The Last Agosti ✔

~*59*~

Ella stared at the diaries feeling not at all comfortable in opening it up. Though she had done that before doing it again seem wrong. She was invading into someone's memory, someone's life. Demetrio Agosti's life.

She hesitantly took the first book in order, Journal Year 1997. Flipping the hardcover open, in the first page was a colourful fingerprint of a child, she assumed it to be Ara's. At the corner of the page, scribbled A.T.A.

Ella wondered what could A.T.A stands for and immediately flipped to the next page. The pages filled with the exact similar handwriting from the letter; her heart missed a beat.

She shut her eyes tight and took a deep breath, "I'm not Ara Agosti. I'm not Ara Agosti" she repeated to herself before reading.

The nine months in 1997 of Demetrio Agosti's life was filled with beautiful and sweet memories revolving around his wonderful loving wife and a daughter that's dear to him. Demetrio never ended his daily journal without being grateful for the day and for the life he lives. The words written in the diary was more than enough to tell one who much he loved his daughter. Ella felt envied towards Ara Agosti to have lived a beautiful happy childhood though it did not last long. 

"Err... concentrate Ella. Stop being jealous" she groaned flipping the diary as she randomly went through the content.

Her eyes caught a familiar word she had heard Diego mentioning a couple of times before, Lecco. "Lecco? That's where the country house is..." she thought to herself and turn over a few pages back.

I like to go for holidays on odd times hence this time it is end of autumn and the beginning of winter. I'm back at Lecco after a year now and it feels great to be in a peaceful place than Milan. We had a great time today, the kids enjoyed cleaning the lawn while Benny and me cleaned the pond. The ladies as usual had conquered the kitchen................

Ella skipped the happy part of their vacation and fast read the journal. Only to stop when a number of pages were skipped. The empty pages got Ella thinking if these were dates when Ruffina Agosti died?

The journal began again, skipping ten days of daily record.

Should I even continue???? What am I supposed to do???

I lost my wife and my daughter is in the hospital....

Why wasn't it me in the barn that day....

Ella traced her fingers over the pages, ink on it had blotted. She knows it's from the tears that dropped at the moment it was written. Sadness engulfed as she continued to read the misery Demetrio Agosti went through. Without her realising, her eyes welled, wetting the pages that had already seen tears many years ago.

-------

Stepping on the brake paddle manoeuvring the car with screeching halt, Diego rushed into the orphanage.

"Andrea? Can I meet Andrea?" he asked, breathlessly to the receptionist who looked at him, confused.

"Please wait, I'll get him. Can I know your name?"

"Tell him, he sent a text earlier to get some documents"

She immediately went in and came out within five followed by a limping man in mid-fifties. He had bruises on his face, got Diego wondered if this was an orphanage or fighting club.

"What documents do you want?" Andrea asked. He was ambivalent at the intrusion of a new man seeking for some document all of a sudden.

"You texted Ella to get her documents?"