Chapter 37 THE CURE

• Three days. It took me just three days and I didn't want to go back, I wanted to stay here forever in Italy with Alex. Even Chito's attitude had somehow thawed towards me. We had fallen into an uneasy type of relationship where, whenever we went out for sight seeing, he would tell me to take a picture of him and I would oblige with a beatific smile.
• Italy was such a beautiful place with different interesting tourist attractions. The coliseum, an enormous amphitheater. It was the very first place we visited. The guides told us gory stories of how gladiators had to fight huge and scary beasts and how most times they didn't stand a chance as they were torn to shreds. I closed my eyes trying to imagine it and was pleasantly surprised to hear the guttural shouts of people urging the gladiators to come out, and the beating of the battle drums as they ushered them into the massive theatre.
• Chito's eyes bulged with awe as he took in the length and breadth of the gigantic coliseum with hushed reverence. In the pictures he was in, I could see the faint sheen in his eyes as if he was on the verge of crying. I knew they were tears of joy, definitely not sadness. Alex was such a cheery guide, and because he had come here before, he knew almost everywhere, the ruins and attractions there in. He took us to the Vatican City and I was wowed. There, we saw Peter's Basilica, the Sistine chapel and the frescoes by Michelangelo, and so many other beautiful statues.