The Council of Ten

Chapter 13 - Charmed (Lena Foscari)

Chapter Thirteen – Charmed (Lena Foscari)

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‘Art is a sense of magic.’ ~ Stan Brakhage

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I leant over the side of the boat and dipped my hand in the water for a few moments before drawing back and setting down in my seat with a sigh. It was cramped and I turned my head in hope to catch a waft of the cool breeze or slightly spray of the water. But it was all part of it, no? It was all part of Venice. The water, the islands, the boats. I looked up to see passengers clambering onto the shore of Murano Island, home to Venetian glass and my brother Alonzo.

He’d asked me to come and visit which reminded me of how long it had been since I’d set foot in the place and being there, standing in the bustling street, made me realise how I missed it. But I had another reason for calling over other than visiting my brother. I needed a charm for Marco and perhaps one made of glass could be just the thing.

I weaved in and out of crowds, catching occasional glimpses of my reflection in a shop window. Sometimes a sparkling trinket or chandelier would catch my eye and I’d take a moment to admire the work of the artist. Just stop and look at the glass so carefully weaved, hand crafted with such care. I slipped down a side street and pushed open a shop door, the bell tinkling as I did so. I looked about me, my eyes widening as I drank in the sights. Bottles and ornaments of every shape and size aligned the shelves, small price tags written in a swirly hand attached to them. The sun caught the colours and painted a multitude of them on surrounding walls, making me feel as if I was walking inside a rainbow.

I picked up a bracelet with painted glass beads and clicked my tongue in response to the price before setting it carefully down on the counter. “Doing rather well here, aren’t you brother?” I said, grinning as I saw Alonzo appear from the back room, wiping his forehead with a cloth, his shirt sleeves rolled up to his elbows.

Alonzo smiled widely at me and said “bambina, you came!” I almost managed to sidestep his open arms but feared I’d knock something over so, grudgingly, I allowed my brother to squeeze the breath out of me for a few moments.

“Of course,” I said once he’d let go “how could I pass up on seeing Murano again?”

“And there I was thinking you wanted to see me,” Alonzo rolled his eyes “but it is nice to see you Lena, I hardly get the chance to visit anymore what with the shop.”

“Well aren’t you going to show me how you do it?” I said, barely able to contain my excitement.

“You’ve seen before-“ began my brother before I cut him off my pushing him towards his workroom.

“I want to see again,” I said, sitting down on a stool next to the furnace.

Alonzo chuckled “you’ll get your eyebrows singed off sitting that close.” After a while, my brother was satisfied I was sitting a safe distance away and pulled out his tools. Glass makers on Murano had specially made masks with protection for the eyes already built in so sparks couldn’t fly and blind them. “What have you been up to, Lena?”

“Me? Not an awful lot.” I paused thinking about Marco’s masks, wondering whether I should let my brother in on it. Would he stop me? I ruled out that possibility as I memory arose from when we were younger. No, he wouldn’t do that. “Hey, Alonzo, any idea where I can get glass charms?”

My brother turned and narrowed his eyes at me, a think metal rod hovering near the flames “why do you ask?”

“Just curious,” I said.