The Town of Fides

As I entered the gallery. I saw a portrait of a young lad. When I read the portrait's text of a young boy. It was the picture of Great Lord Lorenzo Santino De Luca Ricci when he was sixteen years old while he was playing the piano. He has almond eyes with chubby cheeks. He smiled mischievously as he played the piano. He has a good posture while playing the piano and assumed that he plays it beautifully.

Portrait's Text:

"This is Lord Lorenzo Santino De Luca Ricci when he was sixteen years old. He started to play piano at the age of seven and performed at one of the prestigious theaters all over Europe. He was very fashionable at his age. He is wearing a doublet embroidered shirt with deep cuffs sewn by her Mother."

I was so amazed by the fashion of men in that century. I cannot even imagine that they are comfortable wearing it. As for me jeans and polo shirts are my favorite thing to wear whenever I am not in the hospital.

The second portrait I saw was another picture of Great Lord De Luca Ricci. He was in his late twenties. I think he was together with his wife.

Portrait's Text:

"This portrait is the pre-wedding photo of Lord Lorenzo Santino De Luca Ricci and Lady Amara Alessia Emilia of Milvus. This portrait was published all over the country of their upcoming marriage."

The next painting is a family portrait of Lord Ricci. He was with his wife. His wife is holding a baby girl, which I assumed is Arabella.

Portrait's Text:

"This is the ritratto di famiglia di De Luca Ricci (family portrait) taken from the garden at La Casa Signorile de Ricci."

When I went to the next portrait, I saw a young girl that had perfection on her face. She has deep blue almond eyes, small lips and pointed nose. She also wears a diamond necklace and a crown with sapphires, diamonds and rubies as an ornament on her hair. She was holding white and red roses in her hands. She has a vivid smile that any man will woo her. With the portrait, I can sense that she also has a great personality.

Portrait's Text:

"This is Arabella Andrea Sienna Milana of Fides on her 18th birthday. She is the heiress of Great Lord Lorenzo Santino De Luca Ricci and Great Lady Amara Alessia Emilia of Milvus."

I was very stunned with her beauty. No wonder that Antonio loved her dearly and every man in her country wants to marry her. I looked at her portrait for almost ten minutes of my life. She has grace and stunning beauty. I wish I could meet her personally, and daydream about her for those entire minutes of my life.

I went to the next portrait and saw an old couple. They were very serious and I assumed that they were also very strict. If that would be my parents, I would say that I am the unluckiest person in the world.

Portrait's Text:

"This is the portrait of the Late Great Lord Lorenzo Matteo Valerius Ricci of Fides and Late Great Lady Isabella Sofia Paloma Viviana De Luca of Tempus on their wedding day. Late Great Lady Isabella Sofia Paloma Viviana De Luca of Tempus is wearing a white and gold silk from India ornamented with pearls and flowers on her gown. She is wearing twenty petticoats on the dress. She is wearing an embroidered bodice and full length sleeves with flowers on it. Her tiara was presented by her mother, Mercedes Duchess of Tempus which is one of the collections of her mother which is known as La Corona de Amor de Tempus. It was made of diamonds of flowers, each center of the flowers are ornamented of rubies. The middle of the crown has an octagon shape sapphire which represents the eight towns of Tempus."

I was very fascinated by the gallery. It put way in the renaissance period wherein life was not too complicated, people started to discover science and above all, people lived a simple life. I also saw a portrait of the town where people are fishing as their primary livelihood. There's also a portrait where the townspeople are building their first steam train to connect to other towns. As I was looking at the entire gallery, a man came to me and said, "Would you like to join for a tour of our town?" "Im... sorry." I said to the man. The man chuckled softly and said, "Pardon me, I saw your identification card and it shows that you are a tourist. Tomorrow, we will be having a tourist fair where all tourists in the town will have a tour the whole day." the man said. "That will be great." I said to the man wearing a tuxedo and with a pleasant attitude. "We will be delighted for you to join." the man said. "You need to register at the front desk across this gallery and the lady will give the instructions." he added. "Thank you." I said to the man and he went off and talked to other tourists.

Without any second thought, I followed the man's instructions and went to the front desk to register as I do not like to lose any slot for the tour.

"Hello." I said to the lady. "How can I help?" the lady told me. "The man at the gallery told me that there will be a tour tomorrow and I'd like to register." I explained to the lady. "Do you have an identification card with you?" she asked. "Yes." I replied while I showed her the library card that I have." "Oh, you already went to the library!" the lady exclaimed. "Yes, I did." I exclaimed too with joy on my face. "How was your visit at our library?" she asked. "It was good. I am fascinated about the history of the Lock Bridge." I told her with excitement. "Every tourist in our town loves the history of the Lock Bridge." she chuckled. "Give me five minutes while I'll register you on our tour." she told me.

As I waited, I sat at the front desk chair and looked at the ceiling of the Fides Common Hall. I assumed that Don Luca de Ricci had a fascination with arts in his time. After a few minutes, the lady came back to me with a pamphlet in her hand. "Thank you for waiting, Mister." she said. "Here is the pamphlet that you are going to use during the tour and the schedule. There will be a ten minutes grace period, but please do not be late otherwise you will be on a private tour or you may create your own itinerary." "I understand. I promise that I will not be late." I said and she chuckled. "There will be a fee on this tour, do you have a credit card?" she asked. "Yes, I have." I gave him my credit card and waited a few minutes. "You are now all good, Mister." Have a pleasant day on your tour tomorrow." she said and I bid goodbye to her.

Since it was getting late, I decided to eat in a restaurant. While walking, I saw a restaurant named Voglie di Cibo. I went in and asked the man a table for one. He gave me a seat that was near the window. I ordered Caprese Salad with Pesto Sauce, my all time favorite, Pasta Carbonara, and for my dessert, Pistachio Panna Cotta and red wine. When the salad came, I got my fork salad and tasted a bit of it. It tastes like heaven! It was a simple salad but it was the best salad that I tasted. The pesto sauce on the salad gives a symphony inside my mouth. After my salad, the waiter served my all time favorite Pasta Carbonara. When the waiter served it, I couldn't wait to dig in. The aroma of my carbonara made me feel so hungry. I dig in immediately and twist it with my fork. When I tasted it, I closed my eyes and remembered my Mother's Pasta Carbonara. I smelled home. After that meal, the waiter served my dessert Pistachio Panna Cotta. It's been years since the last time I tasted the panna cotta. I take a small bite and suddenly I remember my father. It is the same panna cotta that he did when I was young. Before he went abroad and was a nurse to have good income for the family. It was an astonishing meal for me as it gives a flashback of my memories. The memory when I was a child without any worries in life. After the mouthwatering meal, I saw a father and son outside the window. He was laughing with his son while playing at the park. I missed my childhood when I was with my Father. My Father that I will never see again. I sipped my wine and suddenly I got an email from my secretary.

Hello Doc,

One of the hospital board of directors, Dr. Mathias Gonzalo is asking when will you return from your vacation. He needs to introduce you to the board of directors at the same time the team will need you for the four surgeries this month.

Thanks,

Pia

I hit reply and typed, "the day after tomorrow." However, I erased it and looked again at the email of Pia for quite a long time. I sipped another wine and asked the waiter to serve me another one. I am in deep thoughts. I really do not know what to do.