She never prayed, but she felt the need to collect her thoughts. The chapel was deserted at this time of day. The quiet interior felt detached from the world; or perhaps the still, silent space lay at the heart of everything. Was it the cool air, the faint smell of incense, the ring of her footsteps on the stone floor? Giulia held her breath. Since childhood, she had always felt a sense of awe when she stepped into a church, as if she were stepping into a place of mystery, crowded with the souls of centuries past. There were always a few lighted candles. She wondered who found the time to tend the tiny, ephemeral flames amid the hustle and bustle of the world outside. She slipped a coin into the collection box, took a candle and placed it in a holder next to the others. She lit it and closed her eyes. She began to pray, in a low voice. She begged heaven to save her father, to give her the strength to accept a life she had not chosen. The Lanfredis’ redemption came at a heavy price, she thought to herself.

Only a miracle would get them out of this mess.

But there were no such things as miracles in this life. Giulia knew that. There were miracles in the Bible, and in the stories that she had read as a child. She had stopped believing in fairy tales. Her father’s accident had propelled her into adult life, and she was completely unprepared. She longed to bask in the gentle warmth of late adolescence, like a delicious, long bath you don’t want to end. But time raced on, maturity had come, and it was cruel indeed. The dream was over.

Marriage was the only solution. Giulia turned the question over and over in her mind. Gino would take over the loan secured against the house. The workshop was doomed, but her family would be safe, at least. As her mother said, it was what Papà would have wanted. And Giulia couldn’t argue with that. Her mind was made up.

She wrote to Kamal that same evening. The words would be less cruel on paper, she thought. In her letter, she explained about the workshop, about the threat hanging over the family. She told him she would be getting married.