quando qualche cosa ti spaventa meglio non rischiare —

"You're Paolo."
"Everyone knows."
"Maybe from the beach."
"Then the Signora will discover either hidden jewels or letters some great-grandparent would rather she knew nothing about."
"Mi lasci fare, Signora, allow me."
"Yes, Signora."
"Don't be fooled, Signora, I can't carry a tune."
"Everyone laughs when I sing."
"Trust me, I can't even sing Happy Birthday."
"Eccoci! Here we are."
"Yes. Sometimes just wanting to tell them something that would have mattered to them, or to ask about people or places only they would have known about, reminds us that they'll never hear us, won't answer, don't care. But perhaps it's much worse for them: maybe they're the ones calling out to us and it is we who can't listen and don't seem to care."
"Not a philosopher, Signora. I lost my mother a few years ago when she tripped down the stairs, and within months I lost my father too. Both were in perfect health. But before I knew it I became an orphan, the boss and a parent to my younger brother. Still, there is so much I need to ask them, so much I could have learned from my father. All he left behind is barely traces."
"It was probably my grandfather."
"It might ruin the spring mechanism. Better have someone look at it."
"The watchmaker is an idiot. Maybe someone on the mainland."
"Capisco. I understand."

"Benone, e tu? Well enough, and you?"
"Much better."
"I always do - you know that -"
"Ye-es!"
"Ciao, Paolo."
"Ma che cosa stai a dire? What are you saying?"
"Absolutely not."
"When you don't give up, you mean. Actually, ten to eleven is more like it."
"Alla prossima, until next time."

"This is work in progress."
"After a while of doing this, one just knows."
"It could be life or it could be a strip of wood that refuses to bend as it should."

"I already told your mother that it's not ready yet."
"Well, well then, hello, come in anyway."

"Don't you have friends?"
"Poco, hardly, but then I had to abandon it."
"The things you make me say. Arma virumque cano, really, Paolo!"
"So why don't you have friends?"
"Maybe you think they don't. Everyone makes friends."
"But you've made friends here."
"Don't you like people your age?"
"Wood is impossible to learn quickly."
"This is a very, very old violin. My grandfather made it. I've never built a violin, and I wouldn't even try. But I know wood, I've grown up with wood, and I know what needs to be done to keep the sound alive."
"Wood is unforgiving. A painter, even a great painter, can change his mind midway or paint over a serious mistake. But you can't undo a mistake on wood. You need to understand how wood thinks, how wood speaks, and what each sound it makes means. Wood, like very, very few living things, never dies."
"So, do you still want to work in my stinking shop?"

"Che sorpresa, what a surprise, two days in a row!"
"Today I will let you help me."
"I'll show you. Just do as you're told."
"It will be the end of you."
"Because I don't want you to dirty your clothes."
"Put the apron on."
"Ma senti quello, listen to this one. Doesn't think I know what I'm doing. Just do as you're told."
"You'll see how beautiful wood can be once I'm done with it. A work of art. In a few days I'll bring it over to let your parents see."
"You scrub the stain off with it, for God's sake. You patricians are all alike! Here, let me show you."
"Now, go home."

"It's not finished."
"Look at me."
"Let's let it dry for now."
"Don't move."
"I said don't move."
"Just another touch, be patient, it won't burn."
"Wasn't so bad now, was it?"
"Back to work."

"Oggi non si scherza, no joking today."
"Today you'll watch what I do with the desk. Then you'll do exactly the same with the box. First we need to find some stain. I like to start with the corner, so you'll start with the corner, too."
"You worked well."
"So, tell me, was my hand shaking today?"
"Paolo, scherzavo, I was joking."

"I also took the liberty of using a new product on the bronze to bring out its gloss."
"Probably my crazy great-uncle Federico."
"The small box. That's a real gem."
"Beautiful, isn't it?"
"I'm speaking to you as to a father."
"I promised my father that I would take care of my brother and set him up in business here. So I have to wait until he grows up. But my dream was always to become a journeyman, a compagnon, as they still have in France, to travel and learn from others. Instead, I worked with my father and grandfather, and that served me well enough - still, I need to go away."
"I can't go on here. I've grown up here. I know everyone. Plus, there's so much talk in this town. I want to get away."
"Oh, crooks and hooligans there are plenty around us, more than you know. It's not because you don't see them knocking at your door that they're not here."
"Things are not easy for me here, Signora."
"Yes, especially for Paolo."
"Perhaps it's time I should get back."

"With your parents' desk finished, maybe it's time you stopped being a manual laborer."
"You helped a great deal and you did a fabulous job, they even said so in your home."

"Scusa il sudore, pardon the sweat."
"You shouldn't stare at people like this."
"You're old enough to know. Or aren't you?"
"Sta' buono, Paolo, e va' a casa, behave, Paolo, and go home. I'll see you in a few days."
"Devi, you must."

"I'll clear the dishes."
"The boy works well."
"He does. Every day. But I have to tell you, I think he has a crush on me."
"He's been courting me for weeks and the strange thing is that he probably has no idea. I don't think he knows anything."
"One day he's bound to find out."

"Sciusciù, I kept this after you left San Giustiniano. I told you I was sending it back. Please accept it and don't argue. I've known love only once in my life, and it was you."

"Maybe you'll like this picture. I had it copied and wanted you to have it."