‘This is your room, Mia,’ she says, pushing open a door, revealing my spacious new bedroom and all of its Tuscan charm: cinnamon-coloured walls, terracotta tiles and a wooden beam ceiling. ‘I hope you like it.’
‘It’s gorgeous,’ I say, glancing around the room. A small desk with a tiny lamp and a rickety wooden chair sit in the corner of the room. I’m particularly drawn to the three paintings on the wall, all oil, mounted in gold wooden frames. One shows a beautiful young woman in a field of sunflowers; the second features two lovers on a vintage bike riding down a steep hill, hair blowing in the wind; the third is of the same couple sitting on a rustic swing entwined in each other’s arms.
‘I’ll leave you to unpack and freshen up and then I’ll show you upstairs. I’m going to start preparing lunch soon,’ she says.
The door clicks shut behind her. I want to leap onto my four-poster double bed and shriek with exhilaration, but I tone it down in case Stella can hear me. Not that I think she’d care.
‘I hope you’re hungry, ’cause I’m making pasta all’arrabbiata!’ she calls out from down the hallway.
‘Perfect,’ I murmur, as I push open the shutters. My bedroom window overlooks the front garden, where the most sumptuous view of the town centre of Impruneta lies before me, inviting me to explore its intricacies. It fascinates me how in Italy, the expansive countryside will always belong to its very own town centre, no matter how small. I admire the vintage swing in the garden. Two thick ropes are flung over the branch of an oak tree, attached to a weatherworn plank of wood, the mint-green paint peeling. It’s the same swing from the oil painting.
I retreat from the window and flick open the lock on my suitcase, letting the contents spill out over the bed, but I decide to delay my unpacking. Instead, I return to my open window, where I allow the invigorating breeze to penetrate my soul for what feels like hours. I feel like I’ve arrived somewhere I should be.
Actually, I know I have.
ISBN: 9781489246868
TITLE: THE MEMORIES THAT MAKE US
First Australian Publication 2018
Copyright © 2018 Vanessa Carnevale
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