Broken Hearts On Boulevard Unirii novel Chapter 62

Rosanna and Giulia were sobbing as Mihaela held Rosanna's hand and cried with them.

From the moment that Rosanna arrived and found out that Mihaela was her father's business partner and there wasn't any romantic connection between them, they became good friends, remembering Fabrizio's better side. They alternately embraced and spoke affectionately with one another.

Everyone was surprised that Fabrizio's brother and sister, Giulio and Matilda, didn't come to the funeral, but no one dared to ask why.

Elia came forwards to say a few words.

"Fabri," he began."You have always been and will forever remain my friend. I will carry your memory in my heart until my last day. I will not speak about you in the past tense because you still live with us; with me, Giorgio, Claudio, Gert, Angelo and of course with your wife Giulia, your daughter Rosanna, your sister Matilda, your brother Giulio and your dear parents. You will be with us forever. We will miss you, your humor, your pleasant disposition and your wonderful music. You will be missed by us all, my very dearest friend."

When he finished, everybody clapped, to the dismay of the priest who was not used to such a tribute.

Nobody else rose to speak, as Elia had spoken for all of us. We had asked the priest not to deliver a eulogy since he had not known Fabrizio.

I had told Elia that Fabrizio would surely not want somebody who didn't know him to praise him. He probably would comment and say, "Where does he know me from? Is he from the Securetate?"

After the burial we laid wreaths on the fresh grave and dispersed. Angelo thought that the honorable thing to do was to go to Fabrizio's bar and have a drink in his memory.

At the bar Mihaela prepared Tuicas for everyone as we all took our seats around the small tables. Fabrizio's seat at the piano stood empty in the dim light.

Fabrizio's letter was in Angelo's pocket. I approached him and asked him what he intended to do with it if he didn't find Luciana. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "I'll burn it." I asked him not to do that, but to rather wait until we all decided what to do with it. He agreed.

I kept my eyes open for a stick or some other object I could use to protect myself. I kept on walking in a normal tempo, for I knew that if I showed weakness and fear they would attack me. Cold sweat covered my body. I picked up speed, all the while not turning my head around.

I heard them getting closer. The first one was just one meter behind me, and I could feel his breath and hear his grunts. I was sure that he would attack me any second.

As I was walking, I noticed a bar that was already closed, where the employees had not bothered to take in some old chairs and had left them outside. I walked over and took hold of a chair, turned around and swung it. The dog stopped in front of me and showed me his teeth.

I threw the chair at the dog and quickly grabbed another chair. He ran away, whining.

Suddenly dogs came at me from all directions. I estimated that there were twenty of them, all coming at me at once. Some were big, some small, but they were all dirty and looked like hungry jackals. I just kept on throwing chairs at them. They pulled away for a minute and then came back.