Ozymandias

A sunrise in Italy can be the most beautiful thing in the world. And so begins another day.
He had missed the sunrise this morning but didn’t seem to mind. Francesco sat and sipped his espresso; He finished his espresso and left his house. Every morning he passed an older man returning to his café from a walk. He arrived at the bus depot, where he worked, around 6:30 am. Just in time to leave with his bus. His first stop was at 7 am.
Luca woke up at 5 am to prepare for his day of work. The sun rose while he dressed. It was now 6:30 am. He walked down to the bus stop to take the 7 am bus. Each morning he greeted the bus driver, a middle-aged, slightly overweight, provincial man. The conversation never went past the greeting.
Roberto wiped the counter of his café. He had already completed his sunrise walk and had opened his café early today; he was in a good mood. Roberto entertained all types of customers, but his favorite customers were his friends. They would come over at night and sit around, watch old soccer games, sip espresso, and smoke cigars together. Until then Roberto put more gelato in the freezer, he knew that his grandchildren would be coming that night.
At his first stop Francesco picked up the same man as always. A younger man in his twenties probably; he was always the first person on the bus. “Ciao,” said Francesco.
“Ciao,” Luca said to the driver as he got into the bus. He took his regular seat by the window and waited until his stop. Luca looked out his window. The sun, still low in the sky, was on the rise. As he went to work he people-watched. Luca saw all sorts of people walking down the street, mostly café owners and shop keepers opening their businesses. There were a few children already leaving for school and the roads were full of businessmen. Luca liked people-watching and often found himself spending most of his free time doing this. Via del Carne. It was his stop. Luca got off and walked the half block to the butcher shop. As he reached the front window he noticed a big TV right inside the glass.
“What is this?” asked Luca.
“That, Luca, is what will bring in more business.” His boss, Toni, told him.
“Ha-ha what, are you going to play clips of the Italian national team? Or maybe some cartoons?” Luca joked.
“No… I’m going to put you on it.”
“What?!”
“Luca, we both know that you’re a show off, and you have incredible talent as a butcher. I’m going to showcase that to the public, and they will come in and buy our meat.” Toni explained.
Luca knew it was true, he loved a crowd and he was a performer. “Alright let’s try it out. Hey! How do I look?!” Luca asked jokingly as he posed for Toni.
“Great Luca, now scrub up and put your apron on, we’re opening.”
Roberto’s morning swarm was coming to an end and he decided to get lunch before his grandchildren came over. He closed up his café just in time to catch the bus into the city. As he climbed on the bus he greeted the driver cheerily. He was the same man he saw on his walk.
Francesco was almost to his first break of the day. It had been a fairly monotonous day, as most are. Driving in a big square back and forth, up and back. Day in and day out, Francesco drove the bus. He saw the older man whom he greeted each morning on his way to work and politely said hello. He cranked the doors shut and again set off, to complete yet another square. Finally it was time for his break. He stopped the bus and as he departed, a new, fresh driver entered the bus.
When the bus stopped to change drivers Roberto decided to leave the bus and walk. He liked to walk through the city. As he turned down Via del Carne he saw a group gathered around the butcher store. As Roberto walked closer he could see what everyone was looking at; there was a TV in the store front which showed the butcher chopping and cutting meat. This is not something one would find entertaining, yet this butcher had a charisma about him. It was a show to him; it was more than a job. Roberto knew how to put on a show. Once one of the great soccer players, he understood how to please a crowd. This was fascinating to him, but he remembered that he too would be entertaining his own crowd, his grandchildren, and he continued on to lunch.
Inside the store Luca was amazed. He was doing everything he normally did, except now there was a crowd cheering for him. He fed off this energy. The store had been busy all day, and Luca had to attribute this to Toni’s ingenious idea. The crowd kept growing and Luca fed off the energy. As improbable as it seemed, Luca was able to perform many tricks with his knives and he kept the crowd intrigued as if it was one of the Italian soap operas. Men, women, boys, girls, the old and the young, all were amazed and astounded by Luca’s abilities. Toni was beside himself with the potential of prosperity for his butcher shop. “Luca, my boy,” Toni said, “You keep entertaining them and we’ll be rich!” Luca just smiled.
Francesco decided to eat some lunch on this break. He knew the city like the back of his hand, and he knew the best cafés and restaurants. On this particular day Francesco decided to take a short cut. As he walked down the street he noticed a rather large and unusual crowd had formed. As he approached he saw the young man on a TV in the store front. He immediately recognized the young man as the man who was always the first person on the bus. Francesco went inside to purchase some meat for dinner. Once inside, he pushed through the sea of people and grabbed a number. 81. He heard a number yelled out, “50! Now serving number 50!” Francesco looked back down at his number in despair. Out of focus, on the ground, lost in the sea, was a number. Francesco bent down, “This must be my lucky day.” He thought to himself. As he picked up the number he saw that it was number 54.
Returning from lunch, Roberto walked back down Via del Carne. He wanted to see this prodigious performer who, oddly enough, was a butcher. He stopped at the store front and watched for 10 minutes. He watched how skillfully the young butcher handled his knives. How, with ease, the butcher was able to cut the meat and package it, not dully, but full of enthusiasm. It seemed as though he never cut or packaged the meat in the same way twice. He was good. The butcher reminded Roberto much of himself when he was younger. But now Roberto had more pressing matters, he had to return to his café before his grandchildren arrived. As he left the crowd burst into an uproarious applause.
With his meat in hand, Francesco climbed back into his bus to finish off his route for the day. That same elderly man entered the bus, “Ciao.”
“Como stai?” Roberto asked the driver as he climbed onto the bus. It was the same driver that he saw almost daily. As he sat down he looked out the window. The sun sat in the sky, almost as if it would just hang there forever. It was on its way down, nearing sunset.
It was a good day and Luca couldn’t help but smile to himself as Toni pushed out the last customers of the day. “Well Luca, what did I tell you?” Toni asked him.
“You were right Toni,” Luca said, “That was amazing.”
“Now when you get your own TV show, you don’t forget who started you off.” Toni was a smart man, and something in his voice made Luca laugh it off. He caught a glance at the clock. “Oy, I have to get going Toni, I’ll miss the bus. Ciao!”Toni smiled, “It’ll be prime-time television all day.” He said this as Luca smiled and rushed out of the store. Toni swept up, turned off the TV, and closed up shop for the night.
Just as Francesco was starting up the bus he saw someone far off running towards him. It was that butcher, the same one that rode the bus every morning. Francesco stopped the bus and let the butcher on.
“Mille grazie!” Luca said out of breath to the bus driver, the same one who bought meat from him earlier in the day. He went and sat down on the bus.
Francesco watched Luca through the rear view mirror as he started up the bus again and thought of the meat he had purchased earlier. He couldn’t wait to cook it later and was preparing the entire meal in his head during this final route.
Roberto eyed Luca as he got on the bus. Even outside of his workplace he carried himself with confidence and had a charisma about him. Roberto had a feeling that he was destined for the stars.
Luca sat down in his regular seat and began to stare out the window. “What a good day.” He thought to himself. Business was booming and he loved being on TV, even if it was closed circuit. Luca had always loved and thrived when he was given attention. As he sat watching the shops blur past him Luca knew that he was at the beginning of something great. As for now he was content watching people as he was driven past them.
Back at his café Roberto stood on the balcony watching the sunset. His grandchildren would be there any second. But for now, the sun hung low in the sky. It looked like a blood orange that his grandparents used to grow on their farm. Roberto always enjoyed the sunsets with their deep reds which bled into the oranges that spilled over into the blues with finally the arrival of the stars which trailed the sun. Roberto thought to himself that the moon had one this battle with the sun in their eternal war for the sky, but he knew that in the morning, the sun would win another battle.
Roberto sat at home, eating the meat which he had day-dreamed about preparing all afternoon. He knew that tomorrow would bring what today had brought, and he was ready to go through it all again.
Luca missed the sunset; he was getting dressed to go out that night. When he stepped back out onto the street the moon was already shining.
A sunset in Italy can be the most beautiful thing in the world. And so ends another day.