Chapter XIII – Looking for salvation
Like every morning here on Elba island I woke up and rushed to the beach. Like every morning I put on my mask and the lycra shirt and I plunged into the icy sea of Elba. But unlike every other morning from the pier I took the direction to Madonna delle Grazie: something was waiting for me. The show through the mask was indescribable: a backdrop full of rocks and fishes of every color filtered through the most marine blue that exists. I used all my energy to swim in a regular way when my attention was caught by a small fish that came close to my face, without fear. I stopped to look at it well and I realized that he was talking. Concentrating, I realized that with a faint voice he was telling me:
‘Be careful! Never forget where salvation is’.
As I was trying to figure out what he meant, I felt my feet clenched by something that began to drag my whole body down to the bottom. That was not so deep, but enough to make me drown in a few minutes. I immediately saw the gloomy face of the beasty creature that was haunting me. He laughed, showing a row of intermittent teeth. I felt helpless and even if I tried to save myself trying to reach the surface using my arms and legs I could not. My life would have ended there if only in a flash I had not felt something grabbing my arm and pull me up hard, until I got out of the water.
‘Welcome’ exclaimed Nico, the German friend on whose boat I was going to have lunch.
‘Welcome’ echoed his girlfriend Leonia and a group of girls from their sailing school.
I found myself again with my feet planted in the world here, on a boat. And their Teutonic smiles made me perfectly understand where salvation is. Outside of me.
Is that where I have to look? Between those spaghetti with Germanic sauce that they offered me?
