Here are the first two chapters of my mystery novel. The next week will put the others, I accept criticism and comments :)

                                                                  Alessandro Zito

                                                                 Spider’s game.

The most beautiful thing .. that sunset kissing Barcelona , made her glow and vibrate. The sun sinks in the Mediterranean after descending the Montjuic, seemed to caress the city .. this thing was the most beautiful thing ..

My hands gripped the back of the terrace of Parc Gueel , breathing strong , I wanted to fill my lungs, until they burst, choke with that ' air all my sadness , submerge my past ... After that I knew that sooner or later it would be impetuous emerged from the ashes of what was my life before .. So many times I wondered when I would come to terms with everything I had left . When one of these monsters would appear again in front of me ? It was all over ? ..

The port .. the ships leaving .. all the cities that border the Mediterranean are similar .. my link to the past .. Barcelona mirror of my soul .. I knew very well , he knew how and when to hurt me, what happened when she saw again in my city , Palermo.

I picked the letter in his hands , touching the simple cellulose , I seemed to go through all my life , I saw again the smile of my friend.

The tears were rolling down my face , I tried to hold them back , I would have expected everything .. I dreamed of him again, to breathe again family .. other times I thought that fate would have overwhelmed me , the ghosts would come back , I would have dragged her out of that shell I had built and I would have stripped distruggendomi with sadistic slowness. Those were the nights of tears and loneliness ..

                                                                                  1

  It's two in the morning , Sunday . Here , also this Saturday is over, now begins the week.

- Hello Andrea , the next - is certainly in a week maybe , pufff . But unfounded time to say goodbye was what proved to be the most beautiful ... we kissed , a deep kiss , a kiss that filled me with her, I reloaded at least another seven days, a kiss that made me record her perfume, the softness of her skin, a kiss of course .. on the cheek. I'd had enough , " but what are you stupid Andrea ," I repeated this every time , " still do not understand that you do not even want to broth ." He was starting to go down a drizzle, turned on the wipers " we missed the rain, luckily I'm almost at ."

I was about to go home , in the car and then walked the last corners .. finally to bed .. I was tired and cold. I left behind me a Palermo messed up by traffic on Saturday night , and I was immersed in a suburb silent and deserted . Even the wind began to blow , the sides of the sidewalk heaps of garbage " that nice suck." Some cat sticking out from those abandoned bags .

In the desert you could hear drifting car "plan, careful that I am a fool above."

Here, finally, at home, parked the car, I walked toward my palace . It was big like a beehive , those buildings than once with the walls of the apartments thick, with the elevators old and broken heaters .

Of all the people I knew who lived there five six ..

" Here we are, " Hello - Chimay, cucciolotta , how are you? - To welcome my little dog a yorkshire giant , as soon as I saw that they were always parties - What have you done ? you pissed all over the house ? - .

After the patrol of ' apartment , I finally threw in bed.

" Humm I send a message? But you still have the 2.30 . Am writing sweet dreams , Kiss , it was a nice evening you were beautiful . " Done , let's see if he replies " ..

I go to bed and wait ..

" Hey, but .. who licks my face ? " - Ah, you're Chimay ! .. but now are they? ... heck one o'clock - I get up, I become aware of me, and the reality that surrounds me , I look at the screen of the phone, which sadly reminds me of the time only .. " Hummm I certainly responded to the message, as no .. " . Obviously I had not received a reply , I now had the time to wash , dress , and since it was Sunday and my personal diet , made ​​by myself gave me , eating junk food for nothing , get off the dog , and then .. and then there was the usual ritual of Sunday ! Ritual without whom this day would have lost all its charm.

- Perfect Chimay dear , it's two and a half games start in half an hour .. do your needs and return home . -

 I often talk with my dog ​​, I was talking and pretended to listen to me , the terms were those, long walks and long talks , it was a way to hide my loneliness , due to my solitary nature ? It was a question I asked myself often .

 At three would begin the ritual , this consisted in ' going to watch the games at the home of a boy who lives in my building , the only one I knew who had the pay TV . Every Sunday Sergio and I , another friend who lived in my same building , we found ourselves at his house, and together we spent practically the whole day.

It was a quarter to three , the street was deserted , a pale sun shone on the facade ocher , silence all around . I would have enjoyed the game and the company of friends, the next day as usual I would have taken the job at the post office at eight , would be shared so the usual routine , the gray life that I could not change . At the bottom of all the choices I had made , I had a degree in economics , I had found a job at the post office , I had taken a rented house , I was independent .. But I felt empty , that was not the life I dreamed or hoped , often thought of my sister Livia . She is living ! He had left everything to go and study architecture in Verona , he had a full life , interesting, traveled, had many interests .. But I was here , still, mummified , the wind knocked down trees and I stopped, the earth trembled , and I stopped, everyone was running , some others came slamming, but I always stopped. And all this with the feeling that the city I was being emptied . But these were the considerations of a madman.

- Hello Alessio -

Alessio was the master of pay TV, was truly the master of another lot of things, which would have made ​​the happiness of a man aged twelve and up! This guy tall and imposing , was staring at me with puzzlement , with a look that reminded him of Bud Spencer and Terence Hill when fixed in They Call Me Trinity , you sbafa all beans.

- Hello , who are you ? ! Enter from which started ! -

He had a sudden , it was a bear , his whole life was lived in those four walls , which he shared with his mother , Mrs. Silvana , that was pretty much the opposite.

Both bear him, so chatty and compagnona the mother . His father had left the house divorcing his wife many years before , he had stayed with his mother , that was his kingdom , rather, his room was his kingdom .. especially since he had become the place where he worked. Alessio was an electronics technician , he knew everything about computers and various technologies , he had turned his room on a computer lab , and I must say that his work was great. The mother was a ' Latin teacher , recently retired , rounded off the salary by giving private lessons .

- There is Sergio ? - I asked, already knowing the answer .

Yes - yes, that Sunday is the most punctual of death, is in - room .

 Here, in fact the room .. Alessio had taken the biggest room in the house, it was full of computers , it was a graveyard of computers, motherboards, video cards , mice, chips , monitors, cables, plugs, printers, all this on the sides of the wall, at the center a very large oval wooden table , on it there was everything , cd , floppy , boxes, music boxes , papers, notes , pens , colors , markers , around the table three rickety wooden chairs , side of an old sofa broken through and in front of , next to a PC sci-fi , a mega fifty- inch TV , placed on a movable iron , where they were also pinned four consoles . Beside the sofa , corner was the bed, on the bed, sprawled out with a beer in hand was Sergio .

- Hey Andrew, how are you? -

- Are you okay Sergio , timely huh? -

Describe physically Sergio is very simple, just picturing Pippin the Hobbit of the festival of the Lord of the Rings, and here Sergio . Skinny , goatee and glasses, straight brown hair , very matted .. dresses designer jeans and sweatshirts with cap, boyfriend for several years with a saint. Works in a bookshop , a lover of hip hop music, nice guy and generous.

- Now silence - Intimate, with a threatening Alessio .

Once the games, the face of Alexis was a Passover , his team , ah me, a bit ' of time in this part of won matches without stopping, and that me and Sergio instead lived the ups and downs .

- Well, well - Alessio said gloating - you have seen that domain , that game , that team! -

Here's Sergio intervened - but which team ! Have you had , as usual luck! Rather you need to thank us who still miss the races, we will end up give the championship! -

The dialogue , if you can call it , would continue for at least an hour , took on increasingly bitter tones , until Sergio , and I and Alessio disquisivamo forms of tactics and market interrupted us by telling us - Guys, tonight there is a delay , Milan - Rome , why do not we eat a pizza here and then we'll see the game? -

Alessio 's face took on a mimic of perplexity , anxiety and doubt - But are we sure ? - He said, in an unsteady voice .

- Of course , Milan- Rome ! - Said Sergio .

- But I have to talk to my mother , I do not know if he has already cooked , but you would want to do ? - Alessio we have to take a family and eat here waiting for the game . - I said impatiently.

After a few minutes of hesitation, finally the proposal was finally approved.

Alessio could not stand improvised , program changes , surprises . If you decided , for example, to go out, so out of the blue , he did not want to .. did a lot of stories , camped excuses , it became nervous and anxious, and in the end no one could schiodarlo from his room .. And if one reminded him that he lived in Palermo , and that there was life beyond those four walls , he retorted by saying :

- But look at that I do not live in Palermo , I live in my house - . This was a phrase that left their mark, reminded us that the city offered in reality little or nothing and might as well stay at home, with his TV , his computer and his console ..

The game drew to a close , the pizza was now a distant memory , and cardboard thrown on the table bore witness to its ancient presence .

- Four minutes of added time ! Well with all these changes it seemed to me .. - Alexius could not finish the sentence , which he felt to open the door .. She had entered Ms. Silvana , escorted by her yorkshire Alfred .

- Good morning guys! How are you? How were the games ? -

- Hello lady ! All right! - Sergio and I exclaimed in unison .

- Mom there ? -

- Nothing Ale , but look what a mess this room! - These were the words that gave way to a single combat .

- Look mom room is perfect ! -

- Perfect ? ! It's a pigsty ! -

The mother began to move the sea of ​​computer equipment that was on the ground , as soon as the child saw that he was turning his gaze to the table, and was about to put your hands in the chaos , he flung himself with his arms on the table.

- Wait Mom , what are you doing ? ! -

- I put in place! -

The scene was fun to look at, she frantically moving everything, and he repositioned behind that , while the dog was performing in a sort of dance, raised on both hind legs .

- I have always said to my son, found another place , open up a store , get out ! -

- I'm leaving mom , I'm leaving , I'll be moving from my father - was the usual threat of

Alessio .

- Good one ! - Silvana replied .

While I saw that Alfred was starting to point the wires dangling from the table, Sergio turned to us - About Moving ! -

- Look, I will never get out of here - said Alessio

- We know - continued Sergio - tomorrow should move to the new tenants in the house that belonged to Mrs. Sarastro , the woman who lived under your plan Andrea . The porter told me , than to take possession of the house are the grandchildren . -

Just finished the word grandchildren , felt a loud thud , the dog pulling those wires hanging, he dropped everything to the ground. Alessio went purple , began to inveigh against the dog , the mother first began to throw items , then we said goodbye and went off course followed by Alfred .

Took leave from friends , I went back to my apartment. Milan - Roma 2 2 Sunday was over ..

                             

                                                                                      2

  Working at the post office is not exactly easy, especially for those who are over the counter. And ' stressful , the continuous crowd, people lose patience , I get nervous , the time that never goes away. Luckily the post office where I worked was close to home, three blocks that I walked almost always on foot, except in those days on which erupted violent storms , strong enough to blow up the manhole covers . By now I knew all the people who came to the office , I knew their characters , their problems , even family trees . And of particular types there were quite a lot ' , including the cutest is Professor Nicholas. This gentleman often frequented the post office, was married with two children , is a professor of art history at a high school , has fifty years , a dazed expression , goes on the run , always carries a lot of payments , every time out a deck of cards consisting of bills , utility bills and fresh blackberries. The peculiarities of the professor are mainly two, the first is his kindness and courtesy, two things are very rare in this city , it is easy to see during peak a person who sells his turn to another , that true or false says he has problems . Well, the professor was so, it was a courtesy only . The other feature were his questions! Arrived at the counter , it was absurd questions , the type can I pay? Or remained stuck at me and after a minute he told me it's my turn ? With counter mail can withdraw cash at the post? His questions , gave me a good mood , did not do it on purpose, or because it was rinco , it was so , they were part of the character. I remember one time while making the turn , made ​​a call on her cell phone , apparently had to go to England and had to make a reservation of railway tickets ; was talking to the clerk English, had booked two full price tickets for adults, and had to ask other two reduced .. I still remember his words in English that sounded inside the post office - .. Ok and two tickets for Churchill ! - Wanted to ask two tickets for children, only that instead of saying to the children escaped Churchill ! Imagine the amazement of the interlocutor English , I could not hold back the tears . The professor, who was with his wife that day , not feeling understood by the poor caller had entered into confusion and began to sputter a language that was a mixture of Italian and English. His wife began to clamor against her husband , and asked if there was someone who could speak English. The people were concerned about seeing the theater that had arisen , then you saw the elderly in the local dialect said " Chi sapi stu inglise ? " " Amunì aiutiamo stu cristiano" and "cu è stu inglise? È suo figlio? [1]" .

While I was thinking about this story , I was driving along the great road that led from the post office in my home. The road is very busy , full of shops, street vendors selling fruit and vegetables on the sidewalks , bar, mini market, and many other shops, and in the midst of all this poking different betting shops, betting shops .

These were full of people who came in and out , like so many industrious ants in choosing combinations of numbers "winning" or possible outcomes of games , even improbable championships , trying so fortunate . In this country, now you produces an extraction per minute. Italians hope in daily stroke of luck that can change your life, and you play, you play , you bet on everything, and you participate in sweepstakes thousand .. is a phenomenon so widespread , that I still can not understand why all these games yes and no casino . " Dunno, I frankly do not know." I had just finished doing this that I found myself in front of the door of the house .. I crossed the corridor to the elevator and ran in front of two boys.

  A girl who might have a little more than twenty years , and a guy that showed no more than sixteen. The boy , he was very tall and thin, dark complexion, cute look and cute . The girl was very pretty, brown hair , fair complexion , dark brown eyes , had an air of simplicity and sympathy.

- Hello - I said.

-Take the elevator her as well ? - Said the girl . I did it with the head and after a few seconds we were all three in the elevator.

- What floor? - The girl continued .

- Fourth , you? -

Third - replied the boy showing a beautiful smile.

- Third ? But you are the new tenants of the apartment that belonged to Mrs. Sarastro ? -

The girl smiled , showing white teeth - Yes, we are the grandchildren, we moved this morning! However, we can also introduce - continued , still smiling - my name is Serena , and he is my brother Dominic. -

- Andrea Pleasure ! -

The elevator stopped on the third floor , so I hurried to greet them.

- For anything that I 'm on, it was a pleasure ! -

The two boys greeted me , I noticed the excitement that they had to open the door .. "I wonder what history will have behind them .. Every man a story .. "

I did not know , well the lady Sarastro , I moved two years in that building , my introverted nature , and the confidentiality of the lady, they made sure not to meet almost never . Just took possession of my apartment , the woman fell into a disease that slowly forced her to no longer move , was always getting worse , until one Sunday in May, when his heart stopped beating .

I was glad that the new tenants were boys , there was a need of young people . And then she was really pretty .. " What eyes , that smile .. " .

At home, I fed in Chimay , I was about to open the taps of the bath , so I could take a hot bath , when I heard a beep coming from my phone. I had arrived a massage , I took the phone and read it :

"I remind you , that the day after I graduate , at eight-thirty at the Ateneo .. I recommend not to miss. Sofia . "

I undressed, got immersed in the bath. Finally I relaxed , the whole burden of the day was melting off my shoulders . " And who if he had forgotten .. " I thought , referring to the message. "Well, what a surprise I ask " I did not want her only gift with other friends .. but I could not think of anything .. I had discarded gifts challenging , which obviously could be heavy , at one point I thought of the suitable gift " I can give the touch , the hat typical of those who graduated " a nice thought and a good omen.

"Tomorrow after work, step away from home , I take the car and go to the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, there is full of shops selling military uniforms, robes as a lawyer, definitely find a touch . "

The foam bath foam sticking out of the tub, the water temperature was just protective and reassuring .. " And yes , I will do so .. " .

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[1] Phrases in Sicilian dialect: "Who speaks English?" "Come on! Let's help this gentleman" "Who is this English?'s His son?"