He put a hand on my shoulder. “It’s all right. It’s going to be all right. You are safe now. Don’t cry.”

I didn’t want to cry in front of him. I forced back tears. “I’m not crying,” I said defiantly.

Then I noticed that there were other people huddled together in the back of the boat. Judging from their bedraggled appearance, they were those he had already rescued.

“She is an angel sent from God,” the woman said to them, pointing to me. “If she hadn’t held me above water, I would be feeding the fishes by now.”

Leo steered the boat towards the dock, where policemen and health brigade volunteers were waiting to haul us on shore. I let the older people go first, then Leo stopped me.

“I will take this young lady home,” he said. “I know where she lives.”

“That’s not necessary,” I said, but I was now shivering badly.

“It’s no problem,” Leo said. “You can’t walk. You need to change out of those wet clothes as quickly as possible.” He revved up the motor and threaded his way between boats, out to the end of the Zattere, past Santa Maria della Salute, then around into the Grand Canal. The storm had now subsided to a steady rain, but it was still a chaotic scene on the water, with boats trying to head in every direction—some making for home, some determined to head out to St Mark’s Basin in the hope of fireworks to come. Leo cursed a couple of times, as we were almost hit. But the Accademia Bridge finally appeared ahead of us, and he turned the boat into a narrow canal just before it.

“This is as close as I can get,” he said. “Are you able to walk?”

“I think so.” It was hard to talk as my teeth were chattering. He tied up and helped me out of the boat. I started to stagger forward, but my legs didn’t want to hold me.

“Wait until I have secured the boat,” he said, jumping up on to the fondamenta, then helping me out. He put an arm around me to steady me as he led me through an alleyway and into my street. I didn’t resist. I didn’t think I could make it alone. This was when I remembered my keys. I felt for my pocket and was relieved to find them there, although my bag of food was now lost somewhere in the Giudecca Canal. I took the keys out, but my hand was shaking so much I couldn’t put the key in the lock. Leo relieved me of it, unlocked the front door and helped me up the stairs.

“Thank you for bringing me home,” I said, trying to keep my voice formal. “Now you should probably return to your people.”