As I said earlier, this day was a holiday for the people here. Some god needed honoring with large amounts of grapes and lamb meat. Late in the evening the entrails and improper parts would be given to me to make for my siblings and I. Not tonight, was the last thing I remember consciously thinking before everything changed. It was just after dawn.
Another man visited our shelter just as my brother drifted to sleep. Unlike most people he knocked. Twice. Unusual as this gesture was I didn't respond quickly. "Who's there? Leave my brother alone, he's too hurt to do anything right now." I stepped towards the door making sure not to disturb the others. I couldn't reach it to keep someone out but I did put myself between whatever was coming and my family. A very dry hollow voice responded to my inquiry, "Young lady, I mean no harm to you or your siblings. Please permit me to come in". I opened my mouth, a whisper sounding like 'yes' echoed in the small hut we shared. The makeshift door opened slightly revealing our visitor. He was clothed from head to toe in a very long, very black robe. A hood enveloped his face allowing no light near his body. The early morning sun silhouetted his frame casting an opaque shadow on my sleeping siblings. "Soraya, thank you for letting me in. I want to help you. I've been watching you and your family".He closed the door behind him and raised his hands to remove his hood.
I cannot say shock ran through my body. I cannot say it didn't. I knew his face.
I'd seen it years ago. We were dragged to a town in Italy by some new mistress of the house looking for new fabrics. She'd heard of a new dying process for reds and purples.
We arrived near the end of the day when the sun had nearly set. People were dancing in the street wearing robes of deep red with yellow belts. I remember the mistress' delight in the city, "Oh, I can't believe all the colors they have here! And look at the buildings, they tower over everything we have at home". I flinched, rattling my chain, when she said 'home', I'd almost forgotten the meaning of it. "Soraya", she pointed to the largest building, "look up there. Those people must be the master merchants." I didn't care to look up, humor her, or even acknowledge where I was, but I did. I saw four men draped in very long, very black robes on a balcony overlooking the city square. In later years there would be another figure added to this picture. He would be like the sun in human form. The setting sun cast a shadow over the square creating an eerie silhouette of the citadel. Those faces were all very pale white. There was a solitary man standing as far to the left as possible. He appeared agitated and restless from standing still for so long. And they were still, very still. The three persons standing in the very center of the balcony and closest to its edge kept my attention the longest. "Ilias, look at the people on that balcony. They don't move. I wonder if they are royalty". Ilias's eyes widened as he saw the men. "I've never seen people so pale. Are they sick? Royal people don't get sick they have to much money for that. Amina, look up there behind mistress' head." He pointed and she looked. Only she didn't seem surprised. She yawned, actually, as if these people were very natural and familiar to her. "I've been seeing these people in my dreams since before I last saw mother. The three in the middle are our friends. They will help us many years from now. At least that's what I dream." Then she yawned again. I took my attention from her obviously bored expression and looked back at the men on the balcony. One of them appeared to mimic the same bored expression of my baby sister. Another to the right of the center had frustration set hard on his face. I scanned the crowd trying to see what would frustrate this man but I could find nothing. The man most center of the balcony was looking right at me. We were still walking behind our mistress so I didn't notice when she stopped. I nearly ran into the back of her staring at this 'man' but my brother yanked my ankle chain to get my attention. Released from this momentary revelry I looked back up. He was still staring at me. The more he looked the more the man to his left became frustrated. I heard my mistress calling us to a merchant to carry some fabrics. I did not look back up at the balcony.
"I know you. You're from Italy…