The Bright Side

Prologue

     Climbing the last steps leading to Pincio's Hill viewpoint, Claudia took a deep breath. It had been a while since the last time she went up the hill and, being unfit as she was, it took a toll on her. The air was quite chilly that evening and smelled of rain. The ground was tainted of dark wet leaves, muddy and covered in puddles. It was in fact the first time in weeks that the sky was clear and almost cloudless. Autumn in Rome could be like that.

     Unsurprisingly, the belvedere was packed with people, most of whom were tourist admiring Rome's skyline, appreciating how the sun setting down was painting the sky in hot orange and pink. A busker was strategically playing a slow melody on a keyboard, helping create a romantic atmosphere.

     Between all the viewpoints in Rome, the Pincio was by far Claudia's favorite. She just loved how the park seemed to hug the old city with its trees, creating the most perfect frame, and how beautiful was Saint Peter's Dome standing out amid brownish rooftops.

     Walking calmly towards the stone balcony she almost felt like it was her first time watching the sunset.

     Were the colors always this vivid?

     Did the sky always look this vast?

     Was Rome always this beautiful?

     Standing in a free spot in front of the belvedere, hands in the pockets of her heavy jacket, she admired the view. Just in front of her was Piazza del Popolo with its obelisk standing tall. A little bit further east there it was, the Vatican City. And there, on her left, the Palazzaccio and the Pantheon. On the opposite side, the city's highest hill, Monte Mario.

     No, it wasn't her first time. She knew exactly where everything was. And it was definitely not the first time that watching the sunset in Rome had made her emotional. But she felt exceptionally affected by the atmosphere that evening. Everything just seemed highlighted to her. Everything seemed different.

     Claudia wasn't known to be a thinker, she usually liked following her instincts more. But today she had walked for what felt like hours, deep in her thoughts, and somehow found herself sitting beneath the obelisk in Piazza del Popolo. Looking up and seeing the belvedere was almost a surprise.

     A couple of young girls were laughing beside her, walking away from the balcony, both looking at the pictures they had taken on their phone. One of them bumped Claudia's shoulder by accident and muttered a quick "scusi" while still smiling to her friend. She watched them chat happily, run around the square and take pictures of each other until they were out of her sight.

     She found herself smiling too thinking of how the girls were so carefree. Looking around her, everyone did seem excited and cheerful. Couples kissing, friends taking group selfies, people stretching their neck for a better view. Everyone seemed happy.

     Thinking about it, she was probably the only one on the hill that was not. Claudia didn't exactly know how to call the emotions that she was feeling that day, but it was definitely not happiness. It wasn't sadness either, or anger. Was she confused? No, she wasn't. Nothing in this whole situation was confusing. In fact, it couldn't be clearer.

     I have cancer, what's confusing about that?

     As a pediatric surgeon, no one better than her knew what that specific word implied, but somehow, she didn't feel scared. She felt as if she had woken up from a coma and was seeing the world again after a long time. It was almost refreshing, as weird as it might seem.

     Claudia thought back at the day before last, when she received the call, and everything was confirmed. The Chief of Pediatric Surgery himself wanted to give her the news. So, she went to his office, every step accompanied by the worried looks of her colleagues and friends. They all knew something bad was going on - she had been too standoffish the past weeks.

     Lung adenocarcinoma. The most common lung cancer in non-smokers, such as herself.

     It all started just as her old university textbooks said. The chronic coughing, the chest pain, the shortness of breath, and the general weakness. But she didn't really think about it, too busy working her shifts at the hospital. Claudia was lucky enough to work in the same hospital where she did her fellowship in Pediatric Surgery - Policlinico Umberto I, Rome's polyclinic of the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery of the Sapienza Università di Roma. She loved her job, she loved doing surgeries, but most of all she loved spending time with her little patients. She loved their innocence, their sincerity and their optimism.

     She felt like a child herself that evening – naively optimistic, just like them. And she liked it. Claudia wasn't stupid – she was just a woman of science who believed in her odds. She was young, just a couple of years past her thirties, hardly ever sick before this. She was strong. She believed she could do this. Or maybe she was just being very – very – stubborn.

     After two days of hard thinking she could say that she had come to terms with her diagnosis. She was fairly logical, even in times like this, and it didn't take much to rationalize the events. It was now the time to reorganize her life, to set a goal and to achieve it.

     First things first, she needed to call her father and her brother. They knew nothing about this because she had preferred to keep her suspicions to herself until the test results came back. This was probably going to be the hardest part – her brother Edoardo was quite an emotional person. She expected a lot of crying and hugging from him. Her father, on the other hand, preoccupied her less – he was strong-willed just like her and quite optimistic. He'll probably need less reassuring.

     Most of her friends, being her colleagues at the same time, must have been talking, making conjectures and so on. By this time, they were probably ready to bombard her with statistics and stories of similar cases they've come through in the past. Just people of medicine and their coping mechanisms.

     Next, she needed to pack her stuff and admit herself to the hospital. It was going to be strange being the patient and not the doctor this time around. She just knew that all her medical knowledge would make her an insufferable person to nurse. Her dark sense of humor would most certainly cause a headache to those around her. It already did, sometimes.

     Should I pack my favorite pajamas? Maybe wearing lace is a little too much in a hospital ward.

     She looked back at the beautiful sunset coloring the sky, people's laughter ringing in her ears – hands in fists inside her pockets. The Pincio was her favorite place in Rome because nowhere else you could have a view of the Eternal City like this, especially during the sunset. The rooftops were now painted in hot grey, turning darker and darker as the sun set lower. The horizon was in shades of lilac, plum, and periwinkle. Saint Peter's Dome was standing great amidst of it all – a symbol of beauty.

     I'm going to miss all of this.

A/N: So here's the Prologue! We have a bit of a heavy atmosphere right here, but no worries because there is going to be a lot of laughter and swooning too! At the same time ... dark themes are coming, so please read with caution. Any kind of feedback is sincerely appreciated. See you next week!