Marsala, Sicily. 1883
It was a bright morning, a funeral march was underway in the harsh and rocky Sicilian landscape. The music was sad, the people were gloom, the bishop and children dressed in white robes led the march carrying long and tall crusifexes and crosses. The sky was a bright blue, the clouds were scarce, a young boy and his mother were lined side-by-side, both with a sad and worried face plagued them. The young boy looked at his mother and continued to walk in a straight line, following the band members and the church men and boys. They crossed to the an old dirt road, they're headed towards the old monastery at the top of a local mount, some 1000 feet up, the road was old and the rocks were many.
The bishop walked to the front, passing the band members playing their instruments. From the hills, a man appeared and looked down at the line of people, he armed himself with a small rifle and behind the rocks aimed down in an attempt to find the mother of the young boy. He looked steady but couldn't find her, from behind a woman screamed out in terror, the scream stunned the man, the gun went off.
Below, the funeral march was stopped in its tracks, everyone began to run and dive behind the rocks. The man ran off from his positions in the hills, the mother looked up and shielded her child from any harm. The bishop silently and slowly walked up to the mother, the funeral march had ended.
~ Don Nicholas Marino's Residence. Marsala, Sicily.
"Ah, Mrs. Aachelli what a surprise."
"Don't act like this Don Marino, you killed my husband, my sister and her husband and now you tried to kill me this morning."
"I don't recall ever trying to kill you, you never owed me anything. As for your sister and her husband, that was a tragic accident. Nothing like that will ever happen again," smiled the sinister man.
"Don Marino, why? My husband...
"He owed me a great deal of money, money! My money!"
"He was about to collect the money he owed you."
"Bullshit!" the Don slammed his fist down on his table, a man from the house came out to look at the Don, he signalled him to go back inside.
"My dear Maria, I knew your husband for forty-years, we were good friends...
"Friends don't kill friends you big bast...
"Ahh, did I touch a nerve? Sorry. You must remember this was the business that he chose, and if I can remember you should always keep business infront of friendship. He who trusts in frienships, trusts in nothing."
"Don Marino? What about dear little Miguel? He's so young, now we have nothing. Your men came over last night and took all of my money. He will surely starve, and you know I have no job."
"So, I need not to worry about his vengeance when he's de...
"Dead! You're gonna kill my son too! My only son!"
"Grab her," the Don's men surround and subdue the insane mother, crying and whimpering in the struggle.
"Don Marino, please! Not my only child! Not poor little Miguel! He's only seven! I will serve you if you spare my son."
"Maria. Maria, please you have it all wrong. I was never gonna kill your son, I was just implying he is human, and naturally he'll grow strong and want to avenge his father's death. If you have nothing to eat, he'll grow weak and die of hunger and won't have that urge since he'll be in heaven with you and your husband."
"You're nothing but a sick-twisted man, I have no idea why my husband ever worked or befriended you."
"I'm a sick man, just look at what your husband did for me, who's the sick man Maria? Not me."
A man from inside came out to the deck, "Don Marino, we have your lunch ready. Red or white wine sir?"
"Red," he sends the man back inside. "Maria if I may, I must eat a healthy lunch before I go on my daily duties."
"Don Marino, I have a gift for you, I must whisper it into your ear. Before you killed my husband he told me tell you where the money is."
"Well Maria, I'm glad you see it my way."
Maria comes close to the Don, she comes to his left ear and leans over too talk, "You don't need to worry about your lunch when you're dead!" she pulls out a knife from her dress and stabs the Don in the stomach, she steps back as the Don begins to cough up blood and stumbles back, falling from his chair. "Miguel! Miguel RUN!"
"God help me! I've been stabbed! Dear God help me! Kill her! Kill her!"
The nearby guards behind Maria Aachelli pull out their rifles and grab hold of the woman, the Don bleeds on his porch and men from his home rush out to help him. A guard holds her and another lines directly infront of her, from his shoulder whips out a shotgun and aims it directly at her.
"Run Miguel!"
The guard holding her let's go and dives out of the way, the man with the shotgun pulls the trigger from point blank range, she goes flying back a good six or seven feet and lies motionless on the ground. Her son looks back, he runs down the hills. The other guards begin to give chase to the boy while running down the slopes of the rocky and jagged hill.
"Call an ambulance fools! I'm dying! Get my a towel before I bleed to death!"
Down below the young Miguel Aachelli runs into the town and takes shelter in a hay basket. He keeps his eyes through small holes within the basket and can see the men with rifles looking for him, they shout out his name and talk to other townsfolk about if they've the boy. A family gives the boy refuge for the night, the moon shines bright.
In the dark alleys of the town of Marsala the goons of Don Marino appear going door-to-door, "He who hides the child Miguel Aachelli will feel the wrath of the Don in the morning. Turn him over now and face nothing in return, shield him for the night and you will face the wrath of the Don."