The casella of all dances

“Nonna, tell me a fable!”

“Nani, another one? It’s time to sleep, really. You have to get up early tomorrow, remember?”

“Please please please, just another one! Tell me the Pink Tree!”

“How come you’re not tired? I don’t remember that one very well, you know? Perhaps another time…”

“What!? The Pink Tree is my favorite one, you tell it all the time, how did you forget? Just think about it, Nonna, come on!”

“Alright then, so once upon a time…”

“That’s not how it starts!”

“Oh, my goodness, seriously? Never mind then, just sleep now, ok?”

“No! I don’t want to! I’m not sleeping before you tell me one more.”

“Let’s do that… this time, I will tell you a legend… how does that sound?”

“What’s a legend? Is it a fable? What story is that?”

“Well, a legend is not a fable, it’s a story but some say it’s true… this one happened to a person I know… remember that lady from Rovinaglia, the one you don’t like, who always tries to hug you and you run away from?”

“Rovinaglia! I’m going there tomorrow!”

“Yes, that’s why you need to sleep. You want to hear the story or not?”

“Yes! I don’t remember her… what happened to her??”

“Nothing happened to her, but she told me that when she was younger, a friend of hers, one night, was walking back home through the woods…”

“Wait… what? Why was she walking through the woods at night?”

“Not her, her friend… you know, back then there were not so many cars around, not so many roads, either, and people used to walk from a village to another on foot, through the woods, because it was a shortcut… sometimes they would leave in the morning, go all the way down to Borgotaro for the Sunday market, to do their shopping, to meet their friends, and to have a good time. Sometimes they would lose track of time and they had to go home after dark, but there is no light on the paths, so they really had to know their way, or they would get lost. So, this friend of hers was walking back one night, all alone, on the path through the woods of La Pesa, you know?”

“Ah yes, that’s where I find all the mushrooms… I would never get lost there… I know it very well!”

“Have you been there at night, by yourself, on a dark night, no light, the wind whispering through the trees, the animals looking at you, your shadow always following you?”

“That is so scary! I don’t want to look!”

“Why are you covering your eyes? There is nothing to see… are you too scared to hear the story?”

“No no no no no! I want to know what happens!”

“Where was I… ah, do you know the casella on the path behind La Pesa?”

“What is a casella? Is that some sort of house?”

“Yes, you’ve never heard of it? That’s what it’s called up there, but it’s that specific kind of house you only find on the mountains, built with stones and wood, where people used to spend the summer to but their firewood for the winter… like the one your dad grew up in!”

“I know it! We’re going there tomorrow! Is that our house this story is about??!!”

“No, but it’s nearby… you know the usual path you take to go to La Pesa, when you look for mushrooms?”

“Really? I’ve never seen a casella there!”

“Not that one, the path on the other side… the path where those people from the city who bought our land like to have their picnics. There are many homes there, but nobody lives there now… they’re all abandoned”.

“Ah, I think I’ve been there, but I don’t know it well… and I have never seen a single house on that path!”

“Well, that was the path the lady’s friend was walking down when she heard some music coming from one casella… all the lights were on, people were dancing, everyone looked like they were having so much fun, and she even thought about joining them… but it was late, and it would have been strange to show up uninvited, you know you really don’t do that… so she changed her mind and continued her way. The day after, she went to the fountain with her friends, you know where everyone goes to do their laundry and to chat the morning away… and she asked around, if someone knew who was having a party the night before at the casella… all the people in Rovinaglia looked puzzled, you know how they all know each other, and kept asking which casella are you talking about? Are you sure? Nobody lives there anymore, it was abandoned during the war, and you can see the ruins if you go right now. Are you sure that’s what you saw?”

“What? Which casella are you talking about? Is it still there?”

“I don’t know, there are many…”

“Do you believe this story?”

“I believe the lady… if she said it happened, then it happened. It’s a legend, I told you… some may say it’s true. Well, you should go to sleep now. Maybe you’ll meet the lady tomorrow… you can ask her.”

"But... Nonna! I'm going to have nightmares!"

"Come on... do you believe this story? It's a legend..."