Chapter 6
~
Feliciano came home to joyful shouts and laughter. He loosened his tie and opened the door as his gaze landed upon Romano with a wine bottle in his hand, Antonio their Spanish friend had his arm draped around Romano's waist as he sang loudly in his native tongue.
Their grandfather, Roma had his own bottle of wine at his lips, dancing softly to the song Antonio kept singing. Feliciano walked in and smiled, grabbing the bottle from his brother and taking a long drag.
"All the way from Italy!" Roma shouted.
Feliciano hugged his grandfather and Antonio before asking if they'd traveled over just to drink their wine.
"Ha, of course not! We have good news! But we came to visit because it's your birthdays, silly!" Antonio smiled. "Happy birthday, Feli!"
Feliciano was rather shocked that they had come over just to celebrate his birthday. He was so used to just getting a "Happy Birthday" from Romano in the morning for a present because they couldn't afford gifts for each other. Their company had become enough and now Antonio and Roma were here with expensive wine and gifts.
"Thank you!" He smiled and kissed everyone on the cheek.
Feliciano couldn't help but start laughing when Roma carried a homemade cake into the room and set it on the table before lighting a few candles on it. The Italian threw his arm around his brother's neck and pulled him close to his side as the two other men started singing happy birthday.
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday to you,
Happy Birthday dear Feli and Romano!
The twin brothers smiled, even Romano.
Happy Birthday to you!
They hunched over slightly and blew out the candles in unison. They were officially 21 years old and grateful that they're family and friends could just visit them on this day.
"Feli, your present!" Antonio was leaning out from behind a doorframe with a huge grin plastered onto his face.
The Spaniard came out from behind the wall and thrust a polished guitar into his hands. Feliciano gasped and his eyes widened.
"Antonio!" He gripped the neck of it and Romano gave his brother a weak smile. "H-how in the world did you afford this? I can't take it! Mio Dio*, I'll pay you back."
"No!" Antonio kissed his cheek. "We all pitched in, even Romano!"
"Oh, thank you so much!" He opened an arm and everyone piled into a group hug. "I love you guys."
Feliciano went to get his present for Romano and even though it was nothing compared to the beautiful wooden instrument, he hoped he liked it. He'd saved up for it and worked hard but it was really worth it in the end.
"Here." The Italian handed Romano a small box. "It's nothing compared to the guitar but-"
"Feli, it's wonderful." Romano opened the box and gasped when he saw the beautiful silver necklace inside. "How?"
"I was saving up. I'm sorry for ignoring you for the past few weeks." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Thank you, fratello*." Romano gave him a small hug. "It's alright. I forgive you."
The all sat around the table and joked while they ate the cake and passed a bottle of red wine around the table, sipping from the opening and not caring that there were glasses in front of them. After everybody was leaning back in the chair, their cheeks rosy, the strong wine giving them a light buzz.
"We have good news about the resistenza*." Roma spoke quietly as Feliciano grabbed his guitar and strummed it.
"Nonno..." Romano gave him a cold stare.
That was the whole reason they left Italy. They'd had enough of being in the Italian Resistance; delivering secret messages, going on stealth missions, receiving confidential information, risking their lives. If they were caught, they'd be publicly executed by the German soldiers that were just living in every nook and cranny.
"No. Romano, we got into their base and saw their attack plans. We can send word and get backup to stop it. All they want is our heads. We can stop the German soldiers from killing our people." Their grandfather exclaimed.
Romano was pleased with this news. He absolutely hated the German soldiers in their small town but they had moved to Germany, the heart of this whole war, because it was the safest. If you lived here, there was little to no chance of getting in any type of trouble with the soldiers. Romano hated them with a burning passion but he knew it was the best option for him and his brother.
Feliciano sat there, thumb resting on 6th string as he thought about it. He remembered going on all those missions, a pistol hidden in his coat as he used codes and hand signals to communicate with Romano; his partner when it came to this type of stuff. They made a good team, their intellect sharp, eyes alert, aim impeccably straight.
But it made them miserable and one time they got caught looking at the German army's plan of action. Feliciano had to shoot. He had to. And it hit the man in the chest. That man never breathed again.
Romano's arm got skimmed by a bullet as they made their escape and he shouted loudly, blood streaming down his bicep. They managed to get out, practically unscathed compared to some of the other resistance members who'd gotten caught.
Feliciano tried hard to forget it all but he couldn't help but have a flame of joy burn deep inside of him. His country just wanted to be free again and these Germans took it from them, their liberty. So the resistenza was formed and they fought back silently, slyly. They had to go to rather drastic measures most of the time but it was usually worth it.
At the moment, all Feliciano could think about was Ludwig. He was a German soldier and the Italian wished to grow closer to him, become his friend. He looked lonely and sad but hid it behind that overly-serious expression. He wanted to see him smile and his eyes light up. Then again, Ludwig wasn't one of those soldiers in Italy. He worked at Auschwitz and he probably trained packs of troops. Feliciano never thought he shot people because they wanted freedom.
"We are getting closer to freedom, Romano. It's just a matter of time." Antonio added quietly.
Feliciano began playing a chord, three times before the tune became familiar to the people around him and they all sang along.
Una mattina, appena alzato
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Una mattina appena alzato
Oh trovato l'invasor.
He sang the first verse softly. His beautiful voice drifting through the air along with the chords he'd memorized for the song long ago.
Partigiano, portami via,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Partigiano, portami via
Che mi sento di morir.
Antonio began to chime in, his voice quiet at first but then Romano joined and so did Grandpa Roma, all of their harmonic voices blending together to create a lovely sound along with the guitar.
E se io muoio da partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E se io muoio da partigiano
Tu mi devi seppellir.
Seppellirai lassu in montagna,
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Seppellirai lassu in montagna
Sotto l'ombra diun bel fior.
E la gente che passerano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
E la gente che passerano
Mi dira "no che bel fior!"
They were loud now, not afraid of singing for their country. For their freedom.
E questo e il fiore del partigiano
O bella ciao, bella ciao, bella ciao, ciao, ciao
Questo e il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la liberta
Equesto e il fiore del partigiano
Morto per la liberta
Morto per la liberta
Feliciano finished it with a perfect chord that matched their voices. It was a beautiful song. But he didn't care about the lyrics. He just wanted to forget the past.
So he took another swig from the wine bottle.
~
Author's Note: I would appreciate it if you guys would listen to the song. I won't translate the lyrics here so if you want to know what they mean, please google it.It's actually a beautiful song and one of my personal favorites. Here's the link:
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uT-axQy92jY
~
Translations
Mio Dio - My God (Italian)
Fratello - Brother (Italian)
Resistenza - Resistance (Italian)
Nonno - Grandpa (Italian)