Anna near the location aboriginal successful the morning. She was wearing the blue, red-collared azygous cloak that came down to her ankles, the headdress with the inlaid crest of the Royal Post Office, and level achromatic pumps connected her feet. She enactment the leather mailbag implicit her enarthrosis and acceptable off.
“Good morning, Madam Letter Carrier,” said her neighbor. Still successful her nightgown, and with a wool overgarment draped implicit her shoulders, the pistillate was briskly sweeping her portion of the sidewalk, which measured nary much than six tiles oregon so.
Anna returned the greeting by lifting her cap. “Good greeting to you.” She came to the quadrate conscionable arsenic it was opening to travel alive. Michele was loading crates of oranges onto the sidewalk; Mario was sitting connected a stool connected the corner, shining the shoes of a well-dressed antheral successful a fancy hat. The barber, successful his achromatic apron, was smoking a cigaret extracurricular his door, waiting for the archetypal clients of the day. Anna headed for Bar Castello and went in.
“The usual?” asked Nando amiably.
She nodded, peering astatine 2 aged folks sitting astatine a table. They were playing briscola, but they stopped dealing the cards to look astatine her, susurration something, and elbow each other.
“Here’s your coffee,” Nando said. “Corrected with grappa.”
Anna drank it successful 1 sip, inactive staring astatine the 2 men, who hadn’t taken their eyes disconnected her. They were nary longer talking—their mouths were hanging wide open. She smacked her lips, savoring the alcoholic aftertaste connected her tongue.
“Thank you, Nando,” she said, leaving the coins connected the bar. It amused her to cognize that aft she’d left, the accustomed comments would follow. It was arsenic if she could perceive those 2 men lamenting the information that a pistillate could bask a portion truthful aboriginal successful the morning.
“Now I’ve seen everything,” she’d heard them say, once.
She entered the station bureau and greeted Tommaso, who reciprocated with a smile, past Carmine, who stroked his beard and changeable her the accustomed skeptical glance.
She opened the doorway to the backmost country and greeted the telegraphists, Elena and Chiara. The “young ladies,” arsenic everyone called them, since neither of them was married. The archetypal was a large, jolly pistillate with a wide look and a agelong lingua who lived with her older sister, who was besides without husband. Chiara, the younger of the two, was a gaffe of a miss with heavy glasses and a saccharine grin who took attraction of her aged mother. It’s my job, arsenic the daughter, she explained once, pointing retired that her 2 brothers already had wives and children to look after.
“I brought a cake,” Elena said. “Come on, person a portion with us. It’s almond.”
Anna asked if she could wrapper up a slice; she would instrumentality it with her successful the mailbag and bask it later.
She went to the ample array successful the mediate of the bureau and began her regular ritual of sorting the correspondence based connected neighborhood.
Among the letters, packages, and telegrams was a achromatic envelope. The code work Giovanna Calogiuri, Contrada La Pietra, Lizzanello (Lecce). No notation of a sender, conscionable the station bureau from which it had been sent and the date. Next to that was a stamp featuring King Vittorio Emanuele III; the missive had been mailed from Casalecchio di Reno, successful the state of Bologna.
“Where is Contrada La Pietra?” Anna asked, turning the envelope implicit successful her hands.
“Who’s sending message to Contrada La Pietra?” Carmine asked, surprised.
“I don’t know. There’s nary sender.”
Tommaso came implicit and read, “Giovanna Calogiuri.”
“You mean Crazy Giovanna?” Elena piped up, appearing successful the doorway.
“Who is Crazy Giovanna?” Anna asked.
“Someone who’s retired of her mind,” said Carmine.
“Nah, she’s conscionable a spot strange. Sometimes I spot her market buying successful town,” Tommaso said.
“Strange my foot. She’s arsenic dumb arsenic they come,” Elena said. “In school, she was the lone 1 who inactive couldn’t work aft 3 years. The teacher ever made her kneel connected chickpeas down the blackboard. He’d slap her hands with a ruler.”
“Then yet she conscionable went mad,” Carmine continued. “She would get these demonic fits and propulsion everything successful the air—books, notepads, chairs. They had to footwear her retired of school. And a bully happening they did.”
“Then determination was that full happening with the feline who became a clergyman . . .” Tommaso muttered.
“Yes, well, that was the last blow! And past she locked herself up there, successful Contrada La Pietra, with her dog. Her mother, a saint of a woman, God remainder her soul, astir apt died of heartbreak for each the occupation her girl gave her. But Crazy Giovanna got lucky: she was an lone child, truthful she got each the wealth donna Rosalina had squirreled distant from her occupation arsenic a navigator for the Tamburinis. I stake that pistillate doesn’t adjacent bathe. When she comes to town, you tin odor her from a mile away,” Elena said, holding her nose.
Anna lifted an eyebrow. A small dazed by each that gossip, she asked if idiosyncratic could conscionable delight explicate however to get to Contrada, arsenic she was already late. She learned that Giovanna’s location was connected the borderline of town, wherever the olive trees grow; this was going to beryllium hard enactment connected her mediocre feet. She knew that that nighttime she’d person to soak them successful lukewarm h2o longer than usual. She couldn’t accidental however galore miles she’d walked successful those archetypal six months; each she knew was that the soles of her feet were covered successful calluses and perpetually hurt.
She slipped the missive into the backmost of her bag; it would beryllium the past halt of the morning. She slung the mailbag implicit her enarthrosis and near the office. As soon arsenic she stepped out, she saw Carlo lasting extracurricular Bar Castello, absorbed successful speechmaking the insubstantial with a cigar betwixt his teeth. They hadn’t seen each different yet that morning. He had been successful the bath arsenic she was leaving.
Anna glanced astatine her watch. Antonio had fixed it to her erstwhile she got the job, backmost successful May. She loved the watch. It had a achromatic leather strap and a rectangular dial with Arabic numerals. It was antithetic but simple, conscionable arsenic she liked it.
I truly don’t person clip to halt and speech to Carlo, she thought. Nor had she immoderate tendency to. She’d spot him aboriginal astatine home. What quality did it make? Since her birthday, each they did was squabble implicit the smallest things. They’ll ne'er instrumentality you. Carlo’s words inactive rang successful her ears adjacent though she’d patently proven him wrong.
Her level of acquisition had made each the difference: The different 2 candidates hadn’t precocious past 5th grade. He should beryllium arrogant of her. She’d done it, for heaven’s sake! Yet Carlo didn’t adjacent look to care; helium had known that she didn’t perceive to him, she did things her way, and yet helium inactive couldn’t forgive her for it. He ended up pointing his digit astatine her on with everybody else. She felt similar everyone—with their chorus of You’ll ne'er marque it, But you’re a woman, It’s not a occupation for women—was conscionable waiting to spot her fail. To reconstruct the bid of things.
Anna felt a abrupt consciousness of fatigue and rapidly crossed to the different broadside of the street.
Carlo looked up from his paper, lighting his cigar arsenic helium noticed her walking away. She wasn’t that far; helium could person conscionable called retired her sanction to marque her turn. But helium didn’t—because Carmela was waiting for him, and helium was already late. He folded the paper, dropped it onto a table, and walked to his car.
He drove to the country adjacent Carmela’s location and stopped determination for a moment; erstwhile helium was definite that Nicola’s car was gone, helium turned onto her street. Carmela had assured him that her hubby near precise aboriginal to instrumentality their lad to schoolhouse earlier going to work, but Carlo ever peeked. He parked connected a small broadside street, a dormant extremity wherever nary surviving psyche ever passed but for a colony of stray cats. He got retired of the car and continued connected foot. He recovered the doorway ajar, similar each morning. He pushed it, entered, and closed it down him.
“It’s me,” helium said.
Carmela came down the agelong hallway successful her achromatic silk nightgown and lunged successful to buss him.
“You’re late,” she said.
“Forgive me. Roberto had a tantrum this morning, and it took maine longer than accustomed to bathe and formal him. I dropped him astatine Agata’s and came consecutive here. To you,” Carlo lied, hugging her hips.
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From The Letter Carrier by Francesca Giannone Translated by Elettra Pauletto Copyright © 2025 by Francesca Giannone. Published successful the United States by Crown, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a part of Penguin Random House LLC.
