The Chronicles of City Lights and Modern Love

For the remainder of that afternoon, I couldn’t get Carmine out of my mind. He was charming, but there was something unsettling about him at the same time. He reminded me a little of my best friend as a child. His name was Luciano and he lived next door to us when we lived in Portofino; we spent every day together. Our parents had even bought us nameplate bracelets that said “forever” on the front and on the underside it said the other’s name.

Portofino was a fantastic place to grow up. There were a lot of tourists, but we knew all the permanent residents; all 480 of them. Every Sunday, the whole town would get together at the town hall for brunch, so it wasn't hard to know everyone. I thank my early life in Portofino for making me the person I am today; the atmosphere was almost magical, so it made me appreciate culture and the arts so much more.

Luciano and I would play down at the water a lot; we went fishing in the harbour and we would run around the town annoying the fishermen and the restaurant owners. Our parents would joke that we spent more time in the water than most fish. Both of our families owned motor yachts which were moored in the harbour, so we often went to the beaches just outside of the harbour.

I'll always remember this one particular day when Luciano and I were playing together down by the boat ramp and I fell into the water. I was wearing a dress because we had just gotten back from Sunday brunch. It was a many layered dress and it immediately filled with water. I must have lost consciousness fairly early, because I don’t remember ever being scared, but the next thing I remember was opening my eyes and Luciano was sitting beside me, dripping wet, with a concerned look in his sparkling navy blue eyes.

“Ale, don’t ever do that again,” he’d scolded.

“I didn’t mean to!” I remember being angry when I said this.

I’ll never forget the next thing he said.

“Ale, if you died we wouldn’t be friends forever, would we?”

The reason this had such a large impact on me is because it was the last thing he ever said to me. I really thought we would be friends forever, but we moved back to Sydney the next day and I haven’t seen him since.

I later found out that his family was part of the mafia; I guess that’s why we moved. Despite this, I still wear the nameplate, but I’ve taken it off the bracelet and it now hangs on a chain around my neck instead. That town and Luciano’s friendship still hold a place in my heart, no matter what kind of person he is now. I can only hope that he got out and is living a happy life somewhere away from the organised crime.

We still own the house in Portofino, but I haven't been there since, and even though I've been to Italy to visit family, I was never allowed to see Luciano. One day I might go back, but I doubt he even lives there anymore. I try to convince myself that I don't even want to know, that it is for the best if I just forget him. As you can tell, I haven't convinced myself because the nameplate still hangs around my neck.