CHAPTER FOUR
The first think that I felt was a lot of pressure where my nose should have been and breathing hurt with every inhalation. I opened my eyes very slowly afraid of where I might find myself. When my vision focused I was in a plain white with a bunch of monitors around my bed. I tried sitting up and pain shot through my mid-section, I gasped as a monitor sent off an alarm. I saw movement in a far corner of the room, there was someone shifting in a chair. The person got up and walked with a little stiffness over to my bed, I saw that it was Lidia. "Aruto you're finally awake! Stay there and don't move I will go get the doctor," Lidia told me as she hurried out of the room losing the stiffness she walked over with. A few minutes later she returned with a big burly doctor behind her. He walked over to my bed and I couldn't help but be a little intimidated by him.
"Mr. Tsukuyomi the injuries that you sustained are a broken nose and several severely bruised ribs," The doctor told me. "Can you tell me what happened? Ms. Cirelli said that she found you unconscious in a dumpster." Dumpster? What was I doing to get put into a dumpster? I thought for a minute then remembered.
"Where is my violin?" I asked the doctor he just shook his head and I looked to Lidia for an answer.
"Aruto, I am sorry but your violin is missing it was not with you when I found you," Lidia explained.
"Then they got away the last thing I had to remember them and I couldn't even protect that," I said letting my head slump onto my chest feeling useless and ignoring the throbbing in my nose. I felt that I would most likely never hold or play that violin ever again.
"I need to go check up on other patients I will be back to check on you later," The doctor said turning and walking out of the room.
"Aruto there is still a chance that we can get your violin back don't lose hope. Do you remember what they looked like?" Lidia asked gently. I thought back and realized that their faces were never in enough light to make out any clear facial features.
"No I never got a good look at their faces. Most of what I remember is kind of fuzzy until I woke up here. Lidia could you tell me what your side of the story is? What were you even doing there? I though Andre walked you home," I asked and Lidia dragged her chair over to my bed before beginning.
"It's true that Andre had walked me home but I needed something that was at the restaurant. I didn't want to bother Andre since he had already left and was probably home already. I was on my way back when I saw you run out of an alley. You ran right past me without noticing me so I followed you I stayed a ways behind so you wouldn't see me, when I got to you two men ran and past and I looked for you from in the alley they came out of I only found you because you were moaning or something," she told me.
"The men that ran past you, Lidia, did you see them clearly they were the ones that took my violin," I said getting a little hope, but I could see Lidia's face cloud over and she looked uncomfortable.
"Well like you said earlier it was dark so I'm sorry but I was not able to see their faces either," Lidia admitted probably seeing the hope leave my face she added quickly. "If I remember anything I will tell you then the police."
"Its fine, I don't blame you. Thank you for coming here I really appreciate it," I thanked her.
"Aruto when you get out of here would you like to come and live at my house?" Lidia asked leaning forward. It is true that I have been staying at sleazy hotel like places and it would be better to have a steady home to be in.
"Yeah I would like to stay with you after this. I will help out around the house," I accepted and from there Lidia left to go home since visiting hours were over.
THREE DAYS LATER
"Aruto you can take this spare room right here," Lidia showed me opening a door off he long hallway. "The bathroom is right across the hall from you. My room is at the end of the hall please stay put of my room other than that the rest of the house is yours to use or explore," Lidia told me. "I'll leave you here to get settled in, if you need me I will be in the kitchen preparing dinner," Lidia told me. I murmured my thanks and with that she turned and left the room. Now alone with my thoughts they turned to what happened on the night my violin was stolen. I felt the absence of my family and my violin like a large hole in my heart. I knew it's just an object and the person or people is what matters but I didn't have the people with me so my violin was the next best thing.
I didn't have that much stuff while I have been here just a few articles of clothing and the clothes that I came here in from home but that was it. It didn't take long to unpack but I wasn't ready to go out and talk to Lidia yet. I know that she means well but she has and probably never will completely understand what my violin really means to me. I tried reasoning with myself that it wasn't her fault I only met her a few weeks ago, but it makes me wonder what I will do now in the restaurant since my job was to provide music for the customers.
Maybe I could be a waiter or help Andre in the kitchen because if I'm going to stay here I want to help ease the strain of me staying here from Lidia as much as I can and provide financial aid. I feel that I have grown attached to everyone at 'A Little Taste of Italy' they help each other even if they have to go out of their way to do so, unlike the people at 'Easter' where it's sink or swim. I hope Ikotu, Utau and my dear wife are doing well. As I thought this an idea came to mind of how I could get into contact with them. Why not call them? Kazuomi would probably have no way of knowing I called if they say nothing about it. Getting excited I left my room and hurried down the hall wondering why this never occurred to me before.
"Lidia, do you own a phone?" I asked bursting into the kitchen then grabbing my stomach as a twinge of pain went through them from moving too fast.
"Aruto you shouldn't move around like that yet. I do have a phone why do you need it?" She warned me pointing to the phone on the wall.
"Thank you Lidia I need to call someone then I move around so much," I thanked her walking over to the phone and picking it up. I gripped it tight as I heard the dial tone. "I'm calling my family they are in Japan right now," I started to dial the number for a long distance call with shaking fingers. Then I dialed in my home phone number and waited holding my breath. It rang once then a voice came through the ear piece.
"The number you have dialed is no longer in service please hang up and try again," I felt all the hope that had built up to this moment turn to anger and I slammed the phone down into its port.
"Damn that Kazuomi!" I yelled out slipping down the wall to my knees. "What are you doing to my family?" I was deeply regretting leaving my family in the first place. "I shouldn't never have agreed to leave, what can I do know? I'm a terrible husband and father," I put my head in my hands knowing that was the only phone number that I knew to contact them with that didn't go through 'Easter.' "It was for nothing but thanks anyway Lidia you are a good friend," I told her with sincerity and she put down whatever she was holding and I heard her footsteps coming towards me but I didn't look up at her.
"Aruto, I'm sure that your family loves you no matter what," Lidia comforted me I felt her hands on my face as she gently pulled my face up so I was looking her in the eyes. "If you miss your family so much then why did you leave in the first place?"
"It's because that I love them is why I left them, to protect them. That retched man threatened me by bringing them trouble and to think I thought of him as a friend all those years," I confessed to her not caring how pathetic I looked at the moment. Lidia was kneeling in front of me like she was consoling a child and it actually felt nice to be treated like a child. In that one afternoon and deep into the night Lidia and I grew closer as friends and when I went to bed that night for the first time since coming to Italy I didn't feel like I had to I had to shoulder this burden all alone. After this everyone at 'A Little Taste of Italy' knew why I left Japan and came to Italy and I feel that it brought us all a little closer together as co-workers and as friends. I settled down into a daily routine and grew to like it.