Chapter 1
January 1861
Diana was distraught: within two months she had lost both parents due to a cholera epidemic. It was not the first time that this terrible disease had afflicted her country of origin, Italy, but Diana had only heard stories about the terrible experiences experienced by those who had been overwhelmed by it. She had prayed so hard that her family would remain unharmed by this terrible tragedy, but this time, sadly, it had happened to them.
The father, a very popular carpenter in his small village, who had always broken his back to allow his two daughters to study, had fallen ill first. Diana had wanted to become a teacher, while Federica had always had a vocation to care for others and had become a nurse. She had met a Sicilian doctor and moved near Syracuse where she lived with his family.
Diana was left alone at home with her parents, but she didn't mind at all. The two sisters were very different from each other and in truth they had never gotten along very well. Diana was happy to enjoy her parents' love, even if they didn't usually show it to her much with gestures and words, but she knew that they loved her immensely.
The doctor had tried in every way to cure her father, but soon realized that he wouldn't be able to do it. Her mother had never left him alone, even when the doctor warned her that if she didn't take precautions she would get sick too.
Diana had been sent to live with neighbors as soon as her father showed the first symptoms, to prevent her from falling ill too and acting as a vehicle for contagion in the school where she worked.
Diana had protested, she wanted to remain close to her parents, but her mother had been categorical: she didn't want her to get infected too.
Reluctantly the girl had agreed to move. A few weeks after her husband's condition worsened, the woman also showed the first symptoms. Diana was desperate because she could not get closer to her family and when her father died, she fell into deep prostration. Her friends tried to console her and stay close to her, but Diana seemed to fade away more and more every day, until the news of her mother's death arrived: Diana went to bed and never got up again. She left her job at the school, much to the chagrin of her kids who adored her and it was also worth a visit from her sister who had returned to the village for their parents' funeral.
The neighbors were extremely worried about her physical and mental health and sought the help of the curate who was however rejected by the girl because she was also angry with God: why had he taken away both her parents? What wrong had those two innocent souls done?
One day, however, she received an unexpected visit: her students missed her terribly and had decided to go and visit her.
Initially Diana had not wanted to receive them, but when she heard their little voices coming from the living room, her heart opened again and she agreed to meet them: it was as if the barriers she had put up suddenly melted. The boys surrounded her and hugged her, insistently asking her to come back to them.
Diana didn't promise anything, but in her heart she began to think that maybe her life had a purpose.
Little by little she began to eat and go down with the others and within a month she regained her strength and was able to return to school.
She still suffered tremendously from the death of her parents and the departure of her sister who had returned to Sicily, she felt alone, but she knew she had a reason to carry on.
Her parents' house was disinfected and cleaned and Diana was able to return to live there, despite her neighbors and friends having offered her to stay with them.
She didn't want to be a burden to anyone, she cared about her independence and so she returned to her home.
Soon both the neighbors and the curate made her understand that, given her situation and being of marriageable age, she would do well to get married as soon as possible and the curate had also already found her a suitor who had repeatedly demonstrated his interest for her.
Diana knew that boy and just couldn't like him. He was only a year older than her but looked to be at least a decade older. She didn't want to share her life with a person who seemed devoid of interests and aspirations and above all she didn't want to get married to a man she didn't love.
The curate and the neighbors insisted and her sister also let her know that she agreed.
Diana didn't sleep at night and one beautiful day at the end of February, she made a decision: she would leave for America. Her parents had left some money to her and her sister and Diana would use it to try her luck in a continent that had always fascinated her.
She was sorry to leave the school and her students, but she couldn't sacrifice her life like that, even in America she could have taught.
The next day she wrote a letter to her sister and informed the curate and the neighbors who obviously tried to dissuade her, but she was adamant: either they would help her organize the trip or she would think about it alone.
Faced with so much stubbornness and the fear that she would fall back into depression, they decided to help her organize the trip and in early March she took the ship from Genoa that would take her to America.
The journey was very long and tiring, it lasted just over 60 days but when she landed in New York, Diana decided not to stop there but to go to the Wild West: that was the life she wanted to live, not a slicked-back existence but a in the open air, in the prairies, free as the air.
She succeeded in her aim and one morning in late April she got off the stagecoach in the town of Sweetwater.
The driver helped her unload her luggage and directed her to the only hotel in the city.
Diana was distraught, she just wanted to rest and as soon as she got her room, she put her bags on the floor, took a nice hot bath that she had asked to prepare for her and literally threw herself on the bed, after warning the boy at the reception not to disturb her. She woke up the next morning: she had slept for almost 24 hours straight.
She stretched, freshened up a bit in the washroom, then put on a pair of trousers and a beige shirt and went down to have breakfast. She knew that this was not exactly suitable clothing for a young lady, but she had many things to do, including looking for a house, a horse (she had taken some riding lessons in Italy) and above all a job. The trip had been very expensive and although she still had some money saved up, she knew it wouldn't last long. She decided to go for a walk around town first to see if there were any ads, but she only found one request for a girl for the saloon and it definitely wasn't a job for her. She then decided to go to the reverend to introduce herself and to ask him if he had any suggestions for her.
She headed to the church, entered and found the reverend who was praying. She waited for him to finish his meditation and then approached him.
"Excuse me, Reverend, can I speak to you for a moment?" she asked shyly.
"Of course miss, what can I do for you?"
"I just arrived in the city, I'm staying at the hotel and I'm looking for a job. I come from Italy, my name is Diana and in my country I was a teacher "
"Nice to meet you Diana. We already have a teacher here in Sweetwater, but maybe we can talk to her to see if she needs any help with the kids. Did you move here with your family?"
"Unfortunately no, I'm an orphan, my parents died of cholera a few months ago, first my father and then my mother. I have decided to seek my fortune in America to make a new life for myself" and her face darkened at the memory of her parents.
"I am immensely sorry for your loss. Remember that you can come and talk to me whenever you want if you need a little comfort. Let's go to the school now and see what we can do."
"Thank you very much, Reverend" and followed him.
The lesson was about to end and Diana and the reverend waited for the children to leave to talk to Miss Johnson.
"Good morning reverend, what brings you here? ", asked the woman.
"Good morning Miss Johnson, let me introduce you to Miss Diana, she has just arrived from Italy where she was a teacher. She's looking for work and I thought maybe she could use some help with the kids."
"Good morning Miss Diana, nice to meet you. It would be fantastic if you could help me, the kids are so lively and I need someone to help me manage them and look after the ones who are struggling a little more. For me you can also start next week, I'm sure you need some time to settle in"
"I owe you Miss Johnson, I don't know how to thank you", said Diana excitedly.
"I have to thank you, you will be of great help to me", replied the woman.
Diana and the reverend said goodbye and left. Diana said goodbye to the reverend and decided to go to the agency that sold houses in Sweetwater. When she arrived, she found a sign that said Mr. Stevenson was out of town for a few days and would return that Friday. Diana thought she could stay in a hotel for a few days since she had already found a job.
She went to Mr. Thompkins's store to buy some things she had not been able to bring with her from Italy and then returned to the hotel to have lunch. In the early afternoon she decided to go look for a horse that she would need once she found the house.
Mr Thompkins advised her to go to the Mc Miller farm and so she did. Mr. Edward showed her some specimens and she chose one with a light brown coat, with a white patch on the face. Mr Mc Miller offered to keep him on the farm for a few dollars a day until she found a home and Diana accepted.
She decided to go for a ride around the area to get to know the place a little and got on her horse called Spirit.
She wasn't sure where to go, so she let herself be guided by Spirit's instinct, which led her across the prairie and then took her to the banks of a river. When she emerged from the trees and found herself in front of the stream in which the green leaves were reflected, she was breathless by the beauty of the place, so much so that she didn't even notice the presence of a boy who was untying his horse from a fir.
"Good morning", he heard and jumped in surprise. She turned and saw a young man with tanned skin, medium-long black hair and two deep dark eyes looking at her.
"Good morning, I didn't notice your presence, sorry, I was enchanted looking at this wonderful place. If only I knew how I got there..."
It came naturally to her to tell him this little confidence which she regretted almost immediately since she didn't know who that boy was.
"You got lost? From your accent you don't seem to be from here", the boy asked her.
Diana dismounted from her horse and approached him saying: "Well, actually yes, I got lost. I arrived yesterday from Italy and wanted to do a tour of exploration of the surroundings and Spirit took me here. Too bad I don't know how to get back to the city."
"Is Spirit your horse?"
"Yes, I just bought it from Mc Miller who will keep it for me until I find a home. My name is Diana anyway, nice to meet you"
" I'm Buck Cross and I work for the Pony Express. If you want, I'll take you back to the city."
"Thank you, you're really kind. So you work for the Pony Express. Well, it will come in handy when I have to send a letter to my sister in Italy to let her know that I survived the trip."
"Are you here with your family?"
"No, I'm alone. My parents died a few months ago of cholera."
It was the second time that day that she was forced to remember her loss.
"I'm sorry, I didn't want to make you sad", Buck told her, seeing that a veil of sadness had appeared on her face, "I can understand you, I no longer have both parents either"
"I am sorry"
"Oh don't worry, I've been alone for a while now, but I found a new family at the station."
"I hope that I too will be able to make a new life here. I absolutely have to learn the way to come to this place, it's amazing. Then she looked at Buck's face and noticed his peculiar earring.
"What is that? ", she asked him without thinking. She always had the habit of speaking before reflecting on what was coming out of her lips.
"This? It's a Kiowa earring, my mother was Kiowa"
"Really? Interesting. I've only been here one day and I've already met a native, how lucky!"
Diana had read some of her father's books about Native American culture and was fascinated by them despite all the evil things said about them.
Buck looked at her curiously and incredulously, raising an eyebrow, which amused her, and then said to her: "I've heard all kinds of comments from people who find out I'm half Kiowa but no one has ever told me they find it interesting. You are truly a curious girl"
Diana was stunned by this statement and asked: "Why sorry? I'm happy to learn about new cultures."
"Well, usually when people realize I'm a half-breed they either insult me or run away in terror."
"Are you serious?" Diana asked stunned.
" Absolutely. But where are you from? Guys like me aren't well seen here."
"Well, then when and if I return to Italy I will dispel the myth of American intelligence. People must be really silly here if they are afraid of different skin color. However, it's not my case Buck Cross, you can rest easy with me."
"You really are incredible, I have never met someone like you, I swear"
"Happy to be the first then"
They looked at each other a little embarrassed.
"Well, shall we go back to town? It's getting a little chilly", he said to break the embarrassment.
"Of course, thanks"
The two got into the saddle and during the ride Diana told Buck her story and told him that from the following week she would start working as Miss Johnson's assistant teacher.
When they arrived at the hotel, Diana thanked him and Buck told her: "If you need anything you can find me at the Pony Express station. See you soon"
"See you soon Buck and thanks for showing me the way. I think I will return to that corner of paradise often"
He smiled at her and then got back on his horse. Diana felt a strange feeling in her stomach when she saw his smile. She couldn't take her eyes off his deep magnetic eyes and when she realized it she lowered her head so as not to seem too brazen. She followed him until he disappeared over the horizon.
After returning the horse to the farm, she freshened up and went down to dinner.
In the evening, locked in her room, she wrote a letter for her sister. She knew she had to do it to inform her of her arrival, but now she felt she had one more excuse to go and send the letter to the station: she absolutely wanted to see that beautiful boy who already made her heart beat even if she didn't want to admit it to herself. . She told herself that all in all her first day in the city had been fantastic: she had found a job, a horse and a new friend, or perhaps something more... She fell asleep with the image of those deep dark eyes in her mind...