Elementary Virtue: The Prophecy (6 page)

Magdalena pressed both hands to her mouth and sobbed quietly. Pressed against the cold wall, she felt the chill spread through her. Everybody that meant something to her was dead. In such a short time, she had lost everything. First her parents had perished in a storm. Sailing away on the "Majorana" should have been the beginning of a new life for her. Instead, she landed in a dark nightmare. Initially, she was full of hope, as she met Ourday and his sisters. Chiana and Alawa became the friends she never had in her previous life. Her confidants, since the day they arrived half dead with a horse-drawn cart in Catania. They were like sisters for her, and she had loved them with all her heart.

She thought of Ourday his dark eyes, full of warmth and love. His love had been like a cure for her, like shelter. She felt safe with him as if he had spread his love over her like a protective cloak. Now, the love of her life was dead along with his sister and she thought about finding a way to set an end to her own life. If there hadn't been the child she knew she carried beneath her heart, she would have followed Ourday in death. But, she could not sacrifice her unborn child. Ourday would continue to live in him. Chiana and Alawa’s fate could not go unpunished. Someone had to take revenge. A new surge of bitter tears streamed from Magdalena blue eyes and left a trail on her pale cheeks. Chiana with her wild beauty had been so full of life. Then, naive as she was, she had fallen for the womanizer Cesare, who abandoned her to protect himself. He had been far too weak to stand up against his corrupt misanthropic father even if he had wanted to.

His father was the supreme commander of the Gambelloti and a bad man. A real monster, he had raped sweet innocent Alana, when she got pregnant denied it. Chiana and Alawa had fortunately taken shelter in the monastery. Pregnant and unhappy but safe, Chiana had hoped until the end that Cesare would confess to her and the child. She had been sure that Cesare loved her. Although Magdalena doubted Cesare's honesty, she believed that he felt something for Chiana. But, he was a wimp unable to rebel against his father.

Then, something had happened, and everything changed forever. Matteo Maltese took the volcanic eruption last month as a cause to tell the villagers the savages were to blame for the eruption. The volcano had punished them to show that savages were not meant to be there. Ingenious tactics to cover up for his missteps and to finally get rid of them. He, as the head of the local Gambelotti had held a persuasive speech, saying that the savages had brought shame to the village. Especially Chiana, who had given birth to twins in the meantime, with her bastard children. Whether clear to him that they were his grandchildren, Magdalena did not know, but it certainly would not have made any difference to him, cruel as he was.

The villagers longed to find someone to blame for the eruption. Many had lost their belongings or a family member. Matteo Maltese took the unscrupulous advantage of that fact, and he did not do the slightest thing to stop them when the mob got Chiana by force from the monastery and dragged her to the volcano. Cesare, however, was desperate. Magdalena had seen the despair in his face, but the coward did not do anything to stop the villagers. Magdalena felt no sympathy for him. She hoped that he would suffer his cowardice and be haunted forever so that his soul could never find peace.

The villagers had thrown Chiana into the crater of the volcano that day, offering her as the sacrifice to mitigate the offended spirits of nature itself. Ourday had burst into Matteo Maltese speech after the offering of the infidel, how he called his dead sister in front of the villagers in the village square. Ourday was out of his senses when he learned what had happened. He rushed to the village square and uttered the prophecy in front of the assembled community. Leaving the superstitious villagers in fear and terror.

Magdalena had been unable to hold him back, and she knew that meant his death sentence. There was no turning back they would kill him. The angry mob had followed him as he fled uphill towards the volcano. Magdalena thought back to the moment she saw Ourday for the first time on that beach. How their eyes met, as if they had known each other forever. Words were unnecessary between them as if their thoughts had found a way to understand each other silently. Despite her tears, a hint of a smile flitted across her face. From the moment when they met the first time, he had never left her side. Discreetly, of course, since workers coming too close to each other were not tolerated.

Ourday and Magdalena had found stolen moments and had been as close as two soul mates could ever be. He had touched her body, her soul, and her spirit and she would never forget him. However, he was dead, and the only remaining friend alive was sweet innocent Alana and her unborn child, she sobbed again. What was she supposed to do? Whom could she turn to in her misery? If they found out that she carried Ourdays child under her heart, they would kill her too. In his wild prophecy, he had predicted that his descendant would destroy the villagers and especially the Gambelloti. As he had no offspring, it appeared an empty threat, but if anyone knew, a descendant was on its way, she and her unborn child were in danger.

Gregory rushed along the narrow coastal road like a madman. This Vespa was incredibly fast. Probably the owner had tampered with it so that the thief would break his neck for sure if stolen again. Brilliant, Gregory thought, trying to concentrate, because the road was frigging tight and twisty. Besides, the locals drove like maniacs. It would be ironic since, he once again was on the run if he got himself killed in an accident being reckless, might consider it as the savior’s ironical fate. He would have gotten rid of, himself without any external influence and the savior 'himself' gone.

He continued driving for some time with moderate speed. The road was not in a particularly good condition and bumpy. The landscape passing by looked wild and rocky. The blue of the ocean looked almost postcard-perfect. However, Gregory was in no mood to enjoy the scenery, too many thoughts went running through his mind.

There he was once again on the run. It seemed to grow into a habit lately. This time around, he had no idea where to go, no allies and no money, which meant the situation became worse each time he was on the run. He passed the town sign of a small village on the coast. Cefalù he read the name of the village. Something was holding him back, and he had no idea what. But he had the eerie sensation that he knew this town. He parked the Vespa and sat on the hill beside the dusty road on a wooden bench. From here, he saw out on the open sea. He was sitting on that bench for some time lost in thought. Nothing had gone as planned. He thought about his happy childhood in Lerici. Like any other teenager, he went hiking through Cinque Terre or roaming around La Spezia the big city nearby, or he traveled to cities like Genoa, Milan, and Naples, with his friend Paolo. Close to Paolo's 18th birthday, things got disorderly when bullies at school assaulted him, giving him a black eye. It was a mystery when Gregory confronted the oppressors in the schoolyard and, their bags caught fire. Though no one had a clue about what happened, Gregory got into trouble with the headmistress who issued a stern warning to his stepparents. The incident was the first of a series of events, and his stepparents and Father Paul connected the dots. Utterly bewildered they noted whenever Gregory got upset something went up in flames! That was when they sent him off to Canada, and things got even worst. When would it ever stop?

Would he ever get back to living a normal average life? God, how he missed his life, he missed Leyla, his friends, and family. If he were honest, he even preferred the Vultures from what he had found here. At least, he knew what he was up against. However, he had not made a pass forward, and he had no clue what to do next, whom he could turn to, whom to trust. He had never felt so helpless, lonely, and abandoned in this life.

He sat for a while in silence, wondering what to do next, when all of a sudden a black Ford Mustang with the top down stopped on the hill leaving a cloud of dust behind. Keanu got out and in a slow pace walked toward Gregory. He held up both hands in a disarming way, "Don’t run, I come in peace, and I am not looking for any trouble. I just want to explain some things to you. It is clear that you misunderstood Giacomo’s previous intentions." Gregory was suspiciously watching him, as the Indians continued, "Well, I must admit it's questionable for Giacomo to pull off a career in the diplomatic corps. He sometimes gets ahead of things without thinking them through and overshoots the mark a little. Nevertheless, he is certainly not your enemy. Besides, it is very dangerous to drive around all by yourself, and on top of that with a stolen Vespa. Just imagine, what would happen if you were to experience capture by one of the Gambelotti descendants, » Gregory frowned, "what is a Gambe …?" "The Gambelotti are the forerunners of the Mafia, the people responsible for the death of the first Onendas that stranded right here in this place in 1867." Gregory looked at him in surprise, "The first Onendas arrived here in Cefalù? How do you know?"

“There are legends and records from this period, as three Onenda siblings arrived at the coast on board of a so-called packet ship, the 'Majorana'. The ship was on its way to Naples and had gone off course into a storm and then sank right here at this very coast. Many of the people on board were killed and drowned. However, the Onendas, they say have been excellent swimmers. One of my great-great-great-great-grandfathers Ourday, and his sisters Chiana, and Alawa have stranded at the shore. The answer to why they were on that ship in the first place is not clearly written in any of the books. But, the legend says that Ourday was the one who pronounced the prophecy. He pointed toward the interior of the island. The Gambelloti took stranded survivors of the 'Majorana' to Catania or Taormina. The survivors were used as cheap laborers for the vineyards, the stables, and as maids. Kept like slaves, although there was a ban on slavery at that time."

Gregory listened spellbound. Finally, he was about to learn something he didn’t know yet, something that could bring a glimmer of light in the dark, "Why did he pronounce the prophecy?" Keanu pointing with a gesture to his black car, "Let's get out of here, you never know who is passing, and seeing us together may lead to hasty conclusions. I'm pretty well known on the island and hard to miss, and given the fact that you are not acting that normal, stealing a motorbike," he gave him a hard look and continued, "I guess you didn’t get that Vespa as a gift from a fan?" Gregory put on an apologetic grin, "What can I say, I'm an idiot, and I was panicking. It is not easy always to be on the run. Luckily, I didn’t run into some Carabinieri. I don’t imagine that the local police would be on my side." Keanu shrugged, "You never know around here. One thing you have to keep in mind, this island is full of surprises. Let’s get out of here. There is a lot I have to tell you." Gregory nodded, leaving the Vespa behind, and climbed into the black Mustang.

Ana was heavily pissed. Her mom had completely lost it this time. She loved her mom and she could always count on her, no matter what, but she would have had better things to do than to fly over the ocean to Toronto only because of those stupid books, getting bored listening to Gabe’s crap story. She had gone through a lot of stuff lately and had enough on her plate as it was, suffering from that eating disorder that had made her stay for rehab at a specialized clinic for several months. She was totally happy about her mom’s sudden success as a writer, but as soon as they arrived in Canada, her mom ran off going from one meeting to another and had put Ana up with her stepbrother, of whose existence she hadn’t even been aware of until recently.

She hadn’t seen her father since she was a baby. He had never been into getting to know her. Gabe, her step-brother seemed to be a weird lunatic, least it felt that way to Ana. Gabe said, he was in a web of conspiracy. At first glance he looked normal, he was even rather handsome if one liked the mean looking type. Ana had never felt an attraction for this type of guy. But there was definitely something strange about him. He had asked her to visit some Martial Art Club just because Ana was dumb enough to mention that she had done some Judo back over the years. Apparently, he needed her to spy on a girl, and she suspected kind of a devious mission behind his easy, innocent, smile.

She sighed, brushing her long dark hair off her face, “Ok, Gabe I am on my way to meet this Leyla girl. Tell mom I will be back around six o clock. Or else she can call or text me on my cellphone, ok?" Gabe smiled winningly, “Oh, by the way, she called earlier when you were on the phone with Leyla. She said to tell you, that she met with her future son-in-law today. I didn’t know you had such an interesting love life. Did you chat with someone on a dating APP, before you arrived? Scalded love, wow, I am impressed. Would not have thought you were such a freak.” He looked at her in a curious way. Ana rolled her eyes, "I can imagine whom she is talking about, and no it has nothing to do with a dating APP, although this is an interesting idea. Do me a favor and just forget about it." He shrugged. Ana grabbed her shoulder-bag, winked at Gabe and then she disappeared through the door. This time, her mom was going too far, even telling Gabe about that crap. As if she was interested, to become a groupie of a pop star, just because he evoked her mom’s maternal feelings. If she thought he was that hot, why didn’t she go out with him herself, or adopt him or whatsoever crazy idea she had. Ana was fed up hearing, that he was her mom's dream son-in-law. She was sixteen, damn it.

Shaking her head, Ana approached the subway station. In which direction did she have to go? It was all quite confusing for her in this city. Tonight, they would go to the Canadian Entertainment Awards ceremony as her mom received a nomination in the category of books. Given the fact that she had met her early lost love accidently at Toronto airport, the spurned love of her life, which she had happened to meet and lose before meeting her father many years ago and had regretted losing him ever since. So, she quickly arranged to put the long lost spurned guy in between a couple of appointments. Great. So much for, ‘
you have to come with me to Canada, and especially Toronto it is so fantastic blah, blah, blah
.’ Everything starting with Ca and ending with nada just happened to be perfect for her mom, no matter what it was. It sucked! Whatever, Ana needed a decent dress for the Awards and hoped that Leyla could help her find a suitable outfit. Quickly she hurried out of the subway walking away as fast as she could in the direction of the shopping center. She was late, because of her troubles with that subway system, and first taking the train in the wrong direction. It had taken her some time to get back on track.

In her hometown back in Switzerland, there was not even a rail station let alone a subway. Ana was simply unable to cope. It was all so confusing. Out of breath, she arrived a quarter of an hour late at the entrance of this darn huge Shopping Center. Her eyes darted around hoping that Leyla hadn’t left in the meantime. She did tell her that there wasn't much time because she was grounded. Ana was curious what the reason for being grounded was. It probably had something to do with a guy. She sighed, her life was not particularly exciting in that area. She always met the wrong kind of guy. The sort that clung at her taking her breath away. Didn’t mom’s dream son in law sing a song about exactly that problem?

She smirked to herself, maybe she just had trouble when anyone came too close to her and it was not the fault of the sticky, clinging guys. Maybe she attracted them exactly for this reason. She grimaced at herself as she passed a large mirror in a barbershop. God was she in a philosophic mood today, deep. She had high hopes that her mom had nothing to do with the seating arrangements at the Awards event. Otherwise, with certainty, she would sit beside her mother’s desired son in law. It might be the happiest night for her mom but at the same time the most embarrassing one for Ana.

She found herself humming the song she had been thinking about. What the hell was wrong with her? Her mom had to stop with the crap. If she started to like that damn song, eventually she would end up to like the guy too. God forbid! She discovered Leyla, who was digging in a pile of skinny jeans on sale. So, she was still here, "Hey, Leyla, sorry that I'm late, but I first headed in the wrong direction. Somehow I am having problems with this Subway System." Leyla smiled, obviously, she was not mad about her being late, "I totally get it. If I were in Europe, I would certainly get into trouble finding my way around your town. Can we go to the sports shop right away? Unfortunately, there is not much time because I am grounded.”

“My plans have slightly changed. I need a dress first because my mom is nominated for the Canadian Book Award and I have to go to the Event with her." Leyla beamed at Ana. "Lucky for you, that’ll be for sure exciting, you ‘ll be able to see all the stars on stage. All of your girlfriends must envy you." Ana shrugged, "I don't know about that, maybe the ones back home. They thought it was great that I could go to Canada with my mom. I don’t believe that they will be able to see the show; they don’t even know about it. As for my step-brother, he doesn’t give a shit. He is one of these gloomy, mysterious dudes if you know what I mean." Leyla laughed, "Yes, I know exactly what you mean, forget him and enjoy the moment that's my motto, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Oh, and by the way, I know exactly where we will find a dress for you.”

They had a lot of fun and Ana tried on about twenty dresses. Leyla constantly supplied her with replenishment. When Ana finally was about to give up hope, Leyla appeared with a salmon-colored dress, which fitted her perfectly. The dress emphasized her slender figure and her delicate complexion, and Leyla whistled through her teeth, "Hey Ana, this dress looks like it was made for you. You look stunning in it. You simply have to buy it." Ana looked uncertain into the mirror, unfamiliar with such dresses, but Leyla looked at her encouragingly and jerked her thumb upward. "Ok, I'll take it," Ana said surrendering.

"I am sure that you will be sitting next to a celebrity. You’ll have to give me a full report in our Judo Training." Ana shrugged, she wasn't into it, but maybe the event could be interesting, “Possibly, but let’s focus on Judo, do you still have time to come to the sports store with me?" Leyla checked her watch, "Yep, I think it’s ok if we make it a quick call." "Great, let me change quickly into my clothes then."

When they headed to the sports shop, Ana could no longer hold back her curiosity, and it didn't even have anything to do with Gabe's order to question Leyla about a certain Gregory. No, she simply wanted to know how somebody could be grounded for eternity. "Leyla, can I ask you a question? I am wondering, why the grounding? What did you do?" She looked interested at her new friend. Leyla shrugged, "I have emptied my bank account because of a guy, and I haven't been honest with my parents. What can I say? I just messed up." She grimaced and pretended to cut her throat with her finger. “Wow, that must have been a special guy then. Sounds incredibly romantic and crazy, I can’t imagine doing such a thing for a guy. Was he the least worth it? I mean are the two of you still together?"

"Yes, totally worth it and I would do it all over again. He is the love of my life. He always has been, as long as I remember."

The discussion about this issue seemed to be over for Leyla. She pushed a few kimonos aside to check the size. Ana looked at her in awe, "I wish I could feel like that about someone, I always meet these pushy guys who are calling me all the time, taking my breath away. Besides, in the end, it turns out they don’t even care about me. I hate that. Are you still seeing him, now that you are on punishment?” Leyla looked up with an absent, painful expression, "No I don’t see him anymore, and I haven't heard from him lately. He had to leave. It is all a bit complicated. Be glad that you are not involved in anything like this. It hurts a lot." Ana had apparently figured out the kind of information Gabe was looking for without even wanting to. Leyla's gaze filled with pain. Ana felt compassion welling up inside her, "I'm sorry, I didn't want you to feel sad. Still it is nice to have such strong feelings for someone. I have never felt that way until now. I think I have never even been in love. Maybe I am not even able to love at all."

Leyla rolled her eyes, "I've never heard such bullshit. Maybe you will even meet your soul mate at that event." She gave her a push and Ana chuckled, "You're crazy, that happens only in the movies." Leyla smiled, "Or in a story, didn't you say your mom wrote fantasy books?"

"Ha, ha hilarious, you're so funny." The time had flown by, and Leyla had to go home, she truly feared the questions she would have to face eventually, from Gregory's stepparents.

Ana didn't have a clue what to say to her stupid step-brother. She didn't have the slightest intention to tell him about Leyla being grounded and her love story. Which, however, seemed to have gone down the drain. Why else would this big love take off with Leyla's savings after all? It was strange and mysterious. On the other hand, maybe Leyla was just a naive girl who had fallen for a creepy guy trying to exploit her. Ana had no idea, but she would not say anything to Gabe or as little as possible.

To be honest, Ana liked Leyla a lot better than Gabe. Finally, she was on a holiday and entitled to have some fun, not being used as some double agent. When Ana arrived at Gabe's apartment, he was not home. She grabbed a bottle of mineral water from the fridge putting a few ice cubes from the icemaker in a glass. Then she strolled on the huge terrace getting comfortable on a deck chair. She closed her eyes, enjoying the cool air. It was already September, and the big heat was over. Apparently, it got humid and hot in the summer and bitter cold in winter around here. Ana was more the sun worshiper as the winter enthusiast. In winter, she was freezing most of the time, which for sure had to do with her low body weight. Next winter, things would get better since she had gained some weight lately. She sighed pleasantly and stretched. When she was halfway dozed off, the shrill doorbell startled her. She didn’t know whether Gabe awaited visitors. There was also a slight possibility that her father would confront her suddenly. A scenario she would honestly rather avoid. Should she open the door at all? She had no idea but decided to press the door opener. Her mom came out of the elevator. She was apparently in a great mood.

"Hey muffin, sorry for coming so late, but Chris organized a reading for me, and I couldn’t refuse. He's such a sweetheart," she laughed dreamily to herself. Then she cleared her throat, "well, how are things going with Gabe?" She looked around, and didn’t see him anywhere. She then whispered, "Is he a pompous ass like his father?" Ana smiled, her mom was impossible, "You mean my father too? Honestly, I think he is quite weird!" She tapped suggestively with her index finger to her forehead, “and I think it's a little alarming if you consider that I have partly the same genes like him. I hope that I am not a bit batty myself, given the circumstances of my ancestry."

Her mom laughed aloud "You, never! Cutie, you are my daughter, don’t you ever forget that. Or do I look as if I had roof damage?" she grinned blissfully and then threw herself on a classy living room suite. She took off her high-heeled shoes, "these damn things are going to kill me, and it's not usual for me to walk around on such killer heels." Ana had brought another bottle of mineral water and two glasses from the kitchen meanwhile. "Come on just admit that you wanted to impress Chris. You are flirting with him. Did he ask you out yet?"

"I don’t know about that; it has been too long since I last dated someone. Honestly, I don’t feel like throwing myself on the dating market again. Being alone has its advantages. I can do whatever I want to and by the way, he is not even divorced yet. The poor man seems to have married a real money greedy beast. She doesn’t even want to let him see his daughter, and it breaks his heart. Good thing that she is sixteen by now and they meet secretly over lunchtime," she laughed, “Can you imagine such a thing?" “God, Mom I’m' breaking into tears,” Ana said sarcastically.

"But can we please change the subject? Gabe wants me to spy on a girl. He thinks that he can boss me around. Nevertheless, I like this girl. She is nice, and I don’t care what kind of problem he has with her. The guy is trying to use me Mom. You have to give me some good advice how to talk him out of spying on that girl.” Her Mother looked worried, "Hard to believe, but it seems the young man is coming after his father. Then, I suggest that we move to the Hotel, because probably Carmine, your dad is behind it. I know him. He has always had others doing the dirty work for him in the past. I will tell Gabe, that we received an invite to stay at the Hotel because of the Awards or something like that. Don’t worry I will find some excuse."