Seeds of hope

Every seed thrown into the earth is hope that grows. Every written word is meant to stay. When a child is in his last chemo planting a zucchini, a simple gesture can become poetry. And if the rain erases the label on the jar, another child who is healing can practice with the doubles. Everything can become an opportunity to learn. There is a road where many cars usually pass, now it is quiet and a car that stops on purpose to congratulate makes even more noise. A good gentleman has given away hundreds of plants, another good gentleman works for free to put them in the earth. These flowers are for us and for all the people who now do not pass but will pass. Gone are the days when seven bold young people arrived at the door of the Italian school at the same time, all happy to be able to start studying. Now that door still hangs the image of Aldo, our faithful guardian who now protects us from heaven, still keeps out those looking for trouble, now helps us keep the virus out and maintain a kind atmosphere with those inside. Beppe has changed his service, he is no longer at that inexorably closed door but takes care of daytime reception.

Now we can no longer make new registrations every day, but in the Arsenal there is never a shortage of things to do and if everything is still outside where cars and people no longer pass, inside there is a tingling of people who continue life and also the school that has now gone into four. There is the class for women of female hospitality, one for men, there is Elisabetta who is with Maxim, there is another small class. Each separate, we no longer even take the break to avoid contact. We respect safety distances, we put on a mask and even gloves. And then there are the video calls. Celestine is proud to let us into her home. Usually you do not enter into this intimacy, usually the school is a slightly more neutral place but in this time everyone seems to be growing the desire to share and so it even happens to enter someone else's house.

Mariaclaudia Brunello
NP may 2020