(This is by far my favourite chapter.)
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Saluzzo, Piemont, Italy 25th of November, 1943
Everything fell into utter chaos last week. First they took Mister Buoni with them. I haven't seen Bella since then. But that's by far not the worst o fit. How naive I was, to think that the Squadrismos would only steal a bit of money from us.
Yesterday, when it was still early in the morning, there was a revolt by the market place. Bella was with them, Matteo was with them, and a few other people, which I normally only meet at church.
And me? I simply stood there, for the bread sale, like every morning. Like a blind kitten, helpless without its mother and left to fend for itself. At the beginning, I could barely understand what was going on, but then it became more and more clear. And before I fully realised it, gunshots echoed through the air.
In retrospect, it's impossible to say who started it. To be honest, I barely remember what happened afterwards. I just remember how Matteo landed on the hard pavement. It looked like someone had spilled a bottle of red wine on the ground. For a moment, the world stood still. Then it began to snow. How can it snow so innocently, when something so horrible just happened?
After the revolt had ended, I could finally go to Matteo. He had almost been covered in snow, as if he were sleeping underneath a blanket. But he was completely cold and pale. That wasn't my friend, with whom I used to shoot birds, fish at streams or steal grapes from farmers.
Suddenly, he wasn't there anymore, even though he was still laying there. Now, that I write this, it's snowing again.
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Bella Ciao
Historical FictionEveryone knows the song Bella Ciao. But in this story, told through diary entries, the background of the words is explored and what tragedy lies behind the lines. A small Italian village is taken over in 1943, but several residents resist. This resu...