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It
was a cold late October evening and I had fallen asleep on the sofa. I
was woken by a knocking on the front door. It unsettled me as we have a
door bell. I opened the door and looked down onto the top of a black
three cornered Hat. It was hovering
at my waist. Suddenly it rose up and into my face revealing the tall
thin
man beneath it. I stepped back to take in his full figure. All in black
he looked like a Highwayman. Still, stoic and imposing he stood there a
moment in silence. Then he
slowly lowered the thin grey silk scarf from his mouth. Is it Halloween
I
thought? He had long thin eyes and a pale, gaunt face. He fixed my gaze
and in a deep heavily accented voice he said, "good evening, this is
the
Reliquario di Pinocchio. It contains a fragment of the true nose of
Pinocchio. It is a bequest from the Count Innino Naso to you. Because
of your faith." He thrust it into my arms and its black velvet cover
immediately fell away. I stared in amazement at it.
When I looked up the man was gone. |
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