DON EMILIO
Don Emilio had been a parish priest for the best part of forty years. He had entered the seminary straight from school. From an early age he knew that that was what he needed to do. It was a certainty that had been with him as long as he could remember. It wasn’t a conscious choice or a decision he’d taken, but a basic need. His family and friends recognised in him a gentleness of spirit, a humility and unceasing generosity.
He had served in several parishes since his ordination, his last twelve years having been spent in the small parish of San Michele Arcangelo. The church itself, along with the rectory, was perched on the side of a cliff, with its back to the granite. The hill seemed to shelter the building from behind, but the front was exposed to the vastness of the sea. On a clear sunny day like today, the view was breathtakingly beautiful. The surface of the sea shimmering in the sunlight, the seabirds skimming along the surface and the clear blue sky all brought a smile to Don Emilio’s face. He took a deep breath of the clear air and was filled with the simple joy of being alive. Of all the places he had worked, this place had a special hold on his heart. Even on days when storms raged and the sea crashed angrily on the rocks below he felt at peace here.
His parishioners loved and respected him. Despite the position of the church, high on a cliff, people came every day to see him. Some brought food, some came with gossip and others brought their problems, trusting his wisdom and kindness to guide them.
Yesterday had been a long day for Don Emilio and this morning as he sat down to his breakfast of crusty rolls and fresh cheese with the smell of freshly roast coffee filling his kitchen, his thoughts turned to the events that had shaped it. He’d had the usual visitors: Elia from the bakery first thing in the morning. Stefano had been and brought some firewood and had mended the broken latch on the vestry door. Senora Vicenza had struggled up the path with some clean laundry. She’d stayed a while to chat and tell Don Emilio how pleased she was that the young girl he’d found to help her had settled in well. She was a hard worker, although there was a sad air about her. The young man had been to collect her yesterday. She would be staying in the town for the two days of the wedding and then he said he would bring her back. Stefano had taken Vicenza back home in the cart. Then his old friend Pietro had come. In his large leather satchel he’d carried up some spicy sausage he had made. This, together with some fresh tomatoes from the garden and a glass of chilled wine they ate for their lunch. The weather was warm and pleasant and they sat outside in the shade of the old pergola talking and making plans for repair work that was needed on the church. Pietro then took himself off to do a bit of gardening while Don Emilio sorted out some paperwork. It was late in the afternoon when a distressed Stefano had appeared in the rectory garden.
‘Don Emilio! Don Emilio!’ he called as he ran towards the house. ‘Something terrible has happened’.
As Don Emilio came out he continued,
‘The girl has drowned!’ His face plainly showed his distress. Don Emilio didn’t need to ask which girl for instinctively he knew.
‘How did it happen, Stefano? Tell me.’
‘The wedding..’ he gulped for air and started again ‘The wedding was on the ship. Everyone was enjoying themselves and suddenly they say she slipped overboard. Several people dived in to rescue her, but no one could find her. They searched and searched. Some people said they saw her, some say they saw two or even three girls. The stories are muddled, but no one found her. She’s drowned. She’s gone.’
Don Emilio had sat down at the garden table with Stefano and poured them both a glass of cognac.
‘She was so beautiful, such a nice girl. How could this happen?’ Stefano was in shock. ‘Senora Vicenza has grown to love her too, even though she has only been with us for such a short time. I left her sobbing with Cecilia comforting her.’
Don Emilio thought back to another day not so long ago when Senora Cecilia had come to see him to tell him about the new girl who had moved to the village and how she was settling in. She had described the beautiful girl who had come to live with Senora Vicenza and told Don Emilio that she couldn’t speak. And - that she hadn’t found out yet who the handsome young man was who had come with her on that first day, but had then disappeared – but that she soon would! Senora Vicenza had told her that the girl was a distant relative who had come to help her look after the church and vestry as she had begun to find it difficult climbing up and down the steep road. Senora Cecilia said this with a sceptical tone and a knowing look to which Don Emilio had raised a questioning eyebrow.
Don Emilio now smiled to himself. He could have told Senora Cecilia what she had wanted to know so badly. The young man had been to see him a few months ago, but she probably wouldn’t have recognised him. He was dressed simply and had walked up with Stefano. He’d come in on the ferry and was delivering two parcels of candles to the church. If she had seen him she would have dismissed him as ‘of no importance’. At this point in his musings Don Emilio shook his head as he thought of Senora Cecilia and how she liked to keep a tight grip on the important events which affected the community and how she was oblivious that such an important person had been right under her nose without her suspecting a thing!
The young man had come to deliver the candles and then had asked Don Emilio if he could take confession. Don Emilio led him to the church. As they entered the church, the young man had taken off his hat and genuflected before following the priest to the confessional.
‘Forgive me father’ he had started, after Don Emilio had settled on the crimson cushioned seat on the other side of the grille.
‘I’m really very sorry but I haven’t come for confession. I need to speak with you on a very delicate matter, and to ask for your help.’
The young man had gone on to introduce himself and present his problem.
He was Prince Eduardo of Gargino. His father had ordered him to be married and preparations were in hand for the big day. Eduardo, however, had met a girl. A beautiful girl. He had found her on a beach near the palace. She looked like she had been washed up by the sea, and Eduardo, mindful that he himself had had a narrow escape from a shipwreck, had taken her under his wing. The girl, however, couldn’t speak. Maybe it was the shock of what she had gone through. But, even despite the fact that she couldn’t speak, they had become friends. She was a beautiful dancer, and Eduardo told Don Emilio how he spent whole evenings with the girl watching her dance. She always had a smile for him – she took his mind off all the serious matters of state that occupied him during the day. Up till now she had lived in the beach house but with his impending marriage he must make other arrangements for her. His friend Lorenzo had family who lived in the village. They talked of the kind and wise parish priest who always found a way to look at problems differently, and he wondered if Don Emilio could tell him what to do for the best.
Don Emilio blessed the Prince and told him that he had come in answer to his prayers. For several months Don Emilio had been worried about his housekeeper, Senora Vicenza, who was elderly and he felt needed help. He had been thinking where he could find someone suitable. He would speak with her and ask if the young girl could come to live with her in the village. The Prince left with a lighter step and hoped the girl would agree to the arrangement.
When he told her, the girl had been distraught. She clung on to his hand, smiled through her tears and danced for him and it was obvious that she didn’t want to leave his side. He too was saddened but nevertheless explained that he was to be married. His life would change and he couldn’t look after her anymore. In the end she agreed but the sadness in her eyes broke his heart. It was arranged that she would live with Senora Vicenza, but that the Prince would come and collect her just before his wedding day so that she could join in the celebrations.
And so he had.
Don Emilio looked out over the sea, watching as the sun caught and spread its light across the ripples on its surface and imagined he saw mermaids, he rubbed his eyes and looked again – of course they were surely just seagulls skimming the surface of the water.
