That night, Andromeda had that dream again.
Nightmare was a better word. She hadn't dreamt it for months, the last time was before she turned sixteen.
She was nine years old again. There was a fire growing in the living room, where she was. It was licking on the wallpaper, feeding on everything it encountered.
And her right hand was chained to the dining table. Someone was trying to move it. She looked at the person chained to the other leg of the table. He was older than her, eleven years old. A mop of dark hair covered his eyes. He tried to stand up, but was forced into bending down because the leg of the table was short.
"Stop," she told him. "Give up." It was almost as though someone else spoke the words for her.
"No," he shouted at her. "I'll never give up! We'll survive, you'll see!"
She brushed her hair away, using her free hand.The sweat on her face making her hair stick on it.
She recalled not being afraid. Why would she be? She had been a good girl, she knew it even though she couldn't remember why.
Then the music started. It came from the next room, she saw someone lock it just a while ago. It was very strange music. It filled her with sadness and unhappy thoughts.
Mother, she thought at the time. Why are you so sad? Why are you playing the piano like this?
The sudden shouting made her look up. It frightened her a little because she never heard her friend shout the way he did.
"You heartless idiots, why did you have to chain her too? She didn't do anything wrong!"
He was shouting at two huge men who appeared at the entrance door, safe from the fire.
One of them spoke. "You are a Venetian. You are an enemy. She is an enemy. She must die, too."
Andromeda was confused.
"Ragazzino," she started calling him by the nickname she always used for him. It meant 'little boy'. "Did these men do anything to you?" she asked. It was extremely hot now. When will it stop?
"Merda, si!" He yelled. "Si, you stupid girl, they're killing us all!"
"But… It's all right, Ragazzino," she tried to tell him, not even minding that he called her stupid. "Won't we go to heaven when we die?"
When she held his hand, he instantly softened. "Yes, Andy. You'll go to Paradise."
She squeezed his hand, not because she was frightened, but to let him know she was with him. "What about you, Ragazzino?"
He smiled at her, a sad smile.
"Non lo so, Andy."
The music continued, the most beautiful melody she ever heard. But also…
What was that word her father taught her that day?
Melancholy, she finally remembered.
Someone else appeared at the door. It was one man this time, alone. He was tall, he looked important. Her friend told him something in a language she did not know. He sounded like he was pleading. He said a few more sentences, the man shook his head, and raised one finger. Andromeda knew he meant 'one'. But one what?
The boy went on pleading with him, and she heard her own name mentioned a couple of times. Finally, the man nodded once.
"Grazie," said the boy, sounding relieved and genuinely thankful.
"Who is this man?" she asked her friend.
He looked at her, his eyes tearful. He wasn't even hiding it, which was strange. She never saw him cry.
"Perdonami, Andy. This man will save you."
The man approached her, and she tried to get away from him.
"No," she cried. "I'm not leaving you! You're my only true friend!"
"I won't hurt you," the man told her soothingly. He was holding a key. He waited until she calmed down, the he unlocked the pad and took it off. The chain fell away.
The man took her hand and tried to lead her out, but she pulled on him.
"What about Ragazzino?"she asked the man.
"You have to go with him, Andy," said her friend.
"But I can't leave you!"
"You have to, Andy! You must! Now, go!" He was almost begging her to leave, now. But she didn't understand. Who were these people? They locked up her parents in a room, they chained her and Ragazzino, they were setting her home on fire. She remembered her father telling her that there were some bad people in Venice, and they were doing bad things to her city.
The man who held her hand said something then tried to pull her away. He had to carry her himself because she simply couldn't move.
And as she was taken out, she managed to look at the burning house once more. The song was still playing, ringing in her ears, now accompanied by a woman's screaming.
Ragazzino, her friend, was no longer trying to break the chains. They stared at one another, even though she couldn't see him clearly because the smoke was filling her vision. She didn't call out because she knew he wouldn't hear her, so she raised her hand and waved at him.
He waved back and mouthed something. Despite the distance, she read what his lips said quite easily. It was the same phrase they had used in a play they acted almost every day.
Farewell, little angel.
Then she could see him no longer.
Andromeda woke up with a start. She was breathing deeply in and out, as though she had just run the whole length of the Grand Canal. It took her a few seconds to realize that she could still hear that sad music. Not in her head, though.
It was coming from downstairs.
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