The brothers treaded through the last bits of Piazza Delle Erbe. They exited and headed towards Juliet's wall. They moved through the streets of Verona. Eventually, they turned into an alley filled with tourists. Dante drew a deep breath, squeezing himself through the crowd. Missio trailed his brother, passing by many luxury shops. They finally left the alley and entered an archway. Dante caught his breath and lifted his head.
On the wall, countless white pages stuck to it. Pages atop pages stamped onto the archway. Dante's heart jolted a bit. The patriarch straightened and stepped forward. Missio broke through the crowd as well and followed his big brother. Both left the archway and entered another a rea filled with tourists. As they headed forward, Dante lifted his head.
In front, he saw a woman formed from bronze standing below the rays of the sun. Missio glanced at the bronze statue and neared his brother.
"Who's this?" he asked.
"Juliet." Dante replied. "Haven't you heard of Shakespeare?"
"I have. I just… forgot." Missio replied.
Both brother's gazes lay on the statue. Visitors behind them admired it as well with awe in their eyes. Dante peered around the small space. He only saw the precise design of the walls and the balcony that protruded from the wall.
"It's fun to see actual historical pieces once in a while…" he muttered under his breath.
He spun around, looking at an archway that led outside. A smile couldn't help but make itself onto his face and backed up a little.
"Missio. Hit a pose." He turned his head forward and pulled out his phone.
Missio turned his head to look at his brother with a confused face. In that instant, Dante clicked a photo. He burst out laughing as he watched Missio's confused face.
"What are you laughing at?" Missio asked.
"Nothing – Nothing, just hit a pose for the photo."
Missio spun around, awkwardly raising peace signs for the photo. Dante exhaled heavily, looking away. He approached Missio and made him stand beside the statue. He tucked Missio's hands into the latter's pockets and backed off.
"Now, look over here." Dante raised his phone.
Missio slightly tilted his head, locking onto the camera. Dante licked his lips, muttering in a soft voice.
"Perfect…"
He clicked two photos and headed back to his little brother. He showed it to him which made him smile a bit. Dante smiled as well, placing his phone back into his pocket. He turned towards the archway and stepped forward, signaling Missio to follow him.
"Come here."
Missio trailed his brother. Dante went around the statue, stepping out of the courtyard. A few steps later, he stood in front of a decorated shops with lights blazing from the inside. He gulped and entered. Missio followed behind like a curious child. Dante neared the counter and raised his arm.
"Hello, can I get a pen, paper and envelope?"
The lady stationed at the counter greeted them warmly.
"Of course! Just wait a moment."
She exited the counter and picked up a sheet of paper. She also grabbed a black pen and envelope. She placed the two in front of Dante. As Dante drew his phone, the shop keeper glanced behind him. She noticed Missio but no one else.
"Do you have a girlfriend, sir?" She asked.
Dante laughed. "No. I have a fiancé."
The woman's raised a brow. "Where is she?"
"Probably planning how to torture me when to come back." Dante replied, scanning the QR code. "The cost?"
The shop keeper looked at his hand noticing that he didn't have a ring.
"35 Aureus." She stated. "Did you recently get engaged?"
"Yeah. Yesterday." Dante entered the money.
"Then, why haven't you brought her along?" The woman inquired further.
"Eh…" Dante proceeded with the transaction. "It's a family matter. By the way, did the transaction go through?"
The woman's phone received the notification. She flipped it over and saw the transferred money.
"It's done. Thank you for shopping and come back again!"
"I will." Dante grabbed his items and spun around.
Missio also turned around. The brothers exited the shop and headed towards the archway. Dante opened the pen and embedded his and his fiancé's name onto the paper. He enclosed the names within a heart and drew small rings overlapping each other behind their names. Then, he grinned mischievously as he wrote down something on the bottom.
[To my love, Isabella.]
He drew a heart next to the text. But just then, he had a great idea. He clutched his stomach as they entered the courtyard, holding his laughter.
"Oh, she's gonna die…"
He exhaled heavily. He erased the ink using the back of the pen and wrote something else.
[To my future wife, Isabella – I love you.]
He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the note. He folded it and tucked it into the envelope. Then, he wrote something on the front of the envelope as well.
[ CLUB DI GIULIETTA
Vicolo Marangone, 7
37121 Verona
ROME]
He wrote his own full name and Isabella's address on the top left corner. He approached a red mailbox under the famous stone Balcony. He opened it, seeing numerous letters. He pushed his own within and slammed it shut. Then, he went to his contacts and sent it to Isabella without warning. He quickly exited and tucked the phone right back in his pockets.
"What did you do?" Missio asked, looking at the page.
"Nothing – just made her more angry." Dante chuckled.
"You're more different than I remember." Missio stated. "You wouldn't have even thought of doing this before."
"Well, Missio…" Dante turned to the exit. "I've actually grown."
Missio didn't respond. He glanced at the page once again before trailing his brother. They squeezed through the crowd of tourists once again, breaking through the other side.
"What does sticking a piece of paper on a wall even do?" Missio inquired as they walked.
"It's a superstition type of thing. It's a way to seek guidance, express your love and wish your relationship lasts for an eternity." Dante explained. "Dad's confession to mom was also here before."
"Right…" Missio agreed in a soft tone as an image of his mother flashed across his mind.
"Now that our little exploration is over…" Dante stated. "I'll teach you how to control your powers as a breaker starting from tomorrow."
Missio lifted his head. "We're not going anywhere else?"
"Of course we're going." Dante spun around, meeting his brother's eyes. "We're gonna go to Giardino Giusti."