JOSEPHINE

"Idiot." Domenico was still looking at Matteo angrily when we sat down at the table to eat. It was already afternoon and Maria had made a vegetable casserole that smelled fantastic.

"I said I'm sorry!" Matteo assured while raising his hands in apology. The other two brothers smiled smugly and I couldn't help but grin too.

"Which of your two brain cells thought it was a good idea to send out the blue tank while your team member is in the lead?"As I found out, Domenico wasn't exactly the best loser. But the way he played, he didn't lose often, so maybe it was a lack of opportunity to learn from. He or his team always won in the end, both in the individual races and in the team races, and in combination with Riccardo, he was virtually invincible. I was surprised at how well they worked as a team, but they did. I also had the impression that Riccardo enjoyed playing with his older brothers. Not that I would ever say that, nor would he admit it.

"The left," Matteo grinned and helped himself to something to eat. He looked at me questioningly, but I just shook my head slightly. My stomach still felt weird; one scene like that was enough for me in a day.

Domenico started to answer again, but Vito quickly interrupted him. "That's enough. You lost, and we won; now it's time to eat. Josephine, do you want anything else? I'm sure we have other things in the fridge."

"I cooked rice pudding, Micina. Wait, I'll bring you something," Maria anticipated my answer and smiled at me so lovingly that I didn't have the heart to refuse her offer.

"Can I have rice pudding too?" asked Riccardo, looking hopefully at the stove. His voice sounded so different—so friendly.

"No, you eat the casserole," Maria replied sternly, but he looked at her so heartwarmingly that she sighed. "You may have some afterwards. But first, the casserole is eaten!"

Apparently satisfied with himself, Riccardo turned back to us before filling his plate with vegetables. No one missed his small portion compared to Matteo's, but Vito just smiled. While the older two filled their plates one after the other, Maria brought me a bowl half-filled with rice pudding. She assured me that I could have more if I wanted and gently stroked my short hair. Unsure of how to react, I tried to show her how grateful I was with my eyes.

"At any time, Pulcino," she answered me quietly and squeezed my shoulder briefly. Then she looked back at the others. "When is Valentino coming back today? I thought he would be back home for dinner."

Vito pushed up his sleeve to look at his watch. "He wrote half an hour ago that he was leaving. So he should be there at some point."

"And if he misses a meal, he won't starve to death, Maria," Domenico said and received a stern look from Maria, who raised a spoon in support. He seemed only mildly impressed. Instead of apologizing with appropriate remorse, he lowered his fork and continued eating, undeterred.

"A volte sei impossibile, Domenico!" [Sometimes you're impossible, Domenico!] Maria scolded in Italian and went out of the kitchen, snorting in anger. Matteo and Riccardo laughed quietly, while Vito just rolled his eyes and sighed. I didn't understand what she said, but it certainly wasn't as nice as it sounded to me. However, no one seemed seriously upset, so I cautiously tried the rice pudding. I liked it, and after a few spoonfuls, I noticed how my stomach seemed to calm down again.

It really didn't take long for Valentino to join us, and you could tell that he had Maria wrapped around his finger. As soon as he sat down, she appeared again and, probably to disturb Domenico, filled him with a very large portion of the casserole and also gave him a bowl of rice pudding. Needless to say, he emptied both without much effort.

During the meal, he talked about his day, ignoring Riccardo's objection that no one had asked him about it, and spoke about friends he had talked to. None of the others seemed to know the friends personally; only Maria occasionally asked questions. By the time he finished, everyone had already finished eating. Matteo was playing with his cell phone under the table, and Domenico was less subtle, holding it in his hands across the table.

"Vito, have you already gotten a list of which books Josie needs? I was thinking about going into town later because I'm missing a book and can bring hers with me." Valentino looked at his brother, not in the least bothered by the behavior of the other two.

"Josephine," Vito corrected him. "And yes, I did. Would you like to go with him?"

I choked up and quickly put down the glass in my hand when I realized Vito was referring to me. Everything inside me seemed to freeze. Startled, I looked at him with wide eyes while trying not to cough like crazy.

Valentino patted me gently on the back, but it didn't help. "A fantastic idea! What do you think, Josephine? Right next to the library is a café where they serve the best milkshake in town. You have to try it!"

The silence inside me was shattered by a storm of thoughts. I couldn't go into town. That was not a good idea. I didn't want to go there. I couldn't go back. My pulse quickened, and I felt fear trying to spread through me. No, not a good time! I shook myself briefly and tried to cover up my reaction by coughing. But what should I say? It was ridiculous; there was no good reason not to go into town, and I couldn't stay here in the house forever! "Yes, of course, when do you want to leave?"

If my voice had sounded different, Valentino didn't notice it. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and thought for a brief moment. "Should we go straight away? I wanted to meet someone else tonight."

"Uhhh, Valentino has a date," Matteo sang and pocketed his cell phone. Riccardo also whistled in sync with Matteo. "Who is the unlucky one?"

"Nobody you care about, but don't worry, she won't be unhappy at the end of the evening." Valentino turned back to me. "So?"

"As suits you best," I replied. If my body didn't try to calm down again, I would definitely have blushed. It didn't surprise me; Valentino was cool, and why shouldn't he date? Most people went on dates.

"Can I come with you? It would be nice to spend some time with you again," Matteo asked and sat up even further.

However, his attempt was quickly destroyed by Vito. "You're grounded."

Valentino grinned as he stood up. "But a nice try. I was so close to believing you." He pressed his index finger firmly against his thumb. With a nod of his head, he motioned for me to follow him, and I quietly said goodbye to the others.

"You're an ass!" Matteo shouted after us, but Valentino just laughed loudly. He gallantly opened the door for me and let me step through.

"Is everything okay? You're awfully quiet." Valentino quickly looked at me before turning back to the street.

I started playing with my hands again. What should I say? "I'm a little... nervous is probably the best way to describe it."

"Can you explain that to me?"

"It's difficult," I tried to avoid, annoyed with myself for being such a coward. "I'm afraid of what it will do to me when I'm in places where I've begged or slept before. You know what I mean? What if I'm not up to it?"

"Then why didn't you say anything? You don't have to come with me, and we can still turn around if you want. You don't have to do anything you don't want to do, Josie." Ashamed, I looked out the window and didn't answer. Valentino sighed. "No one would have been disappointed about that, you know that, right?"

Again I didn't answer. It was so silly. Any normal person was able to visit public places. Valentino wanted to say something, but out of the corner of my eye, I could see him closing his mouth again and shaking his head slightly.

"I'm sorry," I mumbled without taking my eyes off the window.

"You don't have to be. There's no reason why you should apologize. Rather, I have to apologize because I didn't pay enough attention to you. What do you think: we'll get the books first, and if you're overwhelmed at any point, you pull my sleeve three times, and we'll leave immediately without having to talk about it?" I thought about it and decided it was a good idea. Relieved, I agreed and began to feel a little more confident. I could manage to pull on his sleeve three times.

My optimism swayed slightly when we actually reached the city and shortly afterward the library. But Valentino kept reassuring me that we would only go as far as we could, and that reassurance helped me get out of the car, close the door, and walk toward the multi-story building in front of me. Valentino was at my side immediately. Together we hurried through the cold before the warm air of the library enveloped us.

I had never been there before; in fact, I had never been to a bookstore at all, but I had thought it would be more comfortable. In my imagination, there were winding hallways, dimmed lights, dark green couches for reading, and countless books. There were actually a lot of books, but apart from that, there was one main hallway, lined with neatly arranged shelves containing neatly organized books, hanging lamps with bright lights, and a few tables with metal chairs that didn't look comfortable. A little disillusioned, I followed Valentino, who seemed to know where we had to go. With the list in his hand, he walked purposefully to individual shelves, every now and then pulling out a book, which he pressed into my arms, only to then continue running. I had no choice but to follow him until my eyes landed on a book. More like an entire shelf, but it was the book that made me pause.

"Hey, don't dawdle! What did you find?" My companion came closer. "Ah, I see. Have you read the books?"

I shook my head. "My foster parents forbade me from doing it. They said it would lead me to the devil. That magic was superstition and only God could have such power." I looked at the cover with interest. It didn't look so demonic. It showed three children and a very tall man standing around a cauldron. The boy with black hair looked at me; he wore glasses, while a castle could be seen in the background. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone was at the top.

"That is ridiculous." Without further ado, Valentino grabbed the book and placed it on the pile in my arms. "The books are unlikely to turn you into Satanism. All of my brothers have read the books, and none of them kill any cats at night."

I thought about Domenico but thought it wiser not to say anything about it. "Do you still have the books at home? Then you don't have to buy them again."

But he didn't hear me. Instead, he continued cursing under his breath. I carefully put the book back. "If you don't put the book back on the stack straight away, I will wake you up every morning from now on with my very own audiobook version, do you understand me?"

I quickly took it back. "Have you read every part?"

"Of course. And believe me, you will too once you start. And then we'll come back here and buy the next part. And then the next one, until you've read all the parts and wish you could read them for the first time again!" A little skeptical, I followed Valentino, who disappeared into the next row to get the last two books.

"I'm not good at reading," I admitted shyly. I could read, but it took me a long time, and my foster mother was always disappointed that I read like a second grader. Often I slurred or skipped words, so I had to concentrate hard and quickly got a headache. Of course, I didn't say all this to Valentino.

"It doesn't matter. After all, you're just reading it for yourself and at your own pace. And if it takes you until next Christmas, at least I will already have a present for you." He took the stack from me with a wink. "So, that's all. Do you want to go for the famous milkshake or go home?"

"Can we have a milkshake next time?" I asked hesitantly. He looked at me proudly, which I didn't understand. Why should he be proud of me? I really hadn't done anything special; on the contrary, I wanted to go home again. Still, I didn't dare ask him.

_______________

On the way home, Valentino whistled happily as I stared at the book in my hand. It felt hot in my hands. Forbidden.

You're not allowed to read it!

Determined, I opened it and began reading the first page.

"Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you'd expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious, because they just didn't hold with such nonsense..."



Hello there!

First things firsts: the title is a variation of Alice Hoffmanns saying "Books may well be the only true Magic". Kudos to the author!

Did you read Harry Potter? Why and why not?

Hopefully you'll been slaying this year so far. The only thing I'm slaying right now are my compression stockings whom are massivly sexy. Never felt more desirable ;)

Since I'm looking through your reading lists when you're adding Oblivion to it, I have to admit: my story is in good companie but sometimes I'm midly confused how its sorted, tbh.

Till next time everyone!