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their thirst. They accept the food offered to them from the mess hall without saying thanks, but not seeming to demand it either.
    â€œNot much to see, huh, Doc?”
    â€œA little boring,” Egitto says, but he doesn’t think so. The mountain changes shape every second; there are infinite nuances of the same yellow, but you have to be able to recognize them. It’s a hostile landscape to which it was easy for him to grow attached.
    â€œI didn’t think it would be like this,” the soldier says. He seems forlorn.
    When Egitto climbs down from the fortification, he heads for the phones, even though there aren’t many people he can call, no one he has—or wants—to tell about his return. He calls Marianna. He enters the code on the prepaid card; a recorded message informs him of the remaining credit and asks him to please hold.
    â€œHello?”
    Marianna always sounds abrupt when answering the phone, as if she’s been interrupted doing something that requires her utmost concentration. As soon as she recognizes his voice, though, she softens.
    â€œIt’s Alessandro.”
    â€œFinally.”
    â€œHow are you?”
    â€œI have a headache that just won’t quit. And you? Did they leave you all by yourself in the end?”
    â€œThe new regiment arrived. It’s strange—they treat me like an old wise man.”
    â€œThey don’t know how wrong they are.”
    â€œYeah. They’ll soon find out.”
    There’s a pause. Egitto listens to his sister’s slightly labored breathing.
    â€œI went back to the house yesterday.”
    The last time they were there they’d gone together. Ernesto had been dead a few days and they were already wandering through the rooms, their eyes choosing which pieces of furniture to keep. In front of the mirror in the foyer, his sister had said, Could I take this? Take whatever you want, he’d replied; I’m not interested. But Marianna had been furious: Why do you do it, huh? Why do you try to make me feel guilty by saying, Take whatever you want, as if I were a selfish pig?
    â€œHow was it?” he asks.
    â€œHow do you think? Empty, dusty.
Sad
. I can’t believe I lived in such a place. Just think, I found the washing machine with a load of wash in it. They hadn’t even looked. The clothes were pasted together. I got a trash bag and threw them out. Then I opened the wardrobe and threw out the rest as well. Everything I happened to get my hands on.”
    â€œYou shouldn’t have.”
    â€œWhy shouldn’t I have?”
    Egitto doesn’t know why. He knows it’s something that shouldn’t have been done, not yet. “They might have been useful,” he says.
    â€œUseful to whom? To you? That stuff is awful. And besides, I happen to be on my own here. You could at least have the decency not to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do.”
    â€œYou’re right. I’m sorry.”
    â€œI contacted a couple of real estate agents. They say the house needs to be fixed up, we won’t get much for it. The important thing is for us to get rid of it as soon as possible.”
    Egitto would like to tell Marianna that the sale can wait, but he remains silent.
    She presses him: “So when are you coming back?”
    â€œSoon. I think.”
    â€œDid they give you a
date
?”
    â€œNo. Not yet.”
    â€œMaybe I really should make that phone call. I’m sure someone would take an interest in the matter.”
    Marianna always shows a certain impetuosity toward his affairs, as if she claimed the right to preempt his decisions. Recently she’s threatened several times to lodge a complaint with the Defense Administration no less. So far Egitto has managed to talk her out of it. “They’ll get back at me. I’ve already explained it to you,” he says.
    â€œI don’t know how you can live like that, not knowing where you’ll be