The Full Story of the 1st Generation Vongola
Prologue: The Meeting
The sun was setting over the city of Cerignola, Italy, casting an orange glow over the roves of the houses there. The city streets were still damp from a noon rain that had passed quickly on to the east. There were not many souls about as the bustle of the day died down and the people returned to their houses so no one took notice as two young teens slipped into a small house in a rundown area of the city.
It was there that one of the two teens pleasantly conversed with the owner of the property.
The man who lived there had a family that consisted of his wife four children, and him. The man, whose name was Paolo, had known the two for some time and was not surprised by their visit, He had no way of knowing that the two teens were very aware of his hard circumstances. Paolo had been struggling to make ends meet and provide for his moderately sized family for a good while now, though he wished it to be kept a secret from other folks of the city. His pride would not allow for any acts of charity.
"If you wouldn't mind, Paolo." The shorter of the two addressed Paolo his voice low and kind, "We would like to borrow a few tools from your shed…for a project the two of us are working on."
"You should know by now that you don't have to ask." Paolo shook his head and waved them towards the door, "Just take what you need! I hardly go out to work in the shed these days anyhow." As they walked out the door they both heard him address his wife,
"Seems there are lots of young kids with projects these days. It was not even five minutes ago that the boy from the east side of the city came by to borrow some tools to."
"Really?" His wife responded sounding surprised, "I haven't seen him in some time, I was under the impression he had moved away." Just as she had finished speaking both of the teens noticed a red haired boy wearing a flat cap, walking off down the road. Disregarding the presence of the boy the two continued on into Paolo's shed.
Once inside the small structure, the taller of the two revealed a brown package that he had been concealing under the jacket he kept over his arm. He walked over to a work bench that stood to one side and placed the package down on it.
The shed was full of wood pieces of all shapes and sizes and the walls were lined with old craftsman tools, some of which had collected a small amount of rust over the years. The shorter of the two teens noticed the hand-sized, oilskin pouch on the floor of the shed. Having visited Paolo's shed before; he could tell immediately that it did not belong there. He leaned over and picked up the pouch to examine it. Pulling one of the beaded strings at the top of the pouch to open it he spilled the contents of it onto his hand.
He was shocked when a considerable amount of paper bills fell into his waiting hand. Now he was certain that this did not belong here. This kind of money could help feed Paolo's children for a month without a doubt.
Remembering the red haired boy that had been walking off down the street and the comment Paolo had made to his wife, he quickly deduced the owner of the money. It had to be him.
"It appears as if the boy who came for Paolo's tools before us dropped his wallet." He said addressing his companion.
"How reckless." His friend replied bluntly, his tone not at all bitter.
"We should return it to him." As he spoke he packed the money back into the pouch, "After all, losing this much money could be devastating." Images of Paolo and his family flashed through his mind.
"I doubt many people have that much money to lose in the first place." His friend spoke again in his blunt and truthful manner.
"All the more reason to return it to him." He insisted heading for the door to the shed.
"Hey! You with the red hair!" The shorter of the two teens called to the boy walking down the street ahead of them.
"Huh?" The boy turned around to face them seeming confused.
"We found your wallet in Paolo's shed." The shorter teen explained as they caught up. He held out the oilskin pouch to the other boy.
The boy sighed in recognition and rubbed the back of his neck, "Ah…That's too bad…" He looked at the two confused faces in front of him and continued, "You see, I dropped my wallet on purpose…I just couldn't stand by and watch Paolo and his family starve to death."
The shorter took on a slightly guilty look, but his eyes showed a definite spark of amusement, "I see. I apologize for that, but you won't need to be worried about Paolo and his family." His face broke into a small smile, "We dropped the food we bought this morning in Paolo's shed as well."
After a short pause to let it sink in the other boy broke out laughing, "You did?" The shorter laughed as well and nodded.
When their laughter had died away the boy shook his head, "How can I be so rude." He held out his hand, "My name is Shimon Cozato. I'm here on vacation with my aunt."
"My name is Giotto." He said and pointed over his shoulder at his companion, "And this is my good friend G."
The two shook hands neither knowing that the very moment they were in would be the moment that triggered the start of something that would take them farther than they had ever wanted to go. By the time they would realized, it would be too late to turn back.
