26

Veronica

"This is Civitella in Val di Chiana."

"It looks abandoned." It was so dark.

"It's not. Not completely. There are a few festivals during the summer, then again in September at the harvest, but apart from that, it's quiet."

I followed him up through the crumbling stone gate, looking around, reading the signs of the shops—a baker, a butcher, several little cafés. When I stumbled, he caught me and held my hand the rest of the way until we were at the top of the village in an open area, which must have once been part of the house that now lay in ruins. Grass had long covered the ground, and at the very center of the now small field, he stopped and looked up. I followed his gaze and stared in awe at the black sky dotted with diamond stars.

"No light pollution," he said and sat down.

I sat beside him.

"It's amazing."

"My mom used to bring me out here." He lay back. "On the bad nights."

I followed, and we both watched the sky.

"Take care when fighting monsters you don't become one,"