It was autumn.

It was autumn. Only the wind was stirring the leaves in the cold street. They stopped for a moment then flew up… up and down. Two young people were sitting on a bench by the church in the cold. They did not notice the wind, the cold, that is was getting late, that home, the warmth of home is waiting for them. The two were seemingly glad of each other...they seemed to be happy and they were deep in their hearts. They were sitting next to each other, did not say a word, only looking at each other. I do not understand. What are they doing??? They are sitting, looking at each other’s hearts. No, they were watching each other’s souls. What does it hide? Good? Bad? Maybe both? We do not get an answer until we live through bad and good. The boy was smiling, he was in love with the girl, his eyes told. And the girl? Where is she now in her thoughts? What is she thinking right now? Is she going in fear of her soul? The boy has fallen in love as the weeks passed. He reached the inexpressible, which one has to live through, has to experience as long as they are here on this planet earth: love. He saw the uncertain... the girl’s soul and he was waiting. He gave his heart to the girl in a velvet box. Months later she dropped this heart...she felt how serious her deed was, but she did not do anything. He did everything, created a new world, in which he believed: everything he did was good and right, he felt something, which made him better. This world does exist. The world of love. He did easier everything he had to do, he was dreaming though he was awake. He understood his own story which lived in him and in everyone In time everybody realises what is their personal story for themselves.

The boy is somewhere in the cold street sitting on a bench waiting for the girl whom he had not seen for a long time, who had not come. He is waiting for her... her to notice that he is sitting here shivering with cold, still she is not coming. His thoughts were only fragments. He is waiting for the girl the same time the same way every week. Six months passed. The girl did not come? Where could she be? She is with someone else maybe? Does she think of him? Does she think of the bench where they used to sit, looking at each other with love in their eyes? Is she afraid of revealing her feelings? One day the boy sat down onto the bench sadly. On this gloomy day did he ‘celebrate’ his birthday. He sat down onto the bench the wind was blowing cols as six months ago. He was waiting for the girl for eleven minutes, maybe she recalls the day. The day which was important only for him, special, different from the other days. After eleven minutes something happened. The girl appeared in the distance. The wind was blowing her hair, she was shaking with cold, tightened her coat, her scarf was floating in the air as the wind was blowing. She sat down next to the boy. ‘I love you’ said the girl quietly. ‘I could not express my feelings... I had not known if I could put my soul into your hands, I had not believed that you would love me and waiting for me. I am here. I am only yours. Forgive me for having dropped your heart, which you had put in a velvet box and gave to me. I am the one to blame for it. Forgive me for this.’ The boy did not answer. The boy looked into her eyes wondering. She did not look back. She felt embarrassed. She looked everywhere but into his eyes. He was listening to her words, and did not want to believe that she is telling all these right now, when he does not expect it at all. He did not to do what to do, how to go on. His soul loved the girl. Is she serious??? Will she drop her soul again? Make him suffer alone, sitting up at nights, eating nothing for days??? Should he let fate drift him??? Abandon himself for the feeling??? What if it is just a fancy??? Wanted to hold her, but he knew she was not sure of her feelings. The girls stood up and left. He began thinking while sitting on the bench. are her feelings deep? Does she feel how he used to feel? He was not able to believe in the world he had created. He let the feeling gain over in him... the feeling of love. The next day he was standing in front of the girl’s house. It was pouring, his clothes, his hair got soaked him to the skin... called her on the phone. ‘Look out of your window.’ She drew the curtains in front of the window facing the street. She saw the boy standing there, who means so much to her. She rushed down to the front door and ran to the boy as much as she could. She stretched out her arms and was holding him as strong as she could. She was holding him, heart-broken and kissed him. Their kiss was short and sensual. The boy kissed her back. Now he was feeling, his created world is not a dream, it is in his arms. Something has started between them. They are sitting on the bench by the church together. They love each other... they are glad of each other. A chain-reaction has started. The boy and the girl began to play.

Andrea Piovanni