Love Thy Enemy

Chapter 1: Remember

"He's right, you know." Tommaso says to no one in particular.

"Whatever" Alessio snaps.

There is nothing left to say, our memories are as present as our futures, always shifting, sometimes blurry, but never too blurry to be forgotten. Together we slowly rise from the pain of our memories and our emotions and walk our way back to normality.

The roads smell like fresh bread, sea salt and gasoline from the ports. The houses are yellow, but so dirty with dust and time they seem grey at times, with broken windows and colorful curtains. My house is in one of the three apartment buildings that makes a small square.

"Ana! Come up here a second!" Melina's voice echoes from the balcony of the red building, she is one of the ten people I know are living in that building, but there must be at least seventy. In shorts and a tank top I rush into Melina's building. She isn't our neighbor but had been close with my mother. A lot of people had known my mother. I take the stairs two at a time to the second floor, where she lives.

"Here, here" She flashes me her delightful smile from where she stands at the end of the narrow hall, motioning with her hand for me to follow her. Melina sows while her husband repairs shoes. Her son and my friend Veste bakes at the local panetteria.

"Ciao Melina" I hug her before greeting Giovanni, her husband

"It's been so long, you're so beautiful Ana" Giovanni says, pulling back from the hug to asses me at arm's length.

"It's only been a week Giovanni" He shakes his head and hugs me again. There is never pity in his eyes, or in his touch. We share our sorrow, our story, without feeling sorry for ourselves. Pity was for the poor, not the survivors.

"Look" Melina comes back into the living room, smiling with pride. I hadn't even noticed her leaving I was so distraught by Giovanni's hug. In arms she holds a dress, light blue with red flowers. It has a V neckline and a cotton belt that wraps around the waist.

"I love it" I tell her admiring the dress, which she places in my arms. "Grazie" She smiles, petting my cheek before giving it an affectionate slap

"Your mother would have killed me had she known I was letting you wear those baggy jeans of yours all around town, or these tiny shorts." Melina's smile fades quickly at the memory of her friend, "She was such a lady, that woman. Sweet, gentle, smart, a real catch" My mother was a lot of other things she had failed to mention; fierce being one of them. She was smart enough not to have participated in an active, open revolt destined for tragedy, but brave enough never to have bowed, never to have gone to the Locals' dinners, never to have been intimidated by the truth.

"Now come on Melina, no need for that kind of talk" Giovanni's stiff laugh hushes his loved one's mournful thoughts. Melina snaps out of her sadness, putting on a forces smile.

"Try it on, I want to see you in something with color for once. And take a shower while you're at it, you smell worse than Giovanni's cooking!" With a sniffle of a tear and little chuckle, she pushes me towards the bathroom next to the kitchen. It was a small house with only one bedroom, a kitchen, a bathroom and a living room. Whenever I slept over at their place, I slept in the living room with Veste; we'd known each other since I was born. There was little space, but enough light for Veste to scare the living crap out of me whenever he felt like it.

In the bathroom I remove my black tank top and shorts, then my underwear and bra. In the shower I am relieved by the cold water rushing over me. Hot water around here is a privilege. It's expensive too, so we only turned it on during the winter and autumn for one hot shower a week. I don't mind it, my mother hadn't either. The only people who think they are too good for it are the Locals. They have hot water all year round.