In the twelfth chapter, Elena has returned to her routine in Pavia, but the tranquility of the city hides an internal storm that shows no sign of abating. As evening falls and sunset paints the city with a melancholy light, the protagonist finds herself torn between the desire for normality and the feeling that something vast and dark is about to overwhelm her life. A phone conversation with Matteo brings her comfort, but it's not enough to dispel her doubts: can she really confide in him? Does she have the right to involve the one she loves in the mysteries surrounding her?
Meanwhile, the news reports an unprecedented crisis in the Italian psychiatric system, signaling a sudden and disturbing increase in admissions. An unexpected phone call suddenly changes the course of her days: Elena is urgently called back to the hospital, just as she is contemplating a decision that could change everything. Torn between a sense of duty and a need for answers, Elena realizes that the line between the real and the inexplicable is increasingly blurred. During a sleepless night, between dreams of escape and fear of the unknown, Elena realizes that her quest is far from over—and that the choice that awaits her is perhaps the most difficult of her life.
Between silent sunsets, national crises and the call of a parallel world, Elena finds herself facing the most difficult choice of her life, suspended between duty, truth and the fear of crossing the border of the unknown
Stories. The Mysteries of Oltrecolle. Chapter 12: Shadows over Pavia
That evening, the Pavia sky lit up with a soft, grazing light. The sunset cast golden shimmers on the tiles, stucco, and cornices of the old houses, and the city seemed wrapped in a veil of melancholy stillness. Elena, with calm movements, was watering the flowers on her small balcony overlooking the Ticino River, among red geraniums and violets eagerly absorbing the evening's coolness. The scent of wet earth mingled with that of leaves, while the light breeze caressed the linen curtains, billowing them gently toward the dimly lit room. She could hear the neighborhood life flowing in the background: the muffled voices of neighbors, the clatter of footsteps on the street, the occasional distant laugh. It was the everyday noise that gave her a sense of security, yet that evening everything seemed distant, as if a layer of glass had been drawn between her and the rest of the world.
The phone's ringing broke the silence, vibrating in the suspended evening air. Matteo's name appeared on the screen, and without realizing it, Elena smiled, a light, slightly melancholic smile that lit up her face.
She picked up the phone and leaned against the railing, letting her gaze drift over the parapet, where the sun was slowly dipping behind the bluish silhouettes of the distant hills."Hi, Elena... Have you already become a model citizen, or are you still thinking about our mountains?" Matteo's voice, full of his usual affectionate irony, reached her ear like a hug, bringing with it the echoes of the days they spent together.
Elena lowered her eyes, holding back a smile. "Actually, I feel like I left half of myself up there. I miss the peaks... I miss you," she said, her voice softer and more sincere than she'd have liked to admit. She immediately felt her heart race at that sudden admission.....
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