Anna Maria's Gift (4 page)

The two girls dressed and followed Sister Lidia downstairs. When the prioress opened the door, Anna Maria could not contain herself.

“Paolina stole my violin, Mother Elena! My father’s gift,” she said.

The prioress gasped. “Did you, Paolina?”

The girl shook her head and looked down.

“She did!” Anna Maria said. “She hates me, and I hate her.”

Mother Elena put her finger on her lips for silence. She studied Paolina for a moment. “Very well then. Paolina, you will come to me after breakfast. Now it is time for Mass. I suggest you both reflect on what has happened.”

During Mass Anna Maria reflected. She
sat behind Paolina, staring at the back of her head.
Papa’s violin. Papa’s voice
.

Suddenly she reached out and jerked Paolina’s hair—hard. Paolina screamed. She turned around and glared at Anna Maria. Mass came to a halt.

Anna Maria sat with her hands in her lap and glared back.

“Girls!” said a nun at the end of the row.

“She pulled my hair!” Paolina said in a loud whisper.

“She stole my violin!” Anna Maria answered.

“Quiet!” The nun put a finger over her lips.

The priest turned back to the altar and resumed his chant.

At breakfast Anna Maria could not eat. None of the girls spoke their silent language. As they filed out of the dining room,
Silvia whispered to her. “Don’t worry. Mother Elena will make her give your violin back.”

Anna Maria nodded, but she was not so sure. What if Paolina had broken it in a jealous fit?

In class Maestro Vivaldi said, “I am sorry to hear what happened. But your violin will surely be found.” Then he handed her Paolina’s violin. “For today you may play this one.”

Anna Maria shook her head. “I cannot, Maestro.”

“You must, my dear,” he insisted. “I know you are angry, but playing will ease your mind. Try it and see.”

Anna Maria could not refuse him. She took the violin.

He nodded and looked around at the girls. “On your music stands, you will find a
little exercise I wrote. I hope you practiced your
ta-ta-tas.”

He raised his bow. “Ready?”

“Sì
, Maestro,” the girls said in unison.

He started the beat. It was true that playing made Anna Maria forget. The notes were so fast that she could think of nothing else.

When they finished, the girls were gasping or laughing. Some pretended to fall out of their chairs.

“Maestro Vivaldi, you are trying to kill us!” said one.

He laughed. “No, dear girls, just challenge you.”

After class, Sister Lidia was waiting at the door. Anna Maria hurried to her.
Maybe my violin has been found
, she thought with a thrill.

But Sister Lidia was not smiling. Her blue
eyes were full of concern. “Come, Annina. Mother Elena has sent for you.”

“Did she find my violin?” Anna Maria asked as they walked.

“She told me nothing, dear.”

M
other Elena sat at her desk facing Paolina.

The prioress motioned for Anna Maria to sit. “Paolina has something to tell you.”

But Anna Maria could not sit. She could not breathe. She could only stare at Paolina, who covered her face.

“Come, Paolina, tell Anna Maria what you did with her violin,” Mother Elena urged.

“I threw it out the window … into the
canal,” Paolina said. Her voice was muffled by her hands.

Anna Maria gasped and put her hand over her heart. No words would come.

“Paolina will be punished,” the prioress went on. “She is suspended from classes to work in the kitchen.”

Anna Maria turned and ran out of the room to the front door. She threw back the bolt and burst outside. There was Francesco, sitting in his gondola near the bridge.

“Oh, Signor Francesco, will you take me to look for my violin? That wretched Paolina threw it into this canal last night!” She took a coin from her pocket. “I can pay.”

“Put away your money,
signorina
. Of course I will.”

He helped her into the gondola and untied the rope. Sister Lidia and Mother Elena rushed out.

“Anna Maria, come back,” called Sister Lidia.

“No! I want my violin. We’re going to look for it,” Anna Maria answered.

Francesco leaned into the oar. “I’ll bring her back safely, Sisters,” he called.

The gondola moved along below the
windows of the Pietà. Anna Maria looked from side to side. She saw nothing. Had her beloved violin sunk to the bottom of the canal?

“The tide is still in,” Francesco said. “Your violin could have floated farther inland.”

He rowed on, through the narrow canal.
Stone buildings rose up on either side. Finally they reached the north shore of the island, with no sign of her violin.

“Oh, Signor Francesco, I cannot live without my violin. I shall die.” Anna Maria hid her face in the cushions and began to cry.

Through her sobs she heard Francesco’s voice. “Why would this Paolina do such a thing,
signorina?”

“Because she hates me,” Anna Maria said into the cushions.

“And why is that?” asked Francesco.

Anna Maria sat up. “Because she is afraid I will become Maestro Vivaldi’s favorite instead of her. But I hate her a thousand times more than she hates me.”

Francesco said nothing. He turned the gondola back toward the Pietà. The dark waters of the canal rippled with the motion of his oar.

“I hate this canal,” Anna Maria said. “I hate Venice. I hate the Pietà. I hate Paolina.” She leaned against the cushions with a sigh. “I hate everything except you and your gondola and Maestro Vivaldi.”

“I’m sorry you have lost your violin,
signorina
. But it is not as bad as hating everything. Without your violin you can still be a musician.”

Anna Maria shook her head. “No, you don’t understand. It is not just a violin. It’s my father’s voice.”

When they came up to the bridge, Sister Lidia stood waiting for her.

“We didn’t find it,” Anna Maria called.

Francesco tied the gondola and helped her out.
“Signorina
, you must not lose hope.”

Sister Lidia looked at Francesco.
“Signore
, you could have caused trouble for Anna Maria.”

“Excuse me, Sister.” He took off his red cap and bowed. “But I also could have helped find her violin. It was a risk worth taking.”

Sister Lidia nodded and took Anna Maria by the hand. “Come, Annina.” She started walking toward the Pietà. “My heart breaks for you, but you must not leave without permission.”

Anna Maria stopped and pulled her hand away. “I don’t care about the rules. I only care about my violin.”

“I understand,” said Sister Lidia. “But you could be removed from violin class if it happens again. Your father would not want that and neither would I.”

It was true.

During supper Anna Maria stared at her plate of creamy rice. Even though she did not look at Paolina, she felt her presence.

A nun was reading from the Bible.

That is for me
, thought Anna Maria,
but I’ll never forgive Paolina, not even once
. She covered her ears.

Silvia nudged her and pointed to the rice.
Delicious
, she mouthed.

Anna Maria nodded and took a small bite. She had to work at swallowing.

That night she lay awake as the other girls drew deep breaths of sleep.
Help me, Papa, help me. Tell me what to do
. She wept silently.

In her mind’s eye she saw her violin at the bottom of the canal. Drowned. Papa’s voice was gone forever. What possible hope could there be?

I
n the morning Anna Maria handed Paolina’s violin to Maestro Vivaldi. “Excuse me, Maestro, I would rather not play this violin,” she said.

He shook his head sadly. “That Paolina. How could she throw such an instrument into the canal?” He took a deep breath and let it out. “Well then, I must find another for you.”

The next day, Maestro Vivaldi walked
into class with a violin. He set the case on a table and opened the lid. “Anna Maria, come up here, please.” He took out a dark red violin. “Your father made this violin for the Pietà before you were born.” He held it out to her. “I will loan it to you.”

Anna Maria took the violin and embraced it. “Thank you, Maestro.”

In the days that followed, she began to play the violin. But it was not the same. She could not hear Papa’s voice.

Late one night Anna Maria lay awake. She listened to water lapping against the stone walls below. She got up, opened a window, and pushed back its shutters.

Moonlight danced on the water of the basin. As she watched, she heard the faint sound of a violin.
Annina
, it seemed to sing.
Annina
.

Her heart leaped. Someone in Venice was
playing her violin! She leaned out the window.

The music was coming from the west.
I have to follow it now
, she thought.

Anna Maria tiptoed to the stairs. In the dark she could see only her white nightdress. Holding on to the rail, she crept down one step at a time. She knew the front door was locked. But maybe not the chapel.

She hurried across the courtyard and opened the door. The chapel was as black as a gondola. She felt her way along the wall to the doors. Locked. She put her ear on the crack between them. Too late—the violin was quiet.

Anna Maria returned to her bed. Tomorrow she had to get out. But how? Since her last escape the front door was locked at all times. Maybe Auntie would talk to Mother Elena.

After breakfast, she waited until Sister Lidia came out of the dining room. Anna Maria took her hand and pulled her into the courtyard.

“What is it, dear child?” asked the sister.

“I have to go and look for my violin again, Auntie,” said Anna Maria. “It cannot be at the bottom of the canal. I know, because I heard Papa’s voice last night.”

Sister Lidia put her arm around Anna Maria’s shoulders. “Annina, you must have dreamed it.”