The skin near the fingernails of the right hand remains dry, uncoordinated in relation to the gait of the finger, a symptom of how regularly it is eaten. On the desk there is a lighted table lamp. There is no other light in the room: either the small bulb, or the light coming through the only window in the room. A candle is lit, exceptionally, next to the bed, on a pile of notebooks, either squared or lined exercise books, where notes have been taken of past lessons, of exams yet to be given.
All you need to know about her is that she is a woman, she is delicate and that she talks a lot in public because she pretends: she likes to be outgoing and determined. She likes to make it seem so. In reality she is shy, a shyness veiled by the simple fact that she is, by nature, a decisive person. When someone meets her, they are sure they are dealing with a confident, scrupulous person, projected almost heavily into the future.
She studies medicine and she is about ten exams behind. She pretends everything is going well, she pretends that during class she takes notes in all those notebooks stacked by her bed. Regarding her course of study, no one asks much. They all take it for granted that it will go well, that the graduation is getting closer and closer. No one asks questions, because she is austere in her gaze, determined in her movements and careful. “She is one of those who will make it”. They say this at dinner, where the whole family is now, on Christmas Eve. One of her aunts, while stuffing herself with pandoro or panettone, who knows which, shouts: “This girl is a prodigy. We will hear about her…”. Meanwhile, the father gloats as he pours himself wine; the mother raises a glass, only the sister hints at a smile, but it goes down. The two young women ask permission to go to the room.
The sister locks the door. She pulls the present out of the wardrobe, but the unofficial one. She apologises, but she could not pack it in time. In the bag is a notebook. Our protagonist had not even noticed, but it is one of her “notebooks” from the anatomy class. For entire pages, definitions and possible exam topics are interspersed with beautiful drawings. The sister counted them: there are about a hundred drawings, at the expense of a few pages of notes. Then there is the second gift, a canvas and a paintbrush.
They say nothing to each other. They tell each other nothing else. But now she knows that there is someone to talk to, someone who understands, someone who can support her in the choice of her future, who will not make her feel wrong. The two sisters, who had grown apart, lost over the last few years, now find each other again, by candlelight. “At least say it to me, get it off your chest”
And now she falls back into her whirlwind of emotions, sinks into her thoughts but now she knows she is not alone. She looks at her sister, the way she is sitting, the light of the candle only hitting one part of her body: it would be a perfect picture. And so, as she seems to sink into her melancholy, she takes the gift. “Don’t try to move!” and she begins to draw.
Grandi Storielle 🖌📚 