Roots

 

Sarah was obliged to take a period of rest from work. The reason was the convocation by a notary for an inheritance of a father’s aunt with name Elide, of whom she had no kowledge of existence. The fact had more surprised her, from the moment that her father has said her always to be alone at the world. She arrived to notary in the afternoon, this explained that she was the unique heir of an old property belonged from more a century to her family. 

– I understand miss your surprise, but you don’t worry, I’m sure that the farm likes you very much. – the notary said her – Your aunt Elide always has curated personally it and it is in a good condition. 

Now I give you the keys of the gate of hall and the map to reach it, I will provide also to advice the guardians of your arrival. To visit it and to stay will be you to know something more on your aunt and the family of your father – 

– Thank you, you are more gentle – said Sarah and left the study to go to farm. 

Following the directions of the map she was to run along  ivy-covered walls, and in the point where was indicated the entrance Sarah found in front of iron fence of ancient forging. She got out of car and looking she said – How strange! I think taht I have to see this fence yet somewhere – 

She so took the key that the notary had given her, and opened. In front of her it showed a worderful boulevard of weeping willows, at two sides ran some low hedges of privet, in undulatory path, and some mixed orchards. The scent that it felt it was more pleasant, some trees were in flowering, others had already the fruits. 

She got back the car and she walked slowly. 

While she drove, sometimes, she came near the wheel to observe from windscreen the willows, and she felt raped from the beauty and from the majesty of those giants. Also that boulevard seemed her to had yet crossed, they were weak memories perhaps from when she was baby-girl, and the sensation to know that place grew still more strong when she was in front the house. 

Around the open place that it enclosed its, it ran a row of maples which leaves in autumn took spectacular colours.  The house was constituted of two bodies: one had a sloping roof, so inclined to touch the terrain, and a facade all glass window, that next to was a cube in terracotta bricks at the gound floor all around turns a portico. 

In front the house two old spouses waited her, they was the guardians. The two just she got down the car approached and introduced themself – Welcome miss, I’m Ezio and this is my wife Olga – 

– Hello I’m Sarah – shaking hands to both.  

– Come in, I show you the house – said mistress Olga – my husband will provide to take the baggage in the room and tomorrow he will show the rest of farm - 

The mistress Olga showed her for first the cubic body of building, at the gound floor there was the living area and at the upper floor the sleeping area, then she showed her the body of building with sloping roof. The roof was all in wood, at the ground floor there was the living room at double height on which it  a room of upper floor.  

– I have thinking to accomodate you in the aunt’s room, – said Olga indicating the room at upper floor – so you will have way to know something of her. You know when you were a baby-girl you are been here, but perhaps you don’t remember! – 

– when I entered in the farm through the boulevard they came in mind some remote memories – replied Sarah. 

Under the bedroom there was the study where Elide worked. From facade of the study, also its glass-window, it entered at a portico and from there to a rose garden. The roof of the portico was for half a pergola covered from a tree crown that it was just in front, in seeing it Sarah was fascinated by it and she exclaimed – How wonderful! It’s centuries old! – 

It was about a beech, its tree trunk showed the signs of the time but its tree crown is still lush. 

Then, Olga begun to say – It was planted from her great-grandfather in occasion of his marriage, and it saw to grow up all the descendants of his family except your father and you. This tree saw many beautiful moments of your family, and then it saw also those bad. If only it could talk it could narrow of all what it saw and heard, and that I can tell you only what was refered to me, from your aunt and the from the people that they live in this town from more time of me – 

While Olga goes to prepar the dinner Sarah was remained alone to take familiarity with the house. She does a bit walking in the rose garden, the roses in bloom had a wonderful scent, then she returned at portico and she sat under that beech. She thought to the smells of that place, at the history of her family of which she didn’t know nothing, to father whom said always to be alone in the world. She would to know, to understand and only in that place she could find the answers to the many requests that they crowded her head. That place hided the rooots from which all begun. 

It was the hour of dinner, Sarah and the two guardians had dinner in the dining room, and then they transfered in the portico, where Ezio and Olga narrated the story of the father of Sarah and the lady Elide. The father of Sarah and his syster were remained orphans from youths, and they had broken the relations in retinue of the marriage of Elide with a despicable man. 

The two, after the death of man, had to revised to reconnect the relations in only one occasion, that in which also Sarah was at the farm, but the rapprochement didn’t happen. The lady Elide hadn’t own sons would have to review her grandson, but her brother had to prevent and Elide had to respect his will also after he was dead. 

After the story the two spouse retreated for the night, but Sarah, despite the tiredness she hadn’t sleep, and therefore, she took advantage to look the photos of family that they were framed on a dresser in the study of aunt. Between the many photos, in one, she recognized her father in youth and her little that she was next to, just under beech in front of portico. It was true, if only that tree could talk it could narrow of the games of childs around its, of the smiles of adults in seeing them, of the tears  paid for the tragedies and of that paid for the wichedness, of a family and of its roots, of its hystory, of the events, of the joys and the pains that they had accomplished. 

Unpublished short story participating in the themed competition "Alberi" – year 2008