Crossroad to the Heart

Luigi was an avid writer on the Italian Facebook. A reader, Emily, acknowledged with satisfaction one of his messages and he began an online conversation with her that lasted three months.

Emily was thirty- eight years old and Luigi seventy-nine. The age difference did not bother her. Her objective was another.

Prior to the pandemic of 2019, Emily tried her luck in a restaurant business with a young man. When the virus appeared, the two lost their business and relation.

Emily searched for a job in a company whose owner operated a young girls prostitution ring. Emily attended the interview, but it was late when she realized of the nature of the business. The boss locked her up in a bedroom ready to dispatch her to the Virgin Island.

Due to a breaking in the piping system. Luigi joined his brother-in-law, a master plumber to the premises. Luigi heard cries and unlocked the prison door. He hid Emily in a big box and brought it to safety. The two never met and she vowed to meet some day her 'savior.'

Luigi and Emily began to socialize on online unaware of their past meeting. The conversation soon assumed romantic tones and Emily promised to visit him in Syracuse. That event never materialized.