Home (extract)

His steps echoed on the cobbled street, and he knew he was going in the right direction; he clearly remembered that there were cobbles only in the oldest streets of town, leading to St Mary’s Church. He forced himself to stop running, for he knew he was safe now, concealed by the dark in the part of town where he was less expected to be found. He thought that there was only one person who could have guessed where he was going to hide. But he already provided to eliminate the problem earlier on. Know your enemies, was his first rule. He slowed down and thought how thrilling it always felt to be back home, whatever the situation was. It felt even better than last time, for it had been a long time and for he was both thrilled by the feeling of being where he belonged and by the excitement of having successfully eliminated the problem.

Ettore never understood my sense of displacement. Life had been so easy on him and he was too quick in his judgements. He knew me well for sure, but he hadn’t realized that I knew him better, especially in his weaker points.