At the Old Bridge

The artist Perella Ennavay was a small person, one whom fate carried from city to city like a wind carries a withered autumn leaf. But in Perella there was nothing withered or autumnal. On the contrary—she was very young and beautiful. Her big black eyes and hair the color of a raven’s wing hinted at a trace of Italian blood. She rented a small room in the Tozelli boardinghouse, returning there every day after work at the Uffizi Gallery. Perella was certain her significance in the overall system of the universe was utterly insignificant. She was so small and unnoticed that she had to get lost in this enormous world. And indeed, no one paid much attention to the young beauty until a young architect, Antoni Blake, appeared at the boardinghouse. From that moment, the girl’s life turned one hundred and eighty degrees.