Midweek surprise. This chapter is a compilation of letters exchanged between Elia and Demetri. I remember putting this in the first version of this story, but I couldn't in the following ones. I think it serves to show a little more of Demetri and how he tries to get closer to Elia in a different way than Alec. The text contains information about time skip. I can't wait to see what comes next.

PS: Yes, the title of this chapter is a tribute a little too literal in its content to one of Dostoevsky books.

[Twilight characters belongs to Stephenie Meyer]

[English isn't my first language, so please be kind]

8

Letters to the Underground

To: E.

I thought a lot about what I should write to you, because I know that my situation, for others, can be seen as an opportunity or a miracle, a gift perhaps, but for me it is a torment. Nothing could be more urgent than, first, asking your forgiveness for having appeared to you for the first time like that. I was foolish to imagine that you would think my appearance would be something considered normal. And afterwards, I showed up dirty and disheveled, two bad impressions that were completely my fault.

Regarding the opportunity in question, I decided to give up and use this chance to talk to you in private to ask you to, please, stop talking to that other person.

Please don't get me wrong, if I ask you this it is out of pure concern for your well-being, and that person will not do you any good, nor does he have good intentions. Reject him and if he insists tell me, then I will make him reconsider by any means possible.

I'm sorry that my first letter to you is with these harsh words, but I hope that your answer only confirms my requests and that we can live peacefully again, far from each other. Leave Volterra. It will be better this way.

No matter what you write, I will cherish your words.

D.

Ps: Leave your answer in the mailbox in the building next to the cafe, not many people use it as it is close to a narrow stone street.

xxxxx

To: D.

Hello, how are you?

First: is this an appropriate question to ask you? I don't remember the last time I wrote a letter, so I don't know the protocol. Anyway, I guess you don't want names, so I'll go with that. It was strange arriving at work and having an envelope waiting for me on the floor. Did you put it under the door? What if someone arrived before me?

Second: what kind of letter was that?! When you asked to write to me your face looked like a man in a romance movie (not that I'm interested, but it was a good reference), so imagine my surprise when I read a miserable page asking me to leave! Why should I? I didn't go after you, or the other person, we met by chance, then he appeared to me. If we were doing something wrong I imagine he wouldn't have even spoken to me in the first place, he doesn't seem like a reckless person.

Third: Who comes to get the letters? Should I keep watch and wait for you to appear from a tunnel to get them?

Fourth: How many versions of the first letter are there? I bet you wrote many until you gave up and told me to go away.

Fifth: How fast are you while running? Faster than a car?

Sixth: Why do you care about me? Why do you care if I talk to the other or not?

I think I also owe you an apology for reacting that way. I've just never seen a person like you before, besides the other of course, still, you're different. I just wasn't prepared for the cold.

I didn't tell the other about the letters, nor will I, I imagine you might want that too.

I'm sorry to be a torment to you. I won't write any more if you want, but I won't leave Volterra.

E.

xxxxx

To: E.

Please don't stop writing!

Sorry for the clumsy start, but your last words scared me. I recognize that I was arrogant in thinking that I could have some kind of power over your life, I'm sorry. If you're going to stay here and won't stop talking to the other I'd rather stay close by to ensure your safety. You don't know him like I do.

About talking about our situation as a torment, please don't think that your existence is a torment, far from it, it's just the fact that I wasn't able to protect you, making you know my world, even if superficially. We weren't even supposed to talk. I failed you.

About your questions... I won't reveal how the letters are reaching you, it could be dangerous. I am aware of the risks, but don't worry, the letter will always reach you. Stay away from the tunnels!

I'm fine, I think, better when I know the other has met you again. Do you really have to talk every day? Unlike him, I don't have that much free time, especially during the day.

Yes, I'm faster than a car, but I haven't tested it in one of the new Formula 1 models yet.

Fifty-seven versions of the first letter exist, most with a few sentences. That's why it took me two days to deliver it to you. I burned them all. Which brings me to another request: burn the letters I'm sending, get rid of them.

Revealing why I care about you leads to other answers that I can't give you right now. Isn't it enough to know that there is a person who is taking care of your well-being from a safe distance? Just know that the other is dangerous and that it would be better if you stayed away from him.

I just want you to have a peaceful and happy existence.

Thank you for keeping it secret from the other.

D.

xxxxx

To: D.

My peaceful and serene existence isn't very well, I'm glad you care. Why don't you show up? The other is with me almost every day, he likes listening to music and started teaching me how to read simple sheet music. I'm able to draw him a little better now when I have breaks from work. I try a lot of things, but I'm still not a master at anything.

When I ask about you, the other doesn't talk. At first I thought you were friends, but after I saw you at church I changed my opinion, now I'm sure. Is it because of me? I say this because you tell me to stop seeing him, but he keeps coming.

I would understand better if you told me what you are. I would really like to see where you live. There are others like you, aren't there? I know the other one has a sister, and you, do you have brothers? Maybe family or someone you care about?

I have a brother, a father and a nephew. My father is in Rome and I know you'd love to hear that I'm going back to live with him, but no, I'm still here. My father grew up in the countryside, in the north, he always talks about the hot summers and the old house he used to go to with his family, but he decided that his children would be academics, so he came to the capital, where he met my mother. My brother followed my father's footsteps until he fell in love with a girl from Volterra, but she died, so he's still here. My father says it's a waste. I hope I'm not another kind of disappointment for him.

Sorry, I think I talked a lot about things that you probably don't even care about.

It's a pity that I have to burn the letters.

E.

xxxxx

To: E.

Dear E, know that I am grateful to hear anything you wanted to say to me, any line you write directed to me I receive with great joy, because you thought of me while doing it. I know we haven't spoken in a week, but trust me, you didn't do anything wrong, it was duty that kept me out of town for a few days.

You're not a disappointment, I'm sure your father doesn't think that way, and if he does, he's wrong. As for your brother, I think I understand him. Volterra is the last connection he has with the woman he loved, which is why he's still here.

Of course I have a family, and even though it's not a family with blood ties, I appreciate them very much. The other is lucky to have a real sister by his side, but I'm happy with what I have. I care for each one of them. Even so, I can see some differences in our relationship between the other and his sister. They have a unique connection that perhaps only blood ties can achieve.

I would like you to answer me, have you visited Volterra before? Because I haven't seen you before, nor do I have any memories of you before this year, and I would have known if you had come before.

The other tries to brag about how much he sees you, but I don't care. Having your words with me is the most valuable thing I could have.

D.

xxxxx

To: D.

The guy from a romance movie. See? You always act like this.

I won't lie, thinking that you had gotten tired of me after such a short time made me sad, but the other kept coming.

No, I never came to Volterra before this year. I didn't come to my brother's wedding, I was visiting my grandparents in the countryside, we weren't very close before, maybe because of the age difference. He fell in love and soon I didn't exist, so he moved away and I only saw him once a year when he visited us with his wife. Then my nephew came, that's when we got closer again.

I don't know if you watch TV, but I'm trying to watch movies before bed. I discovered that there is a large collection of DVDs at home, mostly romantic comedies. Maybe if I focus on good, fun things, the same will happen to me. Today I'm going to see Romeo and Juliet at the insistence of my brother, who for some reason knows all the dialogues by heart, the 1968 version of course (I shouldn't make fun of him, I know all the lines too).

You told me about your family, that means there are more of you, much more than I thought. And about the fact that you had to stay out of town... What do you do? And why doesn't the other go with you? Is there some kind of hierarchy between you?

You say my words are valuable, and my presence is not? I hope you'll come see me at the cafe tomorrow.

E.

xxxxx

To: E.

I wanted to go find you, I really wanted to, but I couldn't. There are things happening that demand my attention, and if I succeed your safety will also be assured, so I'm working hard for it.

Honestly, I wanted to ask you again to leave Volterra, but you wouldn't agree anyway, and that would only serve to drive us further apart. I don't want to be the guy you only remember for the bad things and demands while the other is the one who enjoys your company. When things settle down, I promise I'll be there for as long as you want.

I wanted to tell you more, I really did, but I can't. Maybe I'll have to stay away for a while again, and probably the other one as well, something he's been putting off for weeks because of you, just don't leave the city, the walls will protect you.

I hope he is treating you with respect and from a distance of at least ten meters away.

D.

xxxxx

To: D.

Surprise.

I intercepted the woman who delivered the letter today, it's not smart to have her deliver something so personal, but I'm even more surprised that she's like me, completely normal. I'm writing this in front of her.

The other one told me last night that you wouldn't be here, and that you left two days ago, but that you should be back today, information that I received with surprise because I had your letter in my hands, but the woman confirmed my suspicion that you wrote the letter in advance.

That means you'll be back today.

I told the woman to come back and give you this letter, just to let you know that I'll be outside the walls today, in a place that I imagine you'll be able to find quickly if you try a little harder.

The other won't be around.

I'll wait for you.

E.