For someone who had spent her whole life in front of a dry river bed and water was a luxury that few people in the village could have at home, being in front of the sea for the first time was absolutely overwhelming.
Ivan urged her to take off her old boots and put her feet in the water, but Aurora refused to do it, the imposing sight and the fierceness of the waters overwhelmed her, she felt as if they were oppressing her abdomen and making it difficult for her to breathe.
-Come on Aurora, come with me, I promise nothing will happen to you, -Ivan shouted from the shore, where the foam of the waves was diluted in the white sand-. Come closer, don't be afraid.
Aurora, fearful, took off her boots and felt the sand on her feet, it seemed to her that she had never been barefoot, outside her house or Ivan's room; as far as she knew, it was the first time that her feet stepped on something different from a cold concrete floor.
She could feel the sand slipping between her toes, and found it strangely pleasant, as did the warmth coming from the tiny grains. She walked slowly to where Ivan was waiting for her, motioning for her to hurry and stopped just before she stepped onto the wet sand.
-What's up monkey, hurry up, -Ivan insisted.
She took a deep breath, trying to push the fear out of her mind, despite the thunderous sound of the waves, which seemed to pound her head. She stepped onto the wet sand and felt the cold water of a breaking wave, slipping through her fingertips and it was as if a great weight was released from her back, suddenly her fear disappeared and she ran splashing to hold on to Ivan's waist who took her in his arms.
-You see there was nothing to be afraid of, -he told her, without her paying the slightest attention, she already knew that.
After arriving at the train station, they went straight to the room where Ivan lived, which was part of a dwelling shared by three families; one of whom sublet one of their rooms to his brother.
-I promise I'll look for something bigger so we can be more comfortable -Ivan told her when he noticed the dismay on her face at the smallness of the place.
It was not that she was used to a very big place, after all, the house in La Villa was one of the smallest in the whole place, but, at least there she had her own room, which was even bigger than this one.
-With the sale of the house in La Villa, we can rent a small apartment downtown, tomorrow I will look for one when I go to work, one that we can maintain with my salary, as I no longer have to send money to my mother... -Ivan paused-. It should be enough for us to live in peace.
That night Ivan slept on the floor to give her his bed, however, Aurora could hardly fall asleep, much had happened in recent days, the sudden illness of his mother and its hasty outcome, as well as having to take care of everything related to her burial, had made her mature suddenly.
Now, less than a week after her mother's death, her whole life had changed, La Villa was no longer her home, she was in the largest of cities, alone with her brother, with no one else in the world to lean on. Her only option was to continue maturing.
This was her second day in Alessia, that morning Ivan had taken her to see what would be her new room, it was a small apartment with two bedrooms and a bathroom, it was on the third floor of a building of four.
-The place is not very well kept, it has some plumbing problems and the walls need to be repainted, but I think it will be fine for both of us, I must buy a stove to cook and a couple of cots for both of us, I will do that this afternoon, -Ivan explained, while he showed her the place.
Aurora walked back and forth and peeked into both rooms and the battered bathroom, it was not her house in La Villa, but it would be her new home. The rooms were practically the same, but only the window in one of them let in plenty of light from outside, she would later find out that the view from the other overlooked a neighboring building.
-I'll let you choose your room- he said. -Which one do you like the most?
-I prefer this one, -answered Aurora, almost without thinking about it, but with little interest, pointing to the most illuminated room.
-It's an excellent choice, monkey, -said her brother -- You've already seen the view from the window.
Aurora, reluctantly, walked to the window, to find a breathtaking view of the sea, a lonely and illuminated white sandy beach, which peeked between the surrounding buildings, she had not noticed before, but the rumor she heard since they had entered the apartment, were the waves breaking on the shore.
-What do you think? -asked Ivan, who was watching her from the door.
-I like it..., I like it very much, -she answered, smiling for the first time since she came to Alessia.
-Come on, you want to know the sea, - her brother suddenly told her.
After walking for a while on the sand, they sat down on a bench to shake their feet so they could put their boots back on, while they did so Aurora took a handkerchief out of her pocket to dry her hands and found the card that the man on the train had given her.
-Ivan, I forgot to give you this, -said the girl, extending the crumpled card to her brother.
-What is this, - asked Ivan rhetorically. -Who is this Luciano Morelli?
-He's a man who was talking to me on the train, he told me he could teach me how to read my aunt Julia's book, - answered Aurora.
-It says here that he is a professor at the University of Alessia, Faculty of Archaeology, - read Ivan, on the small piece of paper. -What exactly did he tell you?
-He asked me to look at my aunt's book and then asked me if I understood it, - explained Aurora - I said no and he asked me if I wanted to learn how to read it and I said yes, - said the girl with a shrug. Then he gave me his card and asked me to tell you to call him when we got to Alessia.
-Okay, I'll keep this, - said Ivan putting the card in his pocket -. I'll find out who he is and then we'll decide what to do, for now we must go back to the apartment, you'll be in charge of packing my things, while I go to work and look for what we'll need in our new room, if everything goes well, today will be the last night we sleep in the same room..., did you know you snore, -he said laughing.