(A Novel Translation)
Chiwan, a young girl who always has a positive outlook on life, receives orders from her 'guardian' to match Mom Luang Sarut Jutathep, the secretary of the Thai ambassador in Rome, Italy, with Ponchiwa Taewaprom, a virtuous and...
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Florence, Italy.
May, 1997.
The late spring sky leading into summer is the sky during the most beautiful time of the year.
That is Chiwan's thought from watching the change of the sky of Florence, or Firenze as Italians call it.
During this season, the sky will be a bright blue, dotted with scattered white clouds. The sun will peek over the low mountains that surround the city before 7am and will stay up until 9pm. Making the days longer than the nights.
In the early afternoon, the harsh sunlight reflected on the surface of the Arno River -the city's main river- creating a shimmering light that made one squint.
Chiwan parked her bicycle and leaned it against the bridge, where a flock of large ducks were swimming. She didn't know where they hid during the cold season, but when the temperature became warmer, they would appear and gather together under the bridge to entertain themselves. White herons were sneaking around looking for fish in the algae.
A fat capybara was swimming towards a group of ducks to eat the bread that Chiwan had squeezed and dropped.
"Hiding from people again, Arno."
She called it by the name she secretly gave it after the river. Today was considered lucky to meet it because Arno only appeared once in a while to swim for everyone to see and take pictures. It could swim across the wide river so quickly and nimbly. That's make Chiwan remembered when she was a child and used to jump into the canal behind the house to play. That time, she was just as agile as Arno.
After running out all the bread, she said goodbye to the ducks and Arno, who had already swum away into the grass along the bank. She took her bicycle and walked slowly across the bridge.
There was no need to pedal since her apartment was just a few steps from the other side of river she's walk on.
The faint music of "Love Theme from the Godfather"* drifted in on the wind, coming from the old man standing in the middle of the bridge playing his violin.
Chiwan took out a bronze-colored coin from his coat pocket and placed it in the velvet-lined violin case that was opened in front of him, along with a compliment.
"Very nice, Fransesco!"
The old man winked at her without stopping his hand from playing the violin.
"Thank you, beautiful!"
Chiwan's cheeks turned red when she heard the praise. Francesco was a close friend that Chiwan knew from the bridge, he was the most beautiful and sweet violinist on the street. And when he wasn't playing an instrument, he was also the smoothest-talking Italian she ever know.
After parking his bike and locking it, Chiwan used the key to enter the heavy wooden door and entered the front hall of the apartment building. An old four-story building made of reddish-brown stone, preserved to maintain the original Renaissance architectural form. Similar to other buildings throughout the city.
