The Sardinian people were descended from the Romans and Visigoths, who intermingled with one another. Then, their descendants found Sardinia and made it their home. However, they knew they could be in danger from future attacks. It was decided that they had to learn the ways of ruthless training regimes to protect their home from possible invaders. Many outsiders and invaders tried to capture the island but were unsuccessful. As the years progressed, the Italian Government found out about the Sardinians. The Government was impressed and asked the men of Sardinia to become part of the Italian military and train other soldiers.
The Sardinians refused to train people outside their island; they did not fully trust the Government. The Sardinian men didn't want to risk losing their traditions and knowledge to a corrupt force. However, they accepted the offer to join the Italian military, and the Sardinian men fought in many wars, one of which included the war in the Middle East.
Even though there were some positives, there was a problem in Sardinia. Since the island was small, the population was not that high, and many families tended to have more boys than girls. Females were scarce on the island, which caused many conflicts with the male population since their first ancestors arrived.
Marriage in Sardinia differed from the outside world. The truth was that many women in Sardinia were kidnapped, or many of them were arranged to be married even if love wasn't there. However, most of the marriages happened due to one tradition: bride kidnapping.
Bride Kidnapping was practiced in different parts of the world in the past, even into the present day. However, the island leaders decided there would be no violence, and the women in the village would have to participate in the bride kidnapping event so the strongest and most skilled men could get their wives. Many women born on the island didn't mind the tradition, while some didn't like marrying a man they had no feelings for.
The women who didn't want to participate were able to escape the island and went to Italy, never to be seen again. It had gotten so bad that Sardinian leaders decided to make stricter laws that would punish women. They even communicated with the Italian Government about the situation. The Italian Government knew of the population problem since they desired Sardinian male fighters. They assisted the Sardinian Government in bringing back the women who tried to escape.
Women who were found trying to escape were either imprisoned or forced to marry a man they did not love; if they refused, then they would be put to death. Even with all the laws and restrictions, the population was still an issue in Sardinia; the Italian Government decided to assist the island in bringing more women to Sardinia. The idea was to lure many women from different countries with job opportunities and would offer to pay for them to live on the island. The idea was thought of in the early 2000s and seemed to work. Chosen women would be lured and never return home once they went to the island.
Families would ask about their missing female relatives, but the Government would pretend to help or give families false information to make them lose hope.
One of the men who was going to take part in the bride kidnapping tradition was Julio Rossia, an ex-soldier who fought in Afghanistan for more than two years and was one of many who experienced the withdrawal of troops from the country. He and the island's people didn't want to admit they were tired of constant wars, but their pride in their traditions was stronger. Julio was at the training grounds, training in wrestling and weaponry. He lived far from the nearby town on the island of Sardinia. When he was done with his training, he got on his jeep and drove to pass by the town to get home. While driving, he was greeted by many people; everyone knew one another. Julio merely smiled at them and went on his way. As he was getting home, he thought about the women he walked past by; they were married.
The young man still didn't have a wife. Some of the single women on the island didn't catch his interest even though many were beautiful, dutiful, and flirts. He knew many Sardinian men preferred obedient and submissive wives, but Julio wasn't interested in that type of woman. During his travels in his military years, Julio couldn't help but be impressed with strong-willed women who were unafraid to fight for their beliefs. That was what he wanted in a wife: someone who was strong yet feminine. The young man eventually arrived at his small home, parked, and turned off his jeep. He went inside his small home and sat on one of the sofas in the living room. Julio was exhausted from his training and turned on the television to see if there was any news regarding the upcoming bride kidnapping tradition.
To his luck, every Sardinian channel had an announcement that new women from different parts of the world would be arriving on the island tomorrow. Not only that, but the Sardinian leaders chose a certain number of single men to participate in the tradition. Julio was one of them and looked forward to participating in the tradition. He couldn't participate in past ones since he was on tour in the Middle East. However, the young man was still hopeful he would have his bride. No one was going to stop him from achieving his dream.