Welcome to Gaia! ::

For the first time in at least a year and a half, I've gotten a good idea to write about! biggrin This one is going to require a lot of dedication and research on my part because it's something I've never tried before:

A story set in 19th century Italy.

It's not necessarily a historical fiction, but more fantasy fiction, actually.

ANYWAY, please leave a comment below. Critique is appreciated!




"Will you play with me, sir?"

An innocent question was cast in his direction. The man halted in his tracks, glancing down to see big, pleading olive eyes peering from a flushed, round face. The tiny girl stood on her toes, scantily clad in a mucky coat that looked as if it had once been white hanging about her thin shoulders and a beige scarf barely dragging in the damp snow in strips. Dirty strawberry blonde locks of hair stuck to her scrawny neck, matted and unwashed. Clasped in her bony fingers was a doll, its hair stuck to its fabric skull in clumps of fiery red yarn. Wide button eyes stared sadly into the man's own dark orbs, a stitched mouth grinning sorrowfully at him.

"Will you play with me, sir?" she repeated, her voice thin and strained. She watched the man with curious gray-green globes as he squatted to her level, black tailcoat scraping against a snow covered sidewalk. A mustache hid his chapped lips behind graying bristles. Time, recorded in wrinkles, creased his leathery skin. Warm brown irises gazed down on the girl from behind thin metal frames of the spectacles perched on the end of a long, straight nose. Puffs of thinning, graying hair stuck out from beneath a tall silken black top hat resting atop the man's oval head. Angular cheek bones protruded, giving him a sharper look to his long face and pointed chin. A large, gloved hand came to rest on the little girl's head.

"Sir?" A tiny squeak left the girl's quivering blue lips.

"What is a tiny, young bella razzaga doing out on the street like this?" Deep baritone rumbled from the man's mouth. "Have you no parents?"

The girl shook her head, lowering her gaze to the filthy doll in her hands. A grunt startled her into raising her eyes. The man straightened himself and replaced his hand onto her small shoulder, a gentle smile crinkling his eyelids.

"Are you going to play with me, sir?" She raised her voice above a strained squeak, curiously cocking her head to the side. He replied with a curt nod. A bright smile broke out onto her face.

"Where are we going, sir?"

"To your new home."

"With food?"

"Yes."

"New clothes? I haven't worn anything new in a long time!"

"Yes, little one."

"Are we going to play together?"

"Of course, little one."



There you have it! A very, very short preview/prologue.

Tip~!
"Bella" means "beautiful" and "razzaga" means "girl" in Italian!
"Il Mio Tesoro" means "My Darling" in Italian as well.

I don't know a whole lot of Italian, but I hope to learn some for the sake of the story, and because it's a beautiful language.