arrivederci giogio

Chapter 11- barlumi di speranza in tempi difficili

The black haired boy decided to not question or judge his new caretaker. He instead focused on himself as they began to walk together. After a long silence, a sentence is finally spoken between the two.

"You... Do you understand what just happened, boy?" The now silver haired man questions, still recovering from the sight that was placed in front of him. He lost somebody that he loved above words. It wasn't odd for him to be acting the way that he was.

"No...," The one armed boy responds, hardly able to keep his eyes open anymore. He can not remember the last time that he had slept. "Whenever I question you, you seem to get angry at me. I'm biting my tongue just like you asked me to, master," Narancia sighs and he rubs his eye.

"...Well, it seems that you are a fast learner. I am glad to see that you have taken responsibility in knowing how to continue to survive," The silver haired man gives a pathetic laugh, thinking about their current situation.

"...Wait, stop!" Narancia reaches his arm out, looking ahead.

The two seem to be stopping in their tracks as they stare ahead of themselves.

In front of them is no other than Giotto's Campanile. It is Italy's most famous bell tower, to which usually rested in Florence.

"...We can take refuge in there! Come on," Diavolo grabs Narancia by his arm, to which hurts the boy. The ravenette winces but it doesn't stop him from progressing forward. He brings Narancia up to the bell tower, a large grin coming upon his face.

"...You hurt me!" Narancia calls out, his eyebrows narrowing in anger as he sits down and wishes for the pain to go away.

"Either I dragged you with me, or the chance of you losing your life was heightened because of the rusted blonde. Would you like to go through a little bit of pain, or a lot and eventually meet your end?" The white haired man narrows his eyebrows, stepping out on the balcony. "Look at it... The entire city is burning below us. But we are safe," A small smile comes upon his face.

"...We aren't safe, master," Narancia shakes his head, following behind the boy. "There's no way that we could be! Those fires are coming through so fast that it's going to kill us without a second thought," His amythest eyes drop and he sniffles.

"Are you... Crying?" Diavolo questions, his long hair swaying along with him.

"Yes, I'm crying! I have been through a lot, and I'm in pain. It doesn't help that nobody believes that there is a way to stop this madness, either," The ravenette shakes his head.

"...What do you mean by that, boy?" Diavolo crouches beside him, his voice soft and genuine.

After how badly he has treated Narancia, the black haired boy cannot seem to believe it. "Master...? You're concerned for me?" Narancia questions.

"Yes. Of course I am concerned for you," Diavolo nods his head. "You are all that I have left, and I am all that you have left. I am sorry about when I called you deformed and ugly. I regret saying that now. It is out of your control, everything that has happened. You have been through quite the tragic experience, boy. I'm glad that you stayed strong," The silver haired man smiles.

"Oh... Well I guess that it's okay. Just don't do it again, please. It hurt my feelings when you said those things to me," Narancia sniffles. He would rub his arm right now, but he does not have another one to do so.

"I'm proud of you. I am proud of you for surviving and pleasing your master. You did an excellent job at digging the graves. But I shouldn't have made you do that either. Those bodies should be treated with respect. As your master, I am not setting a good example for you. I promise that I will try to improve for the future. I will treat you as my son. Does that sound good to you, Narancia?" He questions.

"Does that sound good to you, Narancia?"

"Narancia...,"

Tears of happiness form in Narancia's eyes. For once, Diavolo addresses him by his name and not by the foolish nickname 'boy.' He lunges at him for a tight hug, and Diavolo hugs him back just as tightly.

He may not be the father figure that Abbacchio was, but at least he cares for him.

"Thank you for everything that you have done for me, Master! I forgive you for everything that you have done!" He smiles big, and the silver haired man ruffles his hair.

"You are much too kind to me. Truly, you are. Why don't you take wood carving up as a hobby?" He questions.  "I think that you would be quite good at it," The silver haired man adds.

"Yeah... Yeah. I'll do that!" The black haired boy pulls away from the hug and nods his head excitedly.

And so Narancia began to carve a wooden sculpture of Diavolo, even with the struggle of one arm. He spent his time in the bell tower by painting it and everything. Every little detail was perfect. Once he was finished, he ran up to Diavolo and presented it to him.

"Look!" He hands the sculpture to Diavolo.

"Oh? What's this?" The white haired man questions. "Is it me? It's quite good," He nods his head with a smile. 

"Thank you, master! I'm glad to have you in my life," Narancia smiles.

And that's when it occurred to him.

He opened his eyes slowly, reality hitting him right in the face. His lip quivered as he looked around him, only to find that he had fallen asleep and dreamt the whole thing. Diavolo would never treat him that nicely. How could his own mind fool him like that?

Narancia pulled the covers over his body and began to cry quietly.

Maybe he would try wood carving some other day...