7/28/2019 2 Excerpts/Lir

1/4

First excerpt:

The cup of coffee rolled down on the beige carpet as dark drops stained the table and the

absolute cleanness of the floor, soaking through the soft fabric under Milo's horrified eyes whowatched the show still and silent, accepting defeat and gulping down his frustration, kneeling to

pick up the pieces of broken china, ignoring the sharp cut he gave himself in the process,ignoring the stinging and finally ignoring the phone on its table resting before herpicture. Hehated to be alone at home. He hated to be without Heidi.

It had passed so long since the last time he found himself obliged to linger alone between

those walls that he could hardly remember how he had coped with her absence. And this time, itwas definitely much harder than before. Each corner of that house and every breath of air he took

reminded him of her, of her perfume, of her sleepy face in the mornings and the smile that

colored her lips as soon as his hands touched her bare skin. He sat on the couch, leaning against

the backrest, staring ahead with blank eyes and sinking in a bittersweet state of thinking abouther. It almost hurt to think of Heidi and not have her within hands reach, but at the same time, to

keep her in front of his glassy eyes helped him alleviate the frustration and the anger he felt for

not going with her. He had the strange feeling he shouldnt have let her go but hadnt he felt soevery time she went away?

The pendulum clock displayed the cruel hour of eight in the evening. Heidi must have

embarked and taken off, Milo decided with a sigh, leaving the couch and going to the kitchen to

make himself dinner. He truly must have been a masochist. If it was possible, they had fewermemories in the bedroom than they had in that kitchen and to pour some salt in his wounds while

she was gone, Heidi had not passed the occasion to place one or two pictures of them on the

shelves. The instant Milo set foot in that kitchen and switched on the lights, his eyes impulsivelystumbled, like they had been unconsciously directed to do so, upon a picture of them together,

snapped at the beginning of their affair. Just that easily a whole set of recollections crashed down

on him and he found himself sitting by the window with the picture in his hands, smiling,

wishing Heidi would appear behind him to press a kiss on his temple and say Im back, miocaro.

August 15th, five years ago, somewhere close to 40 degrees Celsius, high noon and on his

birthdaythose were the circumstances of their very first meeting. Milo was walking alone inParco della Favorita, a promenade he had grown used to take every day, at least an hour,

regardless of the weather or his schedule, as it was the perfect cure to keep his sanity intact,

when he saw a delicate red figure squatted next to the trunk of a big curved tree. From thatdistance and from the first glance, he identified with the stranger. She was lonely too and seemed

to be wrangling with opposing feelings.

A short thrilled chuckle parted from his burnt lips and he followed the trail to that

unknown woman and her tree, although he was not the type of person to prowl or nose about insomebody elses affair. He was simply intrigued by her and that day he felt like meeting someone

new. The stranger heard him approaching but neither turned to see who it was nor lifted up her

head when she sensed the intruder sitting down to the ground some paces away, leaning against

the tree. It was silence for a long time and though on both of their faces settled two different sortof nervous and anticipating smiles, none whispered a word. That was until the stranger stopped

from her scribbling, looking angrily for a pen.

Hai solo bisogno di chiedere , Milo murmured, absently, though he was very muchpresent and aware of the immediate answer of his mysterious red stranger, handing her a

7/28/2019 2 Excerpts/Lir

2/4

customized dark blue pencil. The young woman took the pencil from his hand and stared for a

second at the MS engraved on it, although it wasnt in her nature either to interact with nosy

foreigners, feeling slightly amused at the response she was planning on delivering,

I dont speak, Italian, she replied, picking up her writing where she had left it from, thesmirk stubbornly stuck to her face.

Milo Santangelo turned entirely to face her, inevitably being rapt by her dark hair, bigeyes and sleeveless red dress. He was glad she hadnt freaked out at the sight of him and jumpedto her feet running or demanding of him to stand and leave her alone. It was like, tacitly they had

engaged in an intrepid summer game. A huge laughing smile spread on Milos face, then he

opened up his mouth to answer to the beautiful woman.Oh, but I do speak English, he said in perfect English, making the stranger lift her head

in slow motion and stop numb with her eyes on him.

She was also impressed by him, although she would have never admitted it from the first

ten minutes. He had beautiful calming eyes, she noticed, features more or less childish, butmasculine at the same time and the body of an athlete, strong and imposing. She wondered

where he had come from or if she had met him before. But no, the stranger concluded. She would

have remembered a man like him.I am Milo, he continued, keeping watch of the changes on her face. And you must

certainly wonder who am I and why I dare to bother you, but honestly I have no answer to these

questions. The stranger chuckled and Milo followed her example. She couldnt decide how she

feltshe wasnt completely comfortable with the unexpected situation of dealing with a completeoutsider, but she didnt feel threatened by his presence either.

I am Heidi, she replied with a polite smile fluttering in her eyes. If truth be told, she was

not standing up and turning away from the green-eyed brown-haired man because she hadimposed herself to be a daring spontaneous person. She wanted to become a woman with no

regrets, a woman who had taken all her chances.

What a beautiful name, Milo breathed in awe. Worth of the owner.

Heidi could hardly keep herself from rolling her eyes, but instead she let them fall back onher papers, finishing her project. The faculty was eating almost all her time and if she hadnt

gone from time to time out in the gardens of Palermo to breathe some fresh air while completing

all her curricular duties she wouldnt have been able to enjoy life at all. Milo, out of curiosity,cast a glance down on her manuscript to witness with a sniff that his stranger, Heidi, was

nothing less than a Med student. He had just graduated.

Undoubtedly I am not entitled to ask you to a coffee given thatyou shouldnt even trust anItalian stranger, but would you trust a freshly graduated doctor?

Youre joking, Heidi gasped, a huge smile twitching her lips upwards. Although she was

unable to pinpoint the reason, she felt as if she had just met someone she should have met long

ago.No, although I must havejust mentioned the detail because today is my birthday and I

hope to convince you.

Oh Heidi gasped again. Lets just walk, she suggested. And if we stumble upon a

caf before we run away from each other we may have that coffee.

7/28/2019 2 Excerpts/Lir

3/4

Second excerpt:

It was a seven hour and a half flight to New Delhi and the idea sounded too frightening for

Heidi to consider more than ten minutes. She had traveled by plane exactly three timeswhenshe left Switzerland to run to Italy and settle in the beautiful city of Palermo, then when she

returned home for a week after her very first year as a med student and eventually the third flighthappened when she came back to Palermo for her second year of faculty. She had been travelingenough, though, up in the air, to know that as soon as the plane took off, her insides were going

to swirl and give off grotesque sounds that even the deafest man on earth was going to hear.

Heidi glanced timidly at Milo who offered the stewardess a nice polite smile, then helpedher take her seat by the window. She was about to decline his seemingly chivalrous gesture of

offering her the best seat as for her that seat by the window was the worst, but as she glanced to

the other, the one by the isle, she realized no seat on that plane was going to bring her comfort.

She sat and gave out a soft sigh, then clenched her hands together and let them rest in her lap. Arapid glimpse showed her that she was the edgiest and less comfortable person on that plane.

When Milo fell in his seat, exhaling in anticipation, taking off his sunglasses to reveal a wide

pleased smile, Heidi wondered why she had agreed to that journey in the first place. The lastthing she wanted was for him to see how frightened of flying she was, hence witnessing to her

laborious process of panicking, and yet...

Youll like it, I promise, Milo spoke up with the same comforting smile on his face,

which was not that comforting as long as the prospect of being 30000 feet in the air layextremely close ahead. Its a little warmer there than youre accustomed, but in this period of

the year it is bearable.

I know, Heidi replied, her voice lower than a whisper.Milo, who had been about to call the stewardess to ask when they were due to land in New

Delhi, stopped short and stuck his eyes to Heidis face. He needed no more words and no more

physical proofs to understand what was really going on and why his companion had been all

morning so quiet and even a bit sullen. A smile was fighting to resurface on his lips, but he knewher enough to realize that his laughter would only worsen the situation.

Are you afraid? he asked, forgetting about his question and the stewardess, who on the

other end of the isle was already preparing to acknowledge the handsome gentlemans wave andcome to serve him.

Of you? No! Heidi just about cried, her eyes widening like onions.

Not of me, fool, Milo chuckled amused, but calmly, laying his soft fingers on theknuckles of herhand. It wasnt really certain whether she was slipping in a shock or already

finding herself in one. Planesare you afraid of planes?

No, why would I be? Arent they the safest mean of transport?

Exactly, Milo agreed, watching her even more closely, his lips twitching at the cornerswith fun.

There are more car accidents than plane crushes so she trailed off and accidentally

threw a glance to her left and saw, through the small oval window, that the plane was already in

motion. Then she heard the Captains voice announcing they will be taking off and wishing thema very nice flight.

Heidi? Milo called gently, leaning into her, all serious and determined, yet Heidi did not

understand why he looked like that. We are fine. We will be alright. And in a while well land inNew Delhi and eat some Pesarattu and of course drink bottled water just to be sure.

7/28/2019 2 Excerpts/Lir

4/4

A while? Its an eight hour flight.

Seven hours and forty minutes to be accurate, he corrected, battling between

seriousness and hilarity. That was his natureeven in the worst of times he found the strength to

make a joke and at least, smile.What a difference, Heidi scoffed and slid down the blinds to her window, then for a

short while let her eyes stay closed and her mouth be silent.Doyou want me to recite you some tortured love sort of poetry? I heard it is veryreassuring for the nerves.

Im fine, she threw mechanically, like repeating a habitual line, a little too harsh than it

was necessary.Of course. That is the reason why you dont look afraid.

I dont, Heidi sighed, without opening up her eyes. She realized that she felt better if she

kept them closed. It helped her believe that she was only sleeping and she wasnt really on a

plane, flying above a bottomless evil sea.You look terrified, Heidi. Breathe, calm down, Milo whispered in her ear, holding her

right hand and stroking it with his thumb.