Page 188 - The Grotesque Children's Book

water would be deeper, far deeper, well, that perhaps would be sufficiently deep, but the railings
are secured there; so here at this end, yes, it's deep enough, but only with the stones in your --

Ksplash! Suddenly Aurelio was in the River Arno, down to the muddy bottom. He had
been pushed! (Well, or had he? Had he in fact lost the resolve he thought he had? Aurelio felt
his boots squish their way into deep, thick, sticky mud, much stickier than he would have
guessed, and his feet stuck there. Perhaps Aurelio had after all filled his pockets with stones
either absently or purposefully and he was just not remembering --) But, no, the mud was not as
thick as all that, he had not put stones in his pockets, and his body bobbed to the surface just as
he imagined it would have, had he jumped on purpose. But he hadn't jumped on purpose. He
had been pushed. Bumped accidentally, possibly. Possibly. Aurelio looked up from underneath
the bridge to see whether any horrified man, woman or child were on the bridge staring down at
him with a look of apologetic shock. There was no such overlooker. There was, however, a
single figure on the bridge, walking briskly away to the south, away from the Uffizi, over
towards the San Spirito parish neighborhood on the other side. A tall and wide figure, wearing a
black cape and peaked hat like some theatrical costume of a necromancer or wizard.

Coward! thought Aurelio, won't even turn his face so I can get a good --
The figure turned his face so Aurelio could get a good look. It was Zaccario the
alchemist. Zaccario put a bony cupped hand to his ear. “Call for help and I'll save you,” he said.
“What's that? I can't hear you. I guess if you needed my help you'd ask.” Aurelio couldn't
understand the words, but the meaning was clear. “Last chance,” gestured Zaccario. “No?”
Zaccario gave a helpless shrug and whirled back around, his ridiculous theatre cape swirling
around his knees.
For Aurelio, in water shallow enough to swim to shore, there was no danger. Only
humiliation.
I hate that man, he thought. One day I will kill him. One day....

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