Chapter 9

The fight between her and Enzo that morning is a very important thing in our long story. Since that time, Leila has shown some attitudes that are hard to describe. For example, it was clear to me: that Leila could control the use of her talents on her own. That's how she treated Don Achille's son. Not only did she not want to defeat him, but she also calculated the timing of her silences and answers so that she would not be defeated by him. We weren't friends at the time, and I couldn't ask her why she did that. There was no need to ask at all, I could have guessed why, she, like me, knew not only not to offend Don Achille, but also his family.

That's the way it is. We didn't know where that mixture of fear, hatred, and obedience came from; it was the way our parents treated Karachi's family, and it passed on to us, a feeling as clear and specific as the gray houses on this block, the miserable smell coming from the stairwells, and the dust in the streets.

Nino Sartore did not answer questions, most likely to allow Alfonso to better express himself. He answered very few questions, he was so handsome, with his hair neatly combed, his eyelashes long, thin, and nervous, that he finally stopped answering questions altogether. To continue loving him, I'd like to think that's what happened, but deep down I still have some doubts: did he choose to keep his mouth shut, just like Leila? I wasn't so sure. I lost because Alfonso did outlast me. Leila could have beaten Alfonso quickly, but she chose to fight to a draw. What was the reason for Nino? I felt some confusion, even some pain: it wasn't that he couldn't do it, or that he gave up; now that I say it, it was a breakdown. His small mutterings, his pale face, and the sudden appearance of blood in his eyes, so beautiful and white, his pale face made me sad.

For a moment, I thought Leila was pretty too. Usually, I was the pretty girl, she was thin, like a salted fish, and smelled like a wild child. Her face was long, narrow there at the temples, and she had two strands of straight, dark hair hanging down around her ears. But when she decided to shake off Alfonso and Enzo, she was illuminated like a holy warrior woman, with a flush appearing on her face and enthusiasm radiating from every pore of her body. For the first time, it occurred to me: Leila is prettier than me, I'm nothing compared to her. I hoped no one would notice this.

But the most important discovery of that morning was the way we escape from danger, from dangers that are beyond our control and real. That way is: I didn't mean to. Enzo didn't join this fight on purpose, and he didn't beat Alfonso on purpose. Leela intended to defeat Enzo, but she had no intention of putting Alfonso out of the game, nor did she mean to disgrace him; that was just a necessary step. The reason for this is that we are convinced that it is important to plan our actions and know what we are doing so that we can predict the consequences.

In reality, what happened later caught us off guard. Even though none of us meant to, a series of things happened that came down on us like a volcanic eruption. Alfonso lost the race and went home in tears. His brother Stefano, then fourteen, was apprenticed in the butcher's store (previously the store of the carpenter Peluso), which was owned by his father, but Don Achille never went to the store. The day after the contest, Stefano came down to the school building and said a lot of nasty things to Leila and threatened her, and later Leila returned the favor when Stefano pinned her to the wall and tried to catch her tongue, saying he would stick her tongue with a needle. Leila went home and told her brother Rino what had happened. The more Leila talked, the redder Rino's face became and the more his eyes lit up. Later, Enzo was on his way home - he was alone, the country minions were not with him - when he was intercepted by Stefano and received many slaps, punches, and kicks. As for Reno, he went to Stefano in the morning and the two fought, they were evenly matched and fought to a draw. After a few days, there was a knock on Cerullo's door, and Don Achille's wife, Dame Maria, appeared and she cursed at Nunzia.

Not long after, one Sunday after Mass, Fernando Cerullo - father of Lilla and Reno, a shoemaker, small and thin, - timidly approached Don Achille and asked for his forgiveness, but did not specify why. I didn't see it at the time or don't remember, but I heard that the shoemaker apologized so loudly that everyone heard him, but Don Achille stepped aside as if he hadn't heard the shoemaker speak to him. Not long after, Enzo and Leila threw stones at each other, and Leila hurt Enzo's ankle, and Enzo broke Leila's head, and I screamed in terror. Leila was dripping blood under her hair and she got up Enzo came over from the embankment and he was bleeding too. He caught sight of Leila, to our disbelief, and then unexpectedly burst into tears. It wasn't long before Lila's favorite brother, Reno, came to the school and beat Enzo up outside the school, and Enzo couldn't even fight back. Reno was older, bigger, and justified. Enzo was beaten, and he didn't tell his minions about it, nor his father, mother, and cousins - all of whom grew vegetables in the countryside and pushed them to the city in carts to sell. When it came to him, the whole injustice was over.