Chapter 14 Chapter Fourteen

The barracks in Montalep have grown to more than 100 national armed police officers.Guiliano was often in a state of fear for fear of attacks by armed police.Just occasionally sneaking back into town to spend the night at home. On such a night, while listening to his father talk about those days in the United States, he suddenly had a thought.Salvatore Sr. drank and chatted with old friends who had also been in America and had returned to Sicily with him.They friendly accuse each other of being so stupid.This carpenter, Alfio Dorio, reminded Guiliano's father of their days in America before they worked for Father Don Corleone.At that time they were hired to build a huge tunnel under the river to both New Jersey and Long Island.They argue about it.They recalled the horror of working underwater, fearing that if the snorkel protruding from the water collapsed, they would drown like rats.Suddenly Guiliano had the idea that the two, with some trusted help, could dig a tunnel just 100 yards down the hill from his parents' house.Its exit was concealed behind a great granite boulder, and its source concealed in some closet or under the kitchen stove.If it could be done, Guiliano would be free to come and go.

Two older men told him it was impossible.But his mother was wild with joy at the idea.This way his son could secretly sleep at home on cold winter nights.Alfio Dorio said limited personnel could be used if there was a possibility of secrecy.Since it can only be done at night, it will take a long time to complete such a tunnel.Besides, there are still some problems.How to dump the excavated soil without being discovered?The soil here is full of rocks, what if they dug up granite under the ground?What if the secret was revealed by the men recruited to dig the tunnel?The objection of the two old men was that it would take at least a year to complete the work.Guiliano was well aware that the reason for their babble was that deep down in their hearts they believed that Guiliano would not live so long, and his mother felt the same way.

She said to the two old men: "My son asks you to do something that may help save his life. If you are too lazy to do it, then I will do it. I can at least try. Besides labor, we can lose What? Even if they find the tunnel, what can the relevant authorities do? We can say that they are digging cellars to store vegetables and wine. Think about it, this tunnel may save Turi's life one day, work hard Isn't it worth it?" Hector Adonis was there too.Adonis said he would get some excavation books and the necessary equipment.In addition to these, he made some changes, which made everyone here very happy.They could build a sub-tunnel leading to a house on Bella Street.If the tunnel exit is reported or leaked, it can be used as a secret passage for escape.Dig the tunnel first, and only the two old men and Maria Lombardo will undertake it.Nobody else would know about it, nor would it take that long to dig.

They debated for a long time which house was more reliable.Guiliano's father suggested the house of Aspano Pisciotta's parents, but Guiliano immediately objected.This house is too suspicious and is always under close surveillance.Besides, too many relatives live there, many people will know.In addition, Aspanu had a bad relationship with his family. His biological father was dead, and after his mother remarried, he never forgave her.Hector Adonis volunteers his house, but it's too far away.Nor did Guiliano want to endanger his godfather.Because if the tunnel is discovered, the owner of the house will definitely be arrested.Other relatives and friends were also considered, but they were also rejected.Finally, Guiliano's mother said: "There is this one who lives alone, four houses down the street. The State Police killed her husband, she hates them, she watches Turi grow up and loves Tuli, she is my best friend. When Tuli was in the mountains, didn’t she deliver food to Tuli throughout the winter? She is a reliable friend that I can completely trust.”

She paused for a moment, then said again: "La Venilla." Now that the discussion had begun, they had been waiting for her to mention the name.From the beginning, everyone believed that La Venilla was the only candidate.But they are Sicilian males so it's not easy to make that decision.Even if La Venilla agreed, her reputation would be completely ruined if things were revealed in the future.She is a young widow who offers her lodgings, commits herself to a young male, and who doubts that she will lose her virginity?No one in Sicily would respect such a woman, let alone marry her.In fact La Venilla was at least 15 years older than Turi Guiliano, but she was not yet 40.She wasn't beautiful, but she was attractive, with a certain passion in her eyes.In short, a man and a woman left alone in a tunnel will undoubtedly become lovers.Because no one in Sicily believed that a man and a woman could restrain themselves when they were alone, despite the age difference.So going through her tunnel might one day save Turi Guiliano's life, but it would bring a bad name to the woman.

Everyone except Turi Guiliano himself understood that it was Guiliano's sexual purity that worried them.This is so abnormal for a Sicilian male.He's almost prudish.His men visited Palermo brothels, and Aspanu Pisciotta was always in love with women.His little bosses, Terranova and Passatembo, were known to be lovers of poor widows, and often gave them presents.Passatempo even had a reputation as a typical rapist rather than a suitor, though he handled it carefully because he was under Guiliano's command.Guiliano had issued an order that all rapists should be shot. It was for these reasons that it was necessary to wait for Guiliano's mother to suggest the name of her friend.When she did, they were a little surprised again.Maria Lombardo Guiliano was a religious and old-fashioned woman who did not hesitate to call young town girls whores if they walked in the town square without the company of older women.They didn't know what Maria Lombardo knew.Due to dystocia during childbirth, La Vinilla lost her fertility because she did not receive the correct treatment.Little did they know that Maria Lombardo had decided that only La Venera could comfort her son in the safest possible way.Her son is a desperado with a reward on his hands, easily betrayed by women.He was a young, feisty male in need of a woman - and who could be better than an older woman who was barren and wouldn't ask for marriage?Indeed, she did not want to marry a bandit.La Venilla's life was full of bitterness, her husband was shot dead in front of her eyes.It's a perfect arrangement.Only La Veneira's reputation was harmed, so she had to make her own choice.As long as she agrees it's fine.

When Guiliano's mother made the request a few days later, La Venilla surprised her with a proud and joyful obedience.It also confirmed her suspicions that her friend had a soft spot for Turi.And so it is.Maria Lombardo put her arms around La Venilla with tears in her eyes as she thought. The tunnel was completed in four months.The main tunnel was not completed in the second year.Guiliano regularly sneaked home at night to sleep in a warm bed after his mother's hot supper.It was almost spring when he found out that he had to go through the sub-tunnels.A powerful patrol of armed police came to Bella Street and passed there, all armed to the teeth.Four of Guiliano's bodyguards hid in a nearby house and prepared for battle.But they walked by.They remained concerned that, on their return, they might decide to attack Guiliano's home.So Turi Guiliano entered the tunnel through a trapdoor in his parents' bedroom.The sub-tunnels were shielded by a board covered with a foot of earth so that no one working on the main tunnel was aware of its existence.Guiliano had to dig out the dirt and move the wooden disc.It took 15 minutes to crawl through the narrow space and get under La Vinilla's house.The trap door was in the kitchen, and above it was a large iron stove.Guiliano tapped on the trapdoor with a pre-arranged signal, waited a while, and tapped again.He was never afraid of bullets, but he was afraid of this darkness.At last there was a faint murmur above his head, and the trapdoor was lifted up.The trapdoor could not be lifted all the way up because the stove above was against the face of the lid.Guiliano had to squeeze his way through the opening and crawl into La Venilla's kitchen with his belly clenched.

It was midnight, and La Venera was still wearing her usual ill-fitting black dress.Although her husband had been dead for three years, she was still mourning him.She was barefoot and no socks.As Guiliano climbed up from the floor, he saw that the skin on her legs was startlingly white, in stark contrast to her tanned face and shiny black hair.For the first time he noticed that her face was not as wide as most of the older women in town, but rather oval-shaped.Her eyes, though dark brown, had little freckles on them that he had never seen before.She was holding a bucket of burning coals in her hand, as if about to throw them through the open trapdoor.Now she calmly poured the coals back into the fire and put the lid on.She looks a little scared.

To reassure her, Guiliano told her: "There are patrols around now, and I will leave as soon as they get back to the camp. There are many friends of mine out there in the street, so don't worry." La Vinilla poured him a cup of coffee, and they chatted and waited.She noticed that he lacked her husband's tense demeanor, that he neither looked out of the window nor panicked at the sudden noise in the street.He seems very at ease.She did not understand, because of her husband's situation, and Guiliano did not want his parents, especially his mother, to worry.Have regulated their behavior.He had such an air of confidence that she soon forgot the danger he was in, and they chatted anecdotally about the town.

La Venilla asked Guiliano if he had received the food she sent him into the mountains from time to time.He thanked her, and told how he and his mates fought over the food-basket as if it were a gift from Maggie, and they admired her cooking skills.Of course Guiliano wasn't going to tell her the rude jokes of his pals that she was indeed a rival if her sex was as good as her cooking.Guiliano was staring at her now, and she did not treat Guiliano with her usual kindness, nor with the lovely tenderness she usually displayed in public.He wondered where he had offended her.When the danger passed and he left, they were still mutually reserved.

Two weeks later, Guiliano came to her house again, and the winter was coming to an end.The mountains were still full of blizzards, and the shrines of the saints, locked and locked along the road, were dripping with rain.In the cave Guiliano dreamed of the meals his mother cooked, the hot baths, the soft beds in his childhood room.Mixed with these longings was the memory of La Venilla's white thighs, which surprised him.As night fell, he whistled for his bodyguards to follow him on the road to Montelep. His family greeted him happily, and his mother started cooking his favorite dishes.While they were cooking, his mother prepared a hot bath for him and his father poured him a glass of ouzo.At this moment, a member of the network of agents came to his house and told him that an armed police patrol was surrounding the town and that the commander himself would lead a quick-reaction force from the Berampo barracks to attack Guiliano's house. Guiliano entered the tunnel through the closet trapdoor.Because of the rain, the ground was muddy, making the journey in the tunnel seem long and difficult.His clothes were covered in slime and his face was black when he crawled into La Venilla's kitchen. La Venilla couldn't help laughing when he saw him.It was the first time Guiliano could remember her smiling. "You look like a Moor," she said.Suddenly he felt like a child whose pride had been hurt.Perhaps because the Moor was always a villain in Sicilian puppet shows, he, a hero whose life was in danger, was regarded as a villain.Maybe because of her smile, it is difficult to realize his inner desire.She found it hurt his pride in some way. "I'll fill the tub with water so you can wash it off," she said. "You put on my husband's clothes first, and I'll wash them off for you." She had expected him to object, because at such a dangerous moment, he would be too nervous to take a shower.When her husband used to come to see her, he was always nervous, never willing to undress, much less put down his gun.But Guiliano looked at her and smiled, took off his heavy coat, took down the guns, and put them on the firewood tub. It took some time to heat several pots of water to fill the tub, and while they waited, La Veneira poured him a cup of coffee and watched him closely.She thought that although he was as beautiful as an angel, she would never be deceived again.Her husband had been so beautiful, and so had those who had been murdered.The bullet that killed him made him miserable, she thought bitterly.It is very unwise to fall in love with a man's face.Even more so in Sicily.How sad she had been, yet secretly felt the rush of a mighty torrent of relief.Once he becomes a bandit, he will surely die.Every day she waited, hoping he would die in the mountains or in those distant towns.But he was shot dead in front of her eyes.Since then she has been haunted by shame, not because he was a brigand, but because he died in dishonor, not a heroic death.Her husband surrendered and begged for forgiveness, and armed police killed him in front of her.Thank God it was a small favor of Jesus that her daughter didn't witness her father's death.She found Turi Guiliano watching her with that special radiance on his face that conveys all the desires of men.She is well aware of this.Because her husband's entourage often has this kind of demeanor.But she knew Turi would not try to seduce her out of respect for his mother and for her sacrifice for allowing the tunnel to be built. She left the kitchen and went into the small living room so he could shower in private.As she left, Guiliano undressed and got into the tub.The act of being naked near a woman made him unable to control his lust.He washed it carefully, then put on her husband's clothes.The trousers were a little short, and the shirt was so tight at the chest that he had to leave the top buttons unbuttoned.A towel warmed near the stove was little better than a rag, and his body still felt damp.For the first time he realized how poor she was and resolved to support her with money through his mother. He shouted to La Venilla that he was dressed.She went back to the kitchen, looked him up and down, and said, "You haven't washed your hair, and there's a colony of geckos hiding there." She spoke harshly, but with gentle affection so that Guiliano would not be angry.She ran her hands through his rough hair like a grandmother, then took his arm and led him to the sink. Guiliano felt a surge of passion when La Venilla's hand touched his skull.He quickly put his head under the tap and she poured water over his head and washed him with yellow kitchen soap, she had no other soap.As she washed his hair, her body and legs brushed against him, making him suddenly want to touch her breasts and soft belly with his hands, La Vinilla washed his hair, sat him down on a black enamel kitchen chair, and dried his hair vigorously with a rough brown towel.Guiliano's hair was so long that it covered the collar of his shirt. "You look like one of those brutal British nobles in the movies," she said. "I'll cut your hair, not in the kitchen. It'll blow into the pot and spoil your dinner. Come into the other room." .” Guiliano was amused by her severity.She is playing the role of aunt or mother, as if to hinder the outflow of more tender feelings.He's aware of the sexuality that comes after the feeling, but he's careful, he's inexperienced in this area, and he doesn't want to look stupid.This matter is like him fighting a guerrilla in the mountains. Before all favorable conditions are on his side, he will never express his position.This is not scouted terrain.But the last year of directing and killing made his natural childish fears seem more like a joke, and being rejected by a woman wasn't all that powerless to his ego.He had disregarded his reputation for chastity and visited brothels in Palermo with his friends, but that was before he became a desperado and gained the dignity of a bandit leader, and he was of course considered a man who would never do such a thing legendary hero. La Venilla led him into the small living room, which was crowded with cluttered furniture and a few small tables covered with black varnished wood.On these tables are pictures of her late husband and children.There are single photos and group photos together.Some were taken by La Venilla with her parents.The photos are framed in a black oval wooden frame, which has turned dark brown.Guiliano marveled at La Venilla's beauty in his young and happy years.Especially when she was wearing beautiful, youthful clothes.There was also a standard portrait of her alone, in a crimson dress, which thrilled him.For a while Guiliano thought of her husband, who must have committed many crimes in order to make her look so beautiful. "Don't look at those pictures," said La Venilla with a wretched smile, "that's when I thought the world could make me happy." It was only then that Guiliano realized why she had brought him into this room. One is to show him the pictures, She kicked out a small bench from the corner of the room, and Guiliano sat on it.From a well-crafted leather case stitched with gold thread, she pulled out the scissors, razor and brushes, a Christmas gift Cantrella brought home from one of his crimes.Then she went into the bedroom and took a white cloth and wrapped it around Guiliano's neck.She also took out a wooden bowl and put it on the table next to her.A jeep drives past the house. She said, "I'll get you the gun from the kitchen, okay? Would you be more comfortable?" Guiliano watched her calmly, he seemed absolutely at peace.He didn't want to frighten her.They all knew that the jeep that had just passed was full of armed police and was on its way to raid Guiliano's house.But Guiliano knew two things: that if the armed police came here and tried to break in, Pisciotta and his men would annihilate them; No one was able to open the trapdoor. He touched her arm lightly and said, "No, I don't need a gun unless you're going to slit my throat with a razor." Both laughed. Then she started cutting Turi Guiliano's hair.She carefully and slowly grabbed a strand of hair and cut it off, placing it in a wooden bowl.Guiliano sat very calmly.Fascinated by the tiny sound of hair being cut, he stared at the walls of the room.La Venilla's husband, the big bandit Cantreria, hung on it, but he was only a big bandit in the province of Sicily, Guiliano thought, and his youth was brilliant enough to be with her. The dead husband contended. Rutilo Cantreria was a handsome man, with a broad forehead covered in carefully trimmed, curly chestnut hair.Guiliano wondered if his wife had done the same for him.He has a cavalier moustache on his face, making him look older.Although he was only 35 when armed police killed him.Now his face looked down on them in a friendly way from the oval with blessings, only the eyes and mouth betraying his ferocity.At the same time there was an expression of resignation on that face, as if knowing that his death was doomed.Like all those who arm themselves against the world, and wrest from it what they wish by violence and murder, so like others they make up their own laws by which they seek to rule society.He will eventually die violently. The wooden bowl was filled with glossy brown hair, clumps like a bird's nest.Guiliano felt La Venilla's legs press against his back again.Her heat came through the cheesecloth of her skirt.She turned in front of him, keeping some distance from his legs as she cut the hair on his forehead.But the bulge of her breasts almost brushed his lips as she leaned forward, and the fresh, rich aroma of her body warmed Guiliano's face as if he were standing in front of a fire.Those pictures on the wall have been forgotten. She turned her round hips and dropped another clump of hair into the wooden bowl.For a moment her thigh rested on his arm, and he could feel her silky skin even through the heavy black dress.He kept his body as still as a rock.She leaned even tighter against him, restraining himself from lifting her skirt and embracing her thighs, and he joked, "Are we Samson and Samson's mistress?" She took a sudden step back, tears streaming down her cheeks, startling him.Without thinking, he put his hands on her body and pulled her closer, and she slowly reached out to rest the silver scissors on the wooden bowl full of brown hair. Then his hands slipped under her black mourning dress and wrapped around her warm thighs, and she bent down and kissed his mouth, as if to swallow it.Their first tenderness was a second's spark, which exploded into animal passion due to her three years of widowhood and the first sweet sensuality of a young man.He had never tried a woman's love except from the experience he had bought from a brothel. In that first moment Guiliano lost all sense of himself and his world.La Veneira's body was so sensual, burning with a searing heat that penetrated into every joint of his, and her breasts were fuller than he imagined, and the widow's dress skillfully concealed and protected them.At the sight of those two oval balls, he felt the blood rushing in his head, and then they undressed at the same time and made love on the floor, she kept whispering in pain, "Turi, Turi..." But he said nothing.He wallowed in the smell of her body, heat and lust.After they finished making love, she led him into the bedroom and made love again, and he couldn't believe the joy her body gave him, and was even frustrated by his own submission, and the only thing that relieved him was that she surrendered more completely up. She stared at him for a long time while he fell asleep, and she took it all into her heart, lest she never see him back alive, because she remembered the last night before her husband died.At that time, after having made love and falling asleep, she turned her body away, never remembering that lovely mask on every lover's face.She turned away because when her husband was home, she could not tolerate his terrible nervousness, his terror of falling into a trap kept him from sleeping at all.If she got up to cook or do chores, he would startle.She was amazed at Guiliano's calm now.She loved him for that, and she loved him because, unlike her husband, Guiliano didn't bring his gun to bed.Nor did he interrupt their lovemaking to observe the movement of the enemy in ambush.He doesn't smoke, drink, or talk about his fears.He speaks softly, but takes his pleasure with a fearless and undivided passion.La Venilla got up quietly, he remained motionless, she waited for a while, and then went to the kitchen to prepare him the best meal. In the morning, he left her house by the front door, wandering casually outside with the gun hidden under his coat.He told La Vinilla that he was not going to say goodbye to his mother, asked her to instead, and let his mother know he was safe.She was appalled at Guiliano's rashness, for she was unaware that he had a detachment in town, and had not noticed that Guiliano had left the door open for a few minutes before going out, informing Pisciotta to annihilate any passing of armed police.La Venilla touched Guiliano by kissing him timidly, and then she whispered: "When will you come to see me again?" He said: "As long as I come to see my mother, I will come to see you. I dream of you every night in the mountains." Hearing this, she was really happy because she could make him happy. She waited until noon before going out into the street to see Guiliano's mother.Maria Lombardo knew what was going on just by seeing her face.La Venilla looked ten years younger, with tiny black freckles dancing around her dark brown eyes, flushed cheeks, and for the first time in almost four years she wasn't wearing the black dress girls usually wear for her sweetheart The velvet-banded, ruffle-trimmed skirts my mother had seen.A wave of gratitude welled up in Maria Lombardo's heart, for her loyalty and her courage, but also for the satisfaction that her plan had been perfectly carried out.It was an excellent arrangement, both for her son and for a woman who would never be a traitor, and would never make permanent claims to Guiliano.Although she loved her son fiercely, she never felt jealous.Unless La Veneira tells how she made her favorite dish, a rabbit pie, a hard cheese block filled with peppercorns, and how Turi devoured a meal enough for five people and swore his life Never had a better meal in China.