Читать книгу The Geese That Lay The Golden Eggs - Nicola Maria Vitola - Страница 22

Marcello often speaks of the mystical dimension of their meeting, it was without doubt God’s work. It’s the fate of two hearts which resemble one another and seek each other to achieve happiness. They meet with divine intervention and love each other for life.

All fine, then! But here too - as in a tried and tested screenplay - a catastrophe occurs. Daria is informed of something unexpected and unusual. Marcello is in the port of Cyprus when pirates storm a ship that left before theirs. The captain is dead, having been killed, while shots ring out wildly, and blood flows everywhere. The pirates take some hostages. Marcello has a container full of cash and the precious documents for his tender.

«My darling - he tells her - you know I’m alone in the world without you. You’re the only person I trust. Do me the immense favour of looking after the package I managed to hide, until I arrive in Italy.»

«Okay,» replies Daria.

«Give me your address!» says Marcello.

Daria sends him her address and phone number. He explains that he has already paid eight thousand euros for transport and there should be a small fee for domestic taxes which the company cannot estimate before the arrival of the package at its destination.

The woman spends two distressing and very long days almost without sleep because of the anxiety this unexpected situation is causing her. She thinks of Marcello’s safety, of his incolumity. She’s afraid. She doesn’t know what to do in the meantime, until late at night she receives a delivery note by email from a transport company called Turkiye Diplomatic Security Company. The note is full of stamps and has the appearance of something very important and official. However, something is missing for the delivery to be made. For the company’s security agents to deliver the parcel to Daria’s home address, a payment of 2500 euro must be made for domestic taxes and VAT. The sum must be paid by bank transfer before delivery. Daria, terrified by the weight of the responsibility, does not know what decision to make. She calls Marcello on the phone, but there’s no answer. So she tries calling his company and nobody answers there either. She searches for the company on the Internet but cannot find it. Then she really experiences a state of conflicting anxieties. She’s tempted to pay the money, but she hasn’t got enough. Then she thinks of asking her sister for help. She goes to her. «I’ve got a really serious problem,» she tells her agitatedly, «I need 2500 euros urgently!»

«What?»

«Yes, I need it to release a shipment!»

«Sit down a moment and tell me everything from the beginning,» her sister orders her.

«Well, I met Marcello chatting online. He does business deals…»

Daria talks to her sister and, as she tells her about those incredible events, she realises that her foggy brain is starting to clear.

«She saw the light by herself! - she says - I couldn’t believe my own words as I talked and listened to myself».

Daria’s story ends here. With her sister, who luckily helped her open her eyes and consoled her sorrow a little.

But she wants to end her story like this:

«To finish, let me tell you, that even if we’re smart, intelligent people, these things can happen, in the heat of the moment. One very important thing is not to keep everything inside us. We enter a tunnel where reality is easily confused with fantasy unless we share it with someone. I hope I haven’t bored you with this long story, and I also hope I’ve been of help to someone, like you’ve been to me, thanks!»⁸.