Fragile Paradise. Liliia Urazgulova

      ISBN 978-5-0060-8507-7

      Created with Ridero smart publishing system

      Chapter 1 Mysterious house

      House on the island of Sicily. The villa looks impressive in size, with a swimming pool in the courtyard, fenced from the outside by a high fence, with massive metal gates that hide the life of the inhabitants of the house from prying eyes. When someone found himself outside the gate, a magnificent view of a well-groomed and fragrant garden of unusually beautiful climbing and bush roses, magnolias and neatly trimmed bushes opened up to his gaze. Evergreen cypress trees were planted along the fence along the perimeter of the entire site, the tops of which reached towards the sky. Immersed in the orange orchards and olive groves of Palermo, it was Louis’s choice when he decided to move from France to Sicily. Chronic bronchitis, which tormented the owner of the villa especially severely in winter in France, forced him to change his place of residence. Strangers were rarely in the house; they mostly invited people to visit and receive people whom one or another resident of the house knew well. The villa was home to Louis de Grasse, his wife Vanessa and two grandchildren, Melisande and Pierre-Martin, whom they took in when they were small. A tragedy that changed the lives of all family members forever. They lost their father as children, and Olivia’s father decided to take them to Sicily. Throughout their childhood and youth, the grandchildren lived with their grandparents, and as adults they moved to Milan and Rome. They flew to Palermo for holidays and celebrations to celebrate the birthdays of their beloved relatives.

      One of Louis’ favorite holidays was Christmas; all his family and friends gathered for this holiday. He truly loved this time, the time of magic and fairy tales. Glowing garlands on orange trees and palm trees, which grow in abundance in Sicily, created a festive atmosphere. The streets were decorated with street lamps, the city looked very elegant during the holidays. The house was decorated with garlands, the fireplace was decorated with spruce branches with toys, gingerbread cookies, balls and fruits. Louis loved to stage a nativity scene on the theme of the birth of Christ. These toy scenes, which necessarily included figures of the infant Christ, the Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, were decorated with various fruits, including tangerines, an indispensable attribute of Christmas and the New Year. The festive table setting was incredibly beautiful and sophisticated, because Melisande studied to be a designer, and the girl had excellent taste. The house was filled with light, and it seemed that it was breathing at such moments when the whole family and friends gathered to prepare a festive dinner, which was prepared for several days in an atmosphere of incredible cordiality and laughter. Everyone liked this time, because they felt family unity, warmth and cohesion, despite strained relationships the rest of the time. At the Christmas celebration, in addition to the grandchildren Pierre-Martin and Melisande, Louis and Vanessa, there were also both of Louis’ daughters, Olivia, the eldest, the mother of the grandchildren and Inessa, who lived in London, Edward, Melisande and Pierre’s cousin on the father’s side, his mother and several friends. It was an incredibly happy time for everyone. When everyone finally gathered at the table, casual conversations were held, laughter was heard, and the topics of conversation were very different. Everyone was elegantly dressed: Louis put on his favorite suit from Dior, Vanessa put on an incredibly beautiful dress, which, despite her age, showed a good figure, a diamond necklace with a large pink pear-shaped diamond enveloped her neck, and her ears were no less beautiful earrings, her own She wore her long blond hair in a low bun. Melisande and Pierre-Martin also looked beautiful, she received luxurious raven-colored hair as a gift from her grandmother, and she, just like her grandmother, collected it in a low bun. Pierre-Martin looked very respectable, his wrist was decorated with a collectible Rolex watch, a gift from his grandfather for last Christmas. Olivia and Inessa dressed in similar ruby-colored dresses, swan necks were decorated with necklaces with diamonds given by their mother, they did not like to wear their hair in hairstyles, and therefore decorated their heads with tiaras studded with tiny precious stones. Edward and his mother were also dressed very smartly for the occasion.

      After the holidays, the house was empty again, and only Louis, Vanessa and the grandchildren remained in it, who wanted to spend more time with them. One day, after all the other people had left the villa, Louis called Melisande and Pierre-Martin to drink wine and talk. When the grandchildren came in, Melisande hugged her grandfather with great warmth, and Pierre-Martin patted Louis on the shoulder and said:

      – Well, how’s the holiday?

      Louis smiled at this and said:

      – I liked everything. It’s good that everyone arrived, our communication was as cordial as before. And you are my good fellows for being able to please your old man.

      Melisande responded to this with the words:

      – Grandfather, how can you say such a thing? You know that I always leave this time for you and grandma, because I know how valuable it is for you.

      The grandfather took his granddaughter’s hand in his and replied:

      – Thank you, dear, of course, I know that. Vanessa looked incredibly beautiful this Christmas.

      – Yes, she looks incredibly beautiful and, as always, is dressed tastefully, and there are simply no words for the necklace. Is this your gift? – Pierre asked his grandfather.

      “No,” Louis answered with some tension in his voice, “she apparently bought it in Dubai, and yes, it’s great.”

      “Yes, grandma is our great traveler, she’s been everywhere, you’re probably tired grandpa, let me walk you to your room,” the granddaughter suggested.

      “Oh, come on, I can still run myself,” he answered, smiling.

      – Well, okay, I’ll go pack my suitcase, and Pierre wouldn’t hurt you, otherwise you like to run around at the last moment and pack everything, we’re flying out tomorrow.

      “I’ll collect it, I’ll collect it,” Pierre answered his sister, laughing.

      With this, they went up to their room and began to pack their suitcases, and Louis remained sitting near the fireplace.

      Their mother, Olivia, saw them only on holidays, but they called each other often. For her, the children were a living reproach that she was an unhappy person and therefore the relationship between them was not very warm. After the death of their father, the relationship worsened, the mother pulled away from raising the children and increasingly retreated into herself. Therefore, it was obvious that children would be better off in Sicily. Even during the celebration of this or that holiday, they communicated little. This did not surprise anyone, although Louis tried to somehow facilitate their warmer communication. But this took time, a lot of time.

      Life for Louis and Vanessa has been slow since they moved here. They began to walk more often, they even had favorite places. The city, a major seaport in which they lived, was on the shores of the Tyrrhenian Sea. In Palermo, there was a mixture of 4 cultures: European, Byzantine, Arab and Sicilian, an indescribable atmosphere of an ancient city, in which the intersection of eras and times concealed pieces of antiquity, Arab rule or the Middle Ages.

      Louis’s favorite place for walks with his wife was the Garibaldi Garden in the center of Piazza Marina, in the historical district of Palermo, Calsa, which occupied almost 21 hectares of land and was planted with fragrant magnolias and tropical plants. The garden was literally surrounded by greenery, trees and various shrubs; here you could hide in the shade from the rays of the scorching sun. In this garden there was one extraordinary tree, a mighty old ficus, whose roots and branches had witnessed many events. During the Inquisition, heretics were burned in the square, criminals were executed, and Over the years, the monarchs of Sicily played weddings in this square.

      During one such leisurely walk, Vanessa uttered a rather strange, as it seemed to Louis, phrase:

      “And one day they will burn me at the stake of my vanity,” she said in a gloomy