sometimes bearded,
with broad shoulders and intense eyes...»
The sentence almost dies on her lips,
as if she were thinking about something else.
Or rather, someone else.
«What do you mean?»
Aurora blinks, as if she's just come back from a dream.
Then she shrugs, distracted.
«What do you want it to mean?»
She smiles.
«He was... a handsome boy.»
Her blue eyes light up with a new glow.
And no, it's not because of the flickering neon lights.
I stare at her, stunned.
Aurora has never been the type to go for boys.
Nor the type to get distracted while talking.
The only "boyfriend" she remembers is Riccardo:
a poor naïve kid whose heart was broken on her fifth birthday
when he dared to steal her favorite toy.
After him, only one other managed to catch her attention —
and he turned out to be an unfaithful jerk.
He ended up with my hand in his face before he could even touch her lips.
Since then, it's been all about dance, study, discipline. End of story.
Aurora is a fanatic about love.
But not the kind you see on magazine covers or in Sunday movies, no.
She believes in Love, with a capital L: pure, all-encompassing, absolute.
The kind you read about in books —
and which, in real life, most of the time, lands you straight in the loony bin.
I've lost count of how many times I've found her crying over a Shakespeare sonnet,
or with Romeo and Juliet hidden under her pillow.
Whole nights spent talking about love:
her, all enthusiasm and idealism;
me, with my chronic disenchantment.
The diagnosis?
We come from different galaxies.
For her, love is all or nothing.
A fire that consumes you and, instead of turning you to ashes, tempers you.
A passion that makes you put the other person before everything — even yourself.
All that Shakespearean nonsense that — let's face it — didn't end very well for him either.
"Put the other person before yourself", and so on.
Until you realize the other person's just some i***t,
and you spend years orbiting them like a satellite with your self-esteem on clearance.
I, on the other hand, am the opposite.
Cynical, some would say.
Realistic, I'd say.
I'm convinced that if Romeo and Juliet had lived long enough to really know each other,
they would've hated each other.
Love lasts as long as a spark: it burns, it lifts you up...
then it goes out. Nothing but ashes.
Not that I have an enviable romantic résumé —
my relationships can be counted on one hand, with fingers to spare.
I still think most couples stay together only out of fear.
Fear of being alone.
And loneliness, let's face it, is scarier than anything else.
- Writer
