Child’s Dilemma
Written by: Helene Myko
The sun radiates off the small old building, sending dancing lights from the windows, bouncing off the smiles of passengers and lightly falling in the surrounding water with a sparkle of delight. The little girl standing nervously next to a black gondola glances inside with anticipation. Behind her, the adults are discussing something that sounds important and confusing. She prefers to tune out of their grown up conversation and instead can’t help but smile at the dancing bright water so close to her feet. The gondola sways amicably, not without an air of grandeur. Its red interior is very inviting, with all the cushions and rugs that look more than comfortable… The little girl remembers how she didn’t want to go to Venice because her friends (or perhaps, her classmates that she really wanted to make friends with) finally invited her to one of the biggest parties of the year. Standing there, on the border of the sidewalk, she thought how she was missing such a great opportunity to fit in. The Saturday sun would be setting soon, and that’s when their fun would begin without her. Suddenly a warm hand lands lightly on her shoulder and tears her away from the unpleasant thoughts. The man in a striped shirt, undoubtedly the one whose gondola it was, smiled down at her and lifting her gently over the water, propped her in the biggest pillow in the boat. The three adults climbed in right after her, the man took his steering pole, and they were off. On the water, like on any normal street, is a traffic of all kinds of boats, from big to tiny, ones that fit only one man. They glide by beautiful antique buildings, under dozens of tiny bridges that connect the web of streets, past grand churches and tiny alleys, past stairs and steps that lead into water, and tiny windows. All the while in the front of the boat, the owner of the gondola explains something to her parents. She rarely tunes in, catching words like “3000 years ago”, “Piazza de San Marco”, “this is the oldest church”… the ride fills her with calm and stability, but also with a sense of adventure. The ripples of the water make her forget about Paris and focus instead on the magic of Venice.
