The Blue Dress Sisters

CHAPTER 20: THE PATH OF THE STARS

St. Mesalina di Foligno Catholic Home and Convent - Mondovì - Kingdom of Italy – 1911

Though Italian soldiers had been dispatched to Libya months ago to conquer new lands, the notion of war felt distant in the north of the Kingdom of Italy. It was that time of year when snow fell and the great tree outside the home was decorated, when they sang carols in Piedmontese and gathered for a grand feast as evening set in.

Yet, Delilah was forbidden from attending the dinner. According to Abbess Bruna, she was to fast and purify her body of sin because, in her clumsiness, she had mistakenly added salt instead of sugar to the Christmas Panettone while helping in the kitchen.

"Gaudenzia!" Sister Bruna shouted to summon her accomplice, who often played the role of her enforcer. "Punish this little demon so she learns not to be so careless!"

With a long, heavy wooden ruler, Gaudenzia struck Delilah's shoulder, ordering her to kneel with her skirt raised, so her bare knees would press against the sharp, icy rocks on the snow-covered ground.

Obediently, the young lady raised her hands to chest height. Gaudenzia delivered several blows to her fingers with the wooden ruler. Even before the first strike, Delilah's knuckles were already red and bruised from the frequent punishments she endured.

"Keep your fingers straight, monster!" Gaudenzia barked whenever the impact caused Delilah's fingers to curl.

Used to it, the orphan didn't cry. Yet her hands and knees stung, and her eyes were damp.

"...ninety-nine, one hundred!" Gaudenzia counted the last blow. "Now, you'll remain here on your knees until you count to a thousand. I will be watching you."

Bruna and Gaudenzia left, leaving her in the garden, kneeling on the pure white snow.

From inside, she could hear her friends singing together in chorus, accompanied by Pia's piano melody. Warmed by the mansion's cozy glow, they sang on while she shivered in the cold, her hair sprinkled with crystalline snowflakes.

Suddenly, she saw Cannoli rush up the mountain. The little dog was running excitedly to greet her. Massimo followed behind, his large feet sinking into the snow, his tall and slender silhouette darkened by the sun being behind him, his slightly long black hair with gentle waves brushing against his forehead and his cheeks pink from the cold.

She lifted Cannoli into her arms, allowing him to kiss her face.

"What have you done now, Patata?" Massimo asked, hiding something behind his back.

"Culinary accident," she replied, standing up to try and see what her friend was hiding. Her knees were red and marked from the stones. "What do you have there?"

"Nothing," the young man said, shifting to keep her from noticing what he was holding. "It's none of your business."

"Why not? You don't tell me anything anymore!" Delilah hopped up and down trying to see behind his back as he dodged, hiding his hands.

Walking backward to keep her from discovering what he was concealing, he made his way toward the house. At that moment, Delilah noticed a few colorful flowers peeking out slightly from behind his coat.

Angry, she followed him.

How could it be? Flowers? For whom?

"Who are those for?!" she protested, kicking snow onto the back entrance. "Don't be rude and tell me, Spaghetti!"

As soon as they entered the hall, the sound of the orphan girls' chorus grew louder. Sisters Gaudenzia and Bruna shot Delilah resentful glares, but she shrugged and signaled that she had counted to a thousand without interrupting the young girls' song.