Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

“E quindi uscimmo a riveder le stelle” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

The room was unfamiliar. I didn’t know how I got there. I ignored many other things, like the fact that my life was about to change.The day that changed my life wasn’t a day; it was a night. Not Halloween night, as you might expect from Stephen King’s words.For me it was Valentine’s night, 2018. Cold enough to call a cab, mild enough to forget my jacket at home.Martin was at the Estates Theater, cursing at everything because I was late. I wasn’t there but I imagine him whispering (but not too much) that Valentine’s celebration was not f...

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“Serendipity” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

Let me tell you a Mediterranean story no one has written yet.It is about Aurora, a little girl. According to Italian language she shares her name with the sunrise. But Aurora’s childhood, perhaps her whole life, with the Sun has much more in common. It almost depends on it, not only because Aurora enjoyed spending her time in the sun, biking across the village where she lived with her family, but this is not the point, or maybe it is. Everything can make a point. Certainly the spot where to debate the argument is not here.The true point amon...

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“Just a bookseller?” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

I imagined you were old, not because of the husky voice you may have, neither because of the deep lines that may cross the skin on your hand; I was just guessing, just dreaming.The shadow hiding your face, an old face, was slightly growing and slightly shrinking before your nose, as your thumb fumbled through hundreds of yellowish pages.It was not the same one, I knew it. "Except for the size,” you said, “except for that, they are different.” But they were old, and your nose was between them, between old pages of ancient paper books; and thi...

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“The Bell Keeper” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

Submitted to Contest #126

** Capital punishment.** The paint was not of the most recent and neat, but the Tic-Tac-Toe’s Xs and Os staining it resembled fine embroidery. Flies found death in the old wall’s cracks and printed their last shadows on it, like stamps on a postcard nobody is pleased to receive.The four walls surrounding him had the night sky as a roof and dark stones as a floor. Handy was not sure it was night but if it was then that night was the longest the world could expect. Thirty years. Thirty years in the dim light of something that lo...

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“Did Ockham know fairies?” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

If someone had to be recognized for their contribution to critical thinking, I would definitely mention William of Ockham and his Theory of the Truth. ‘Among several options the truest one is the simplest one,’ he believed. So is believed by philosophy books that every morning and in all parts of the world go to school, packed in colorful backpacks. My daughter Dorota is too young to attend a philosophy class. She enjoys playing with dollies and balls. I’m happy about that, despite the fac...

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“Rosy and Pop” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

Submitted to Contest #104

As the sun lowered under the hill the TV turned on the main national channel whilst all the family waited for the show to begin and for the supper to be served. They sat in the dining room despite the table under the outside porch was a better option for a summer dinner, at least to me. My neighbors had different preferences. I did not know them personally, but from the spot I used to seat I could observe their behavior and forming an opinion about them. I never was an outgoing neither I did not enjoy moving from a place to another, even whe...

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“The boomerang” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

Submitted to Contest #103

I’m Og. Until yesterday my life was perfect. Perfect because whenever the boomerang ran in the air I knew exactly what to do. Day by day and wave by wave. Wave by wave because my friend Holly (no matter the weather conditions) used to bring me at the seaside to play boomerang together. He threw it whenever a wave approached to the seashore, not earlier and not later. I played in a different way; randomly, I would say, meaning that I threw the boomerang whenever I caught it, and I had a lot of fun.Holly brought his arm back toward his forearm...

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“An invitation from Mr. C” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

Submitted to Contest #100

There are two reasons why I cut milk out of my diet. The first one is that on the monthly magazine I subscribed to for free there was an article claiming that milk is an excellent meal for toddlers, but when coming to grownups things are not the same. 'Adults are lactose intolerant,' the first line of the second paragraph read. Finally something I agreed on, considering that I could finally stop inventing a second reason why I did not like milk, because the second reason was never the same and never true. The thing is that when you dislike s...

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“The lunar eclipse” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

Submitted to Contest #92

In a world where light was powered by the Sun and stored by the Moon, a lunar eclipse was the blackout. * The right night to catch the wild animal had come. The Shaman told them. “Why?” One of the hunters asked. “Because Silver Ball is full. Look how perfectly round it is! Look how it floats in the blue-dark waters above your head,” the Shaman said. “You will see, when its silver claws will stretch on the wild animal; you will catch it, wherever it will try to hide,” he added rubbing his hands greedily. The hunters moved among low bushes and...

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“The Lost and Found Office” by Santina Forlenza-Pihuličova

Submitted to Contest #90

Since Michael Angelini landed in New York, his parents did not stop reminding him that yes, he was not in Italy anymore, but he still was Leonardo Da Vinci’s descendant. He did not have to come up with a new Mona Lisa, they said, but with something acceptable at least.Michael was enrolled at the NY School of Art, and painting was his passion. He never painted anything good; his landscapes were fine ‘from the technical point of view,’ Professor Cracking said, however none of his canvas was selected for the yearly award.Besides painting Michae...

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