Back to December

Chapter one

It was a warm late summer morning in Catania and Carina was trying hard to pick out what to bring along and what to leave in her soon-to-be former house. It was the place where she had been living since she left Seattle eight years before and where her life changed for good. Nevertheless, even after all those years, Italy still didn't feel like home to her. They say home is where the heart is and she left hers in Seattle.

While she was packing, her mind started to wander and she ended up recapping the last eight years of her life in her head. Maybe bringing back certain memories a few hours before her departure wasn't a good idea; however Carina felt the need to do it. She had to close the circle before she could start a new chapter of her life. She was coming back to Seattle and she had to face all the thoughts and feelings she set aside for all this time.

She stopped folding her shirts and she sat down on her bed, facing the large window of her bedroom. She closed her eyes for a second, took a deep breath and basked in the sun while a gentle breeze flowed through her curtains bringing the familiar scent of the sea.

It reminded her of when she was a little girl and she used to play Tag on the beach with her baby brother Andrea. She missed him so much. They were partners in crime since they were kids and when he passed away, she felt like a part of her soul left with him. "Mamma was right when she said we were two halves of one whole." she thought bitterly to herself.

As she was still lost in her thoughts, Carina couldn't hear the light and muffled footsteps approaching her from behind. Suddenly she felt the bed shaking and two short arms wrapping around her neck and little hands playing with her silver necklace. She turned her head and saw the mischievous smile of her six-year-old beautiful son. She spun around and started to tickle him while he desperately tried to get away from her hands, cackling and screaming.

"Mama stop please, let me go!" he begged her with tears in his eyes as he kept on laughing.

"First, you have to promise me you wont try to scare me like that ever again. Come on." she said with a fake solemn tone.

"I promise..." he muttered.

"I didn't hear you, say it louder please." she said with a contented smile.

"I promise mom! Now let me go, please." he responded meekly as Carina ruffled his soft, chestnut hair.

"Good boy. Are you ready?" she asked him sweetly. She knew he wasn't thrilled to leave Italy and all his friends; he had been living in Catania his whole life and he had never been to the US before. Luckily, she had been teaching him Italian and English since he was a baby, so basically he was a bilingual boy.

Alessandro lowered his eyes, his face suddenly frowny, and began to tap his dangling feet on the side of Carina's bed. "I guess so." he answered but his face was telling her otherwise.

"Hey, come here baby." she said as she put him on her lap. "Look at me please."

The little boy lifted his gaze, trying not to breakdown in front of his mom. He looked bewildered and sad at the same time, and Carina couldn't bear to see her son like that. She took his face in both her hands and began to caress his plump and smooth cheeks.

"I am scared too, Alex." she sighed. "This is a huge change and it's okay to feel this way. But we are in this together. I will always be there for you. We are a team, remember?"

Alex grinned and put his little hands on both sides of his mom's face. "Like Batman and Robin?"

"Even stronger than them." she assured flexing her biceps and making Alex giggle.

"Okay, but I am Batman and you are Robin because I am way stronger than you." he stated with a sly smile.

"Fine, my little superhero. Since you are so strong, come here and give me a big hug please, I need it."