Nonno‘s Bench

A warm breeze floated gently through the town, the sun was slowly setting, painting the sky with a universe’s worth of colors. The waves flowed calmly in the distance, making themselves nearly undetectable from town aside from the subtle sounds they sent through the streets, and the scent with which they aromatized the area. As the cherry on top, the moon was full, already illuminating anything in its path even though it was not yet at its peak. If nothing else, the evening looked perfect. However, the unfortunate truth is that looks can be deceiving.

Something in the air drew Aria outside, which was strange because there was virtually nothing that could drag her out of the comfort of her bed. The only difference today was that it was her late grandfather’s birthday, which frankly made her want nothing more than to curl up in bed and sulk. She had very little to remember her grandfather by, especially since his favorite cap that he would always wear had mysteriously vanished a few weeks ago and was nowhere to be found despite the fact that she had turned her apartment upside down to find it. Regardless, something told her she had somewhere to be, so out she went. Thankfully she had a plethora of outfits to choose from since she had spent most of her days wearing pajamas she prayed would never see the light of day. She took a look out the window, the streets were fairly busy, far busier than she would normally be comfortable with, but for some reason she couldn’t shake the feeling that she had to be outside. Once she was ready she slowly made her way downstairs and out the door. She didn’t have a plan on account of her not intending to leave the house, so she decided to figure it out as she went. As soon as her feet hit the cobblestone road right outside the door to her house, her mind was brought to an image of a bench.

The bench was where she spent most of her childhood days with her grandfather. They did everything together, they fed ducks and rode their bikes and swam and watched clouds and talked to the stars and ate gelato and anything else two people could think of doing together. She paused for a moment, eyes dampening ever so slightly at the thought of him. After he had passed Aria made sure to fulfill his last request, that his ashes be planted into a tree, and she placed the seedling right by the old bench where the two spent most of their days. She hadn’t been to that bench ever since. Though just the thought made her heart twist, it had been too long since she paid her grandfather a visit, and so she slowly but surely made her way towards her bench.

She had moved away from her hometown after her grandfather’s passing, meaning the walk to the bench was taking much longer than it ever had when she was little. So much so that it was beginning to get dark out, and she could see the moon and starts peaking out of their usual hiding places. She looked up. It was a full moon. She paused and smiled.

Nonno used to love full moons, she thought to herself.

Once she reached her hometown she followed the same steps she had taken all those years ago, they were ingrained into her brain no matter how much time she spent away. She skipped down the same streets, turned at the same corners, peered into the same shops, all like she did long ago. Her brain had gone on auto pilot for more of the journey, until she got to the end of one particular street. Normally she would’ve turned left, but this was the street where she and her grandfather used to get gelato. Typically, gelato was a treat for the way home, but something pulled her in. As she neared the shop, she saw a promotion in the window. It read,

 “Buy one scoop, get one scoop of pistachio free!”

Once again she paused and smiled.

Pistachio was nonno’s favorite.

Without thought she bought a scoop for herself and one for her grandfather, one cup of stracciatella and one cone of pistachio. She continued her trek to the bench, making sure to not begin her gelato before she got there, it would be rude to eat alone, after all.

Eventually she found her way to the bench. It was an old wooden bench, chestnut, to be exact, with dark iron fixtures that had almost blackened with age. It stood right in front of a small railing, which was the only thing that stood between the road and the sea. Between the bench and the railing stood a tall oak tree, the only feature that had changed since Aria was a kid. She slowly stepped closer and closer until she was right in front of it. There were plenty of people walking around, but her bench was empty. She placed her grandfather’s gelato next to the bench and set her cup on the seat. She scanned every bolt and edge and dent she could see before turning around and taking a seat ever so gently. She ran her fingers over every inch of it while reminiscing over the countless year for which this bench had been her whole world. As she was nostalgically admiring her bench, a voice called out to her.

“Aria! Mi bambolotta! Come stai?”

It was the street cleaner, the one who had worked in that same area since Aria was young. He was close friends with her grandfather and would sit and chat with them whenever he could. Seeing him made all the memories immediately flood back, and a wide smile quickly lit up her entire face. She forgot everything and walked up to greet him.

“Vincenzo! I am well, how are you?” she called out.

“I am good my dear, I have not seen you in a while, but it is wonderful seeing you today especially.”

The two took a moment to look at the bench, and more importantly, the tree behind it.

“I came to visit Nonno, she explained. And to bring him some gelato, ” she added, with a slight smile.

“Ah, I see. Aldo would be so happy to see you here again, mi carissima. I am so glad you were able to pay him a visit. The tree has been growing beautifully and you deserve to see the fruits of your labor. I promise your nonno is watching down with cigar in his hand and a smile on his face.”

This made Aria beam.

“Unfortunately, I have to get back to work now, but I hope you will visit us more often. Ciao, dolcezza.”

“Ciao Vincenzo!”

Aria waved goodbye and once he was out of sight, she turned back around to face the bench. Only this time, there was a basket on top of it, one that hadn’t been there before. Puzzled, she hurried over to see what if could possibly be. Once she reached the bench, she began to inspect the basket. The backet was filled with lemons and peaches and cherries and plums and figs and apricots and all the other fruits that grew on the fruit treats her grandfather grew in his garden. Over top, a note laid gently. The note read:

“Angioletta Mia,

It has been too long since we have last seen each other. I hope you know that I miss you every day, farfallina. I am so proud of you for staying strong without me, but I promise before long we will meet again.

Con Amore, Nonno

p.s. Grazie for the gelato!”

Aria could not believe her eyes.

Was this some kind of sick joke? How was this even possible?

She quickly checked around to see if there was anyone nearby who could’ve done this, but for once, the streets were empty, save for a man she saw dart around the corner. She chased after him, hoping to get some answers, but he disappeared into an alleyway before she could get ahold of him. Defeated, she walked back to the bench, until something the man had dropped caught her eye. It was her grandfather’s old cap.