Salvatore Dalla

During the entire time we were in the air, I tried to calm Amapola as much as I could; I really didn’t want her to feel so insecure and afraid.
I didn’t feel good about remembering all the times I made her fear me. Generally, I get exhilarated when I sense that people are afraid of my presence, but with her, I felt something different. This feeling didn’t satisfy me; on the contrary, it disturbed me.
During the descent, Amapola tensed up again. I tried to distract her so she wouldn’t notice how quickly we were approaching the ground, but when the wheels touched down, she breathed a sigh of relief.
Two cars were already waiting for us. I dismissed Amadeu so he could go with Matteu in the other car. Strangely, I didn’t want to share Amapola’s company with anyone else.
“A castle?” When I stopped the vehicle to wait for the gates of the property to open, Amapola brought her hands to her mouth in surprise.
“Almost,” I explained. “Let’s just say it’s a smaller replica of a castle. Here, we only have thirty suites, ten lounges, five dining rooms, and a few other small rooms. If it were a real castle, it would have at least double the size of what we have here. It’s just a vacation property.”
“Wow, what modesty! ‘We only have thirty suites,’” she tried to mimic my voice, deepening it, and I smiled. “It’s beautiful here,” she sighed as we passed through the gates and she got a wider view of the place.
The architecture really did resemble a castle; it was a sight to behold. The tall stone columns stood out like watchtowers, and the gardens surrounding the property had the most incredible colors I had ever seen. We even brought some plants for the complex’s garden; there, they looked beautiful, but here, the same plants were magnificent in a way I could hardly explain.
I believed Amapola was feeling the same sense of peace I felt when I came here. It was as if she were in a distant realm, a parallel reality where only the beauty of the place held her attention. I agreed that in a first visit to this place, everyone should feel just like that.
She almost leaped out of the car as soon as I parked, eagerly admiring every place her eyes reached, but she had no idea of the real size of this place.
“Shall we go inside?” I called her attention after letting her admire the local scenery for a bit.
Since we took a little longer to leave Rome, we arrived around five-thirty in the evening, and the temperature began to drop. It wasn’t as cold as in Rome, but still quite different from the warm day we had.
“Yes, let’s go,” she replied, her smile suddenly fading, as if she feared what was to come.
“I hope you enjoy your stay, Miss,” I joked, giving a slight bow, indicating she should enter before me and trying to bring back the smile to her lips. I felt satisfied with my success.
“Grazie, signore,” she said as she walked ahead of me but froze again at the beauty of the place.
As we passed through the entrance doors, a vast hall opened up before us, adorned with statues and decorative objects. An immense staircase led us to the upper floor. This entire environment could be seen through gallery-like structures, reminiscent of a theater, arranged all around the upper floor, forming a circular dome above our heads.
The wooden floor highlighted the decorations, while the staircase was covered by a massive red carpet.
“Where should I put the bags, sir?” Amadeu asked, bringing Amapola out of her trance and back to reality.
“Place both in front of my room; I asked them to prepare the room next to mine for her,” I instructed, and he complied.
“Do you come here often?” she asked, taking a few steps forward and turning to observe the place.
“Whenever I can.”
“Let’s go upstairs; I need to get her settled and take a shower.”
“I need to redo the bandages; you showered, and we left right after. I forgot to redo them,” she said, concern evident in her voice.
“Don’t worry; Angela must have put the first aid kit and medication in my bags. Once I finish my shower, I’ll come to you to take care of them.”
“Let’s go upstairs, then,” Amapola traced her fingers along the intricate details carved into the entire staircase, and due to her careful scrutiny of everything around us, it took us a long time to reach the top.
“I never thought I’d be in a place like this; it’s too beautiful! Each sculpture, every image on the walls, the armors—it’s all so fantastic it feels like it came straight out of the movies,” she said as we walked down the immense corridor leading to the rooms.
“Good thing I brought you here.”
“Thank you, Salvatore,” she said as we approached the bags.
“Not for that, Amapola. Have you ever been to Palermo?”
“No.”
“Great, then take a shower if you want. And as soon as I’m done, we’ll go out; I’ll show you some places, and we’ll have dinner out as well. I didn’t ask them to prepare anything for dinner.”
“If you want, I can cook.”
“You cook?”
“It’s not like I’m a chef, but I can make pasta.”
“Great, maybe you’ll make us dinner tomorrow.”
“It would be a pleasure to serve you, signore,” Amapola said, and suddenly, I interpreted her words differently.
“I’m sure you will, Amapola,” I replied, opening the door to the room where I would accommodate her.
I watched her admire the entire environment, which followed the same style as the other rooms in the property. The room featured Victorian-style furniture, but unlike some areas where dark wood predominated, here everything was golden, with light beige upholstery. In the center of the room was an immense bed with a canopy, gold with beige tufting, and a vanity with a huge mirror, along with two armchairs that matched the carved wooden style of the decor.

She spun one hundred eighty degrees, taking in the entire environment, and I could visualize her as a princess dressed in a grand, flowing gown; she fit perfectly in this place. I considered that it wasn't just in this location but also in my life.
Surprised by the sudden thought, I quickly showed her around the space, including the bathroom where she would find the basic items she needed, then I stepped away to take my shower. I needed to cool my thoughts, and I believed I could only do that by being away from her.