Fall

00

Not Edited***

8 years ago

Samaira

It was 7:30 am when we landed. I was with my big sister, Arya, she is the best sister in the whole wide world. She turned 21 last month and her wish was to visit Italy with her sister which is me.

"Didi, where are we going first? To eat pizza?",I ask with excitement in my voice, I was so hungry. And it was almost time we ate the pizza here in Italy. I have never been to Italy, my sister came with her real mother when she was about 5, 6? I think.

She laughs at me and says, "Yes we will but, let's first explore this beautiful hotel? And eat some breakfast here before wandering around?". I smile and nod positively. Whatever, she wants to do, she knows the best.

I and Arya Didi meet when I was 7 and she was 10. My mother married her father, after a year of dating. So I and didi have been besties since. I sprawl on the bed as didi goes into the bathroom to fresh up.

Uh! Why are hotel beds so comfortable?

After about 10 minutes, I hear a ringtone, I get up and look at didi's phone, it was Ma calling. She must be worried, but  I think we did leave her a message though. I slide the accept button and there it is, the face is my worried Ma. "Samaira, where have you both been? We have been worried about you not for last one whole hour, you did not even text us?".
"Arey, Ma wait, wait, tell this to didi, she is the older one, she should be responsible for that stuff. I am just 18, you ..."

"Who are you talking to?" Didi asks as she gets out of the bathroom with the towel in her hand drying her hair.
I widen my eyes and roll them, "it's Ma, asking why we did not text or call her as soon as we landed". I give the phone to didi and jump on the bed. My mother can be a little over the top sometimes, especially when dad is not around. He is gone to a conference in Delhi and Ma is alone in Jaipur. Yes, we live in the pink city, I used to live in Vancouver when Ma was married to my biological father. He was a piece of shit.

"Sammy, come on, we have to go for breakfast and then for the tour around the city" Didi says as she hangs up the phone and starts gathering her things in her small bag. I get up and take my backpack from the closet and my phone off the nightstand with a jacket cause it's damn cold in Rome, It's December.

****

I  was panting, Didi was running right ahead of me. It was race against the bullets that were flying across the street. It was 1:45 am , we just wanted to enjoy the club. Running, running like there will be no tomorrow  if I stopped.  "Come on, Samaira, Run faster". I felt like I was about to pass out,  Didi was a track athelte.

When I saw in those cliche movies and books that Italy is about mafia and gun and violence, I did not believe it. I mean it is the city of love, pizza, cheese, pasta and wine. It is so beautiful like the people here, but there are some which do not understand this.

I hear some voices coming towards me, I run towards the nearest alley very quietly as I am Jackie Chan. I duck down near a dustbin, and see two figures running towards the footpath. The first person is panting as the man behind him has a pistol in his hand. The first man running stops in his tracks and falls onto his knees and says something, I can't understand shit but I shall try to remember so I can translate it later. "Io... mi dispiace Capo. Per favore, per favore dammi un'altra possibilità. Ero..." (I... am sorry Capo. Please, please give me one more chance. I was.... ) before the man on the knees could say anything, he was shot.  To prevent myself from screaming, I cover my hand on my mouth. There was one thing that was good, I could not see any of the men's faces. It was dark and Sicily was very quiet at night.