Chapter 25

I was about to walk towards the swimming pool when I saw Papa hurrying down the steps in front of the House. I stopped to wait for him. 

"I have something for you," he said. 

"Oh thank you, Papa! What is it?"

"The book. If you don't like it you can throw it away. But maybe you better know that this is a special edition. Look..." and he pushed the cover aside to show me the binding. "And in a different canvas, to make collectors happy. So if you don't like it you can always sell it and make a few lira for your shopping."

"I don't think t

hey sold it, partner," I smiled at him. "Now I'll take him to my room. Are you coming to the pool too?" 

"Yes, Daughter. I am going to the pool too."

Later, back in the room, I took the book in my hand. Too bad they had printed the less brilliant colors of the cover. And that bell tower... it seemed drawn with a ruler and that gondola seemed to come out of the bridge and not the river. Yep, they had redesigned the cover without maintaining its character. Pity. 

I turned the first pages. There was something written in pen: "To Adriana who inspired everything that is good in this...