THE
TRAVELLING COINS
She could not believe they were there again. This
time it was not a dream. It was real, the mess of trolleys and bags, the
uncertainty of tourists, the tired look of residents, and people speaking
Italian all around, the language that sounds like music to her.
They rented a car at Fiumicino airport and drove
to Tuscany. They enjoyed the sunset and the sparking lights of little villages.
They arrived at Rodellosso country house. The hostess received them with a smile, a
homemade cake and a bottle of red wine.
“Isn’t
it a dream, really?”, she thought.
The next morning after the sun and the rooster
songs entered their room softly, they went to Pienza. They saw a telephone box
and they decided to phone the family. Sergio got the receiver and inserted a
coin. Somebody answered the phone on the other side and the line went off, and
so did the coin. Surprisingly, he got mad about it.
“How can I make a complaint to recuperate our
coin?”, he said furiously.
“I’m afraid it’s impossible. Forget it and
enjoy. Let’s have an espresso!” answered Lucía. He stared at the telephone box
promising revenge.
They went to Siena the next day. They escaped
from the pigeons in the piazza walking along the narrow streets. Suddenly a
telephone box stood opposite them. Sergio challenged it and went straight into
it with a bright euro coin in his hand. But the same thing happened again. His
face turned red and his look bitter. Lucía could not help laughing and a battle
started. So they decided to ignore telephone boxes during the whole holiday.
And the last day came. They were driving to the
airport when suddenly they had to stop at a toll road. There were several coins
outside the basket. Sergio stopped the car, got out and picked his two coins.
He had a triumphal smile when he entered the car. He explained that the Italian Tourist Board
offers this service to travelers who wasted their money on telephone boxes
before leaving the country. Lucía did not say a word. She sighed and started
missing Italy.
Written by ANA Mª HERNÁNDEZ DOMÍNGUEZ
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