During the second part of the trip, Carlos, in one of the last seats of the plane, embarrassed and having nothing else to do, devoted himself to recognizing the territory he was heading to and which seemed to be very different from the African jungle that appeared in his children's stories... What would happen when he landed at the airport?
- I will not be separated from her! - he said forcefully within himself, as he thought of the fateful moment of coming ashore. She'd probably have her family waiting for her. He would be left alone in an unknown country of incomprehensible languages, Arabic and Tigrinya, as he had read in the travel guide, with whose reading he was trying to make his journey easier and help him reduce his blood pressure.
And the fateful moment of getting off the plane came. He should have stayed at a safe distance from the woman he loved, but when they took out the luggage, he followed her.
- Aphrodite, please give me a chance. I tried to forget you, but I can't. I came here for you. I'd die if I couldn't see you anymore.
- Please, leave me alone. I'm a widow, I'm going back to my homeland. That's all over now.
- I just want to see you again, I want to be with you, don't leave me alone.
- Hail Aphrodite! - was heard near them.
- Cugino Paolo. Chè allegria! Come sono felice di rivederti!
- Anch'io, cara cugina. Ma chi è il ragazzo?
- Un francese che viaggia nello stesso volo.
- Niente di te?
- No, figurati.
- Excuse me, sir. Can I travel with you? I'm going to the same place as Aphrodite. I'll pay for your trip.
- Cosa?
The cousin looked at Aphrodite. The other man knew her name. There was something between them.
- Non accettare. Andiamo subito. Dopo ti spiego. I'm sorry. You can't come, Frenchman. Happy holidays, - said the young lady, closing the door of the van behind her.
Carlos ran to the other side and almost begged the driver to take him with them.
- Mi dispiace - was the answer.
The vehicle started leaving a considerable cloud of dust behind its wheels. Carlos stood still, sunk in tragedy. In the distance he could still see the sign for the van. Pizzeria Sorbillo.
- Are they Italian? he said to himself, and thought he had to keep reading the guide.
When he approached his suitcase, it was missing. From then on, he was going to travel light of luggage. Fortunately, he had his backpack, wallet and guide with him. He approached the information desk and was told in an understandable francoitaliano about the direction of the pizzeria and how to get there by bus.
That night Carlos had an excellent pizza dinner at Pizzeria Sorbillo, a fairly successful approach to the original house in Naples, under the perplexed gaze of Aphrodite's cousin. Luckily the place also offered rooms and Carlos did not hesitate to stay there. He knew his beloved goddess would be around.
In a spartan room, with a mattress on the floor as the only luxury, Carlos spent a night worried about his African future. To avoid this, he continued to read the Eritrean guide and saw its interesting places, its currency, its languages and its history. Then he understood why his host spoke Italian. Eritrea had been a former Italian colony in Mussolini's time.
The next day, at breakfast, he began a conversation with his cousin.
- Are you Italian?
- Io? No, ci parlo italiano perché mio padre fu soldato con gli italiani tanto tempo fa. Capisci? Mio padre... soldato.
- Okay, I understand. Your father soldier.
- Tu resti qui per quanto tempo? Quanti giorni, capisci?
- I don't know - he said with a shrug - I want to see your cousin.
- Sei veramente innamorato di Afrodita? Amore?
- Yes. I want to live with her. Forever - said the young man, having his index fingers joined together to expand the possibilities of being understood.
- Parlerò con lei. Vieni qui a mezzogiorno. Capisci? Alle dodici qui - he explained with the help of his fingers.
After a long walk to the Catholic Cathedral, also a legacy of the Italians, at 11:30 Carlos was already sitting in the pizzeria, nervously awaiting the arrival of his beloved. He imagined that this would be the final day in his pretensions to fall in love with Aphrodite.
At twelve o'clock, the woman of his dreams came in. She wasn't going alone. She was accompanied by two old men she imagined would be familiar. They sat at another table and seemed not to notice his presence. They were served their food and began to eat, as they discussed quietly, while they glanced briefly at the lonely young man. Even from a distance, though he did not understand what they were talking about, he felt an evident disagreement between Aphrodite and the two men. When they finished eating, the conversation seemed to fade away. At first glance it seemed that the old man sitting in front of the young woman had said the last word.
After Carlos had already eaten two pizzas to spend time and when he felt his hopes were waning, the waiter approached his table.
- Lei è invitato alla tavola dei signori di là. Mi accompagna, per piacere?
The gestures left no room for doubt. He was asking him to go to Aphrodite's table.
After the introductions, he was invited to sit on the free seat between Aphrodite and the more assertive old man, his father. A conversation followed between the father and the young man, which Aphrodite would translate without being allowed to participate.
- I've heard that you are after my daughter. Is this true?
- Yes, I'm completely in love with her. I'm sure of it. I want to live with her.
- But she doesn't want to go back to Europe anymore.
- We can live here. I don't care about that. I just want to know if she wants me. I know Aphrodite now is a widow. We met at a gym in La Ciotat. But I still don't know if she likes me, I mean, if she likes me as a husband.
He told us that your profession, whatever it is because he did not want to describe it to us, is not very honest.
- My life in France is over. I want to start a new life here. I am strong. I can drive. I can work in anything.
- We are Eritrean Catholics and as such we believe that in order for the Most High to forgive the sin of heretics, they must suffer a penance. Would you be willing to do the penance assigned to you by our priest?
- I will do whatever you tell me to win your daughter's love, - he said, staring at her for a long time without blinking at all, though he only got a glimpse of her between surprised and intimidated.
The second old man, the young woman's uncle, who had hitherto remained silent, introduced himself.
- I am the patriarch of Asmara and uncle of Aphrodite. In order for you to aspire to the love of our daughter in faith, you must repent of your sins, fulfil your penance, and be baptized as a new man. Then we can bless your marriage, so that God may give you children to make you happy until the end of your days.
- What am I to do? said Carlos, almost interrupting him.
- If you really love Aphrodite you must go to the land of Aphar to do your penance. You'll work first. Then the shaman will give you the sacred drink so that you can wait in full purity for the flower to come out of the tree of the dragon's blood. You will remain there until his flowers come out, bathing in its blood. Bring Aphrodite a bunch of dragon flowers and then you'll be worthy of belonging to our tribe. Are you willing to face the challenge?
- Yes. Whenever you want.
- To the caravan!
They