"ADOLESCENT MALICE" " Hi, Fabrizio." " Hello." "I'm on time this year as well." "I don't know why, but so what?" "Really?" "School let out yesterday for vacation." "Okay, let's go now." "I was afraid you might forget our date." "It's been one year since we met." "I was looking forward to this. I don't want to waste one single day of our vacation." "Why don't you talk to me?" "Look, it's still working." "Knock off that nonsense!" "Come on!" "I had a strange feeling when Fabrizio looked at me." "I was confused because he wasn't the same as before." "I couldn't see anything in his dark eyes." "Sometimes he was like a bird of prey, other times like a lamb." "I never understood what he really thought." "But it made me happy to meet him again in our forest." "Every year when our vacation was over  we hid all our things near a wall under a wooden scaffold." "In the past this place was flooded, but no longer." "Fabrizio told me that the river had suddenly disappeared." "The rocks had become white  and moss was growing on the wood." "I was happy to find everything as we had left them." "Even Fabrizio was happy and gentle, as he had been in the past." "His look was tender as well as quite serious." "Sometimes I had a feeling   like he could read my mind." "That he knew everything about me." "It was a strange feeling   a crazy feeling." "Suddenly I thought about being an adult." "It was a nice feeling." "But I didn't know why." "Where is Iro?" "I don't know." "But he'll come back." "Stay back!" "When Fabrizio left me I got scared." "I sat down." "Why did he leave me alone?" "I wasn't as familiar as he was with the forest." "He knew the forest." "The sounds, the animals, the pathways..." "He told me there was a magic silence in the forest." "The forest was his home, but I felt completely lost." "All the time I was afraid of getting hurt by a wild animal." "You idiot!" "You've scared away the animals." "I told you not to disturb me!" "Come on!" "Try and catch me!" "Fabrizio, where are you?" "Come back!" "Don't be stupid!" "I'll tell you about my dream if you'll come back!" "Please... come back!" "I know you're there, Fabrizio!" "This isn't funny!" "Do you know what I was dreaming of?" "I was in a little boat on the river." "At first I was alone." "Suddenly you were sitting in the boat." "You were sitting beside me." "I laid down and went to sleep." "As I slept, you came up to me  and it began to snow." "But the snow wasn't white, it was black." "The whole sky was black." "The sun, the clouds... all had become black." "Lots of frozen ice fell down on me." "Ice was everywhere..." "The boat tried to get out of the ice, but it was impossible." "More and more ice. I was terrified." "Then I screamed... and I woke up." "What a high mountain!" "Tomorrow we will climb the mountain." "It was always Fabrizio's dream to climb the 'Blue Mountain.' lt seemed like he had made a bet with himself." "To climb to the top and watch over all the rivers, fields and trees." "The next day we started climbing up the 'Blue Mountain.'" "As we climbed, the trees and plants became more and more strange." "But Fabrizio didn't want to give up." "He insisted we continue on." "We climbed for a long time." "Then we arrived at a place we couldn't have imagined." " What is it?" " Let's go have a look." "It's fantastic!" "A magical city had appeared in the dark forest." "High towers surrounded by dark trees." "The town was overgrown with weeds and trees." "A real town with plazas, stairways and alleys." "The streets and buildings were overgrown with vegetation." "It seemed as if we had entered a forbidden place   and somebody would show up and punish us for entering his secret home." "Let's move on." "Stay behind me." "Stop Fabrizio, don't go in there!" " lt could be dangerous!" " Not at all!" "No, I don't want to!" "Please, don't do it." "It's so dark inside." "Let's get out of here." "We'll come back." "This town is our secret." "Look at him, he's unable to fly." "I think he fell out of his nest." "Don't you like him?" "Maybe I can heal him." "Be quiet and keep still." "Don't be silly." "Keep still." "Can you help me repair the cage?" "Why should I?" "It's your problem." "On days like this, Fabrizio was very abusive. I didn't like him." "It hurt me when he accused me of being a boring child." "I didn't understand why he was like that." "It seemed that he enjoyed hurting me." "Often he hid behind trees to frighten me." "Stop it, I don't like this game!" "Wait for me!" " Laura!" " Fabrizio!" "Come take me in your arms!" "I caught you!" "I win!" "You're mean!" " You're my prey!" "You're my prisoner!" " No!" "You can't escape!" " You're my prisoner!" " Let me go!" "No one is coming to help you!" "That's how it is!" "Let go of me!" "Stop!" "You're mine..." "It's foolish to resist!" "No!" "Let me go!" "Please!" "Let me go!" "Fabrizio, stop this!" "Stop struggling!" "I'm stronger than you." "Why are you doing this to me?" "Don't you care?" "You don't love me!" "Fabrizio!" "Fabrizio..." "Fabrizio..." "Fabrizio!" "Help me!" "There's a snake!" "Why do you always have to hurt me?" "It's getting dark, my parents will punish me!" "It's always your home!" "We can't play together this way!" "As soon as it gets dark, you stop playing and run home!" "Please try and understand!" "They're waiting for me!" "Take me home!" "Please!" "I don't want to take you home!" "Take the dog!" "The dog?" "I'm afraid of the dog!" "Please, Fabrizio, don't leave me alone!" "I'm afraid of the dark forest!" " Please come with me!" " No!" "Damn it!" "Get away from me!" "Go away!" "You're so mean!" "Why are you like this?" "Get her!" "Iro!" "I'll take you home... I'll stay here forever!" "I'll never go home!" "Why don't you talk to me anymore?" "It's your own fault." "Don't follow me!" "Why can't you understand me?" "I'm told to go home when it gets dark!" "You're an idiot!" " Laura..." "Laura." "Help me!" " Fabrizio!" "Laura..." "Laura, help me!" "I'm hurt!" "Help me..." "Fabrizio, where are you?" "I'm hurt... hurry, Laura!" "Hurry up, Laura!" "I'm here!" "Laura... come here!" "I can't find you, Fabrizio!" "Come quickly, Laura!" "It was suicide..." "Asshole!" "You did it!" "I hate you!" "It's impossible to play with you." "Do you hear the thunder?" "What are you waiting for?" " Come on!" "Do you want me to carry you?" " Let go of me!" "Come on!" "Or we'll get wet!" " Where are we going?" " Shut up!" " It's very strange here." " Yes, like an ice-palace." "I've never seen anything like this before." "Come on." "Perhaps we'll find a way out." " l'm afraid, Fabrizio!" " Stay calm." " What happened to the light?" " l don't know, maybe the battery." "What will we do now?" " Wait here. I'll search for a way out." " No, please... don't leave me." "I just want to go home." "Don't be afraid." "If there's a way out, I'll find it." "I'm only afraid when you're not with me." "Is there a way out?" "We got in, so we'll find a way out." "Trust me and everything will be all right." "You have always believed in me." "I'm so cold." "It's too cold!" "Why are you doing that?" "If I hold you in my arms you'll get warm." "Don't be afraid. I won't hurt you." "I only want to see your body." "I want..." "I want to be your first." "You're so beautiful." "You're everything to me." "Look at me." "In this pit we are wed." "You are mine." "I can feel my blood racing." "That makes me want to pee." "I feel strange..." "Touch me... here." "Right here." "Get ready..." "No... it hurts too much!" "It hurts!" "You feel so good..." "You and I..." "You and I... and now I'm within you." "Fabrizio, are you there?" " Oh, what a lovely belt." " Catch it!" "Don't be like that, Fabrizio!" "Give it to me!" "Please, climb down, Fabrizio!" "I want to play with you." "Why are you climbing higher?" "Come on, get the belt if you want it!" "Listen to this story:" "There was a king who liked climbing on trees." "He enjoyed it." " A very strange king." " No." "The king was only bored by his town." "He decided to build a new one in the forest." "He wanted to be the only one to live there, like me." "Okay, but I want to be your queen." "But you'd have to stay by my side, night and day." "That's impossible." "I have to go home when it gets dark." "I'd like to stay here all the time, but I can't." "Don't go home." "We'll stay together forever." "You know that's impossible." "Okay, forget it." "Fabrizio stayed alone in the forest and I went home." "I went to bed, but I couldn't sleep." "I had a strange premonition." "It seemed that Fabrizio was waiting for something, but he didn't know what." "Something dark and mysterious." "After discovering the deserted town in the forest, he didn't talk about it anymore." "He wanted to be the king of his town, and its only resident." "He was foolish." "He didn't want to share his forest or his town." "I wanted to know more about his secrets..." "and why he couldn't be gentle with me." "This girl wants to be the queen of this town." "Did you hear that?" "Queen!" "Ha, ha..." "What a joke!" "You'll never be a queen, because you always have to go home!" "Never!" "No, this is not your town, and it will never be your home!" "So you will never be the queen of this town." "Understand?" " Excuse me, Fabrizio." " What do you want?" "This is important to me." "You know that I enjoy being with you." "Sometimes I feel bad and run away from you, but I always come back." "Please try to understand me." "I want to stay with you all the time  but at night it's impossible." "Go home!" "Do you hear me?" "My parents would be upset." "It would be the end of all this." "They wouldn't allow me to go in the forest again." "But I don't want this to end." "Wait for me!" "Don't do this..." "Please listen to me, Fabrizio!" "Listen, I have a good idea!" "Let's do it one more time!" "Like we did in the cave!" "There's another blue moon, as there was on that day." "I loved giving you pleasure." "And that... things were so peaceful there." "I want it to be like that again." "Please, don't be angry any longer." "I'll do anything for you." "Except at night I have to go home." "I'll do anything for you." "Just tell me what you want me to do, Fabrizio." "Show me your breasts!" "Come on!" "Tits out... I'll suck them like a baby getting milk." " l want to see your pretty little ass." " But you..." "Get these off..." "No..." "I don't like it this way." "Get off me!" "Get off me..." "Then why did you talk to me like that?" "You don't know what you want." "I'm tired of you!" "Do you understand?" "I told you to leave me alone!" "Don't talk like that." "Why can't you be kind to me?" "Do you know who lives in this house?" "No, I've never seen this house before." "There's a girl living in the house." "Hello, would you like to play with us?" "No!" "What's the matter, Fabrizio?" "Why won't you talk to me?" "Shut up!" "You don't understand anything." " lf you're sad, so am I." " Don't be boring!" "In the night, when everyone's asleep, I watch for you." "Why don't you get lost!" "Maybe it's your stupidity that drives me crazy!" "I said I wouldn't be your guide!" "Or are you just having a bad period?" "Iro!" "Were you really scared?" "I would never hurt you." "Go away, beast!" "Go home!" "Frightening little girls!" "You should be ashamed of yourself!" "Do you feel better now?" "There's no reason to be afraid any longer." "There's no reason to cry like a baby." "I chased Iro away because of you!" "Don't you know Iro is my best friend!" "It's because of your constant fear!" "That's why I hate you!" "I hate you!" "Maybe I'll forgive you." "But on one condition." "You must bring me the blond girl." " Here I am!" " Welcome to my empire!" "Such a big shot!" "My name is Silvia." "[Italian: "of the forest"]" "Your name is Fabrizio... "The King."" "Nice Shot!" "Hey, the bird wants to escape." "Shoot!" "Not a chance!" "It's tied up." "Shoot!" "Bravo!" "You're both mad!" "Totally insane!" "Die, little bird!" "Either Fabrizio or Silvia... don't shoot me!" "Fabrizio... please stop it!" "Please, Fabrizio!" "Stop it!" ""Please stop it, Fabrizio!" "I beg you!"" ""Stop it, I beg you!"" "Let me go..." "Okay, if you beg for it." "Come on, pick up the mask." "She doesn't want to play with us, Fabrizio." "Move your ass!" "We want to play!" " l'll never play again with you!" " Don't say that!" "We were just having fun!" "Can't you see that?" "It was only a joke." "She doesn't seem like the type to hurt you." "Now stop that crying!" "I give you my word, everything will be alright." "Look, Fabrizio!" "I've hurt myself!" "Are you crazy?" "Why did you do that?" "Don't be a sissy!" "It's only a scratch!" "What happened to your courage?" "That's better." "It doesn't hurt anymore, Fabrizio." "She wasn't hurt!" "She only did that to get at me!" "You're so mean!" "Fabrizio, I had a dream:" ""l was sitting in a boat on the river ..." ""..." "I don't know what happened..."" ""..." "I slept, Fabrizio." "But I felt all these things... "" ""Suddenly it started to snow..." "I don't know why..."" ""... the boat couldn't get out of the ice..." "the ice was everywhere..."" ""..." "I slept and it was snowing..." "but I saw all these things... "" ""..." "I slept... slept..." "like a princess..."" "So I ask you, Fabrizio: "What did my dream mean?"" "Let's tie her up and feed her to the red ants." "No, we'll strangle her with a scarf." "The one who loves you... I'm tired... lf you want to be free, you have do penitence." "We're willing to forgive you if you perform an act of penitence." "I would kill her." "She really gets on my nerves." "No, not this time." "There's no case for penitence here." "I think it would be better to kill her." "No, if we killed her, there wouldn't be anyone to pick on." "Let's think of something she would feel ashamed of." "She must take off her panties and show us how she pees." "I saw her do it at the waterfall." "She thought no one could see her." "Come on, Laura." "Show us how you pee." "Do it, like you did at the waterfall." "We'll hide and watch you." "Come on!" "This is your last hope of salvation!" "Nobody will help you!" "Do it, otherwise we'll kill you!" "Get moving!" "I want to watch!" "Up!" "Over there!" "Quickly!" "Do it or we'll leave you to starve." "I'm too embarrassed, Fabrizio." " l can't do it!" " Let it go... think about how it feels!" "Let it all go!" "Oh!" "Did I make you do it?" "Oh, it's raining!" "Fabrizio punished you with his pee!" "Our servant was dismissed, but she didn't want to leave." "She begged us to stay." "We'll forgive her." "But the servant has to obey our orders from this day on." "Come on!" "Give the symbols of power to your queen!" "May I comb your hair?" "You look wonderful." "...4,5,6,7,8,9,10... you're it." "It's your turn to find us." " Okay, but don't go too far away!" " Start counting!" "1, 2, 3, 4, 5,... 10!" "I will find you!" "Where are you?" "Fabrizio?" "Silvia?" "You win!" "I am tired of searching!" "Fabrizio!" "This isn't funny!" "Well done." "You found us." "Tell me, wouldn't you like to be kissed by him?" "You have to admit it!" "Your punishment will be to watch us!" "You have to follow our orders!" "You begged us to stay." "We forgave you." "So watch us!" "Don't turn away!" "Get over here!" "How many times do you need to be told?" "Sit here and watch your king!" "Hey, look at the drop!" "Imagine what it would be like to fall down." "It makes me afraid just looking." "Come with me." "Laura, sing us a song." "Once upon a time in a magical town, there was a wonderful girl." " But the king didn't love her anymore..." " Shut up!" " Let's kill her!" " Why?" " l don't like her anymore." " It doesn't matter to me." "She's no good." "Let's toss her down!" "Don't try to escape!" "You haven't got a chance!" " You little fool!" " No!" "Let me go!" "Do I mean anything to you?" "Didn't you swear to obey our orders?" "You said you wouldn't hurt me, Fabrizio!" " No I didn't." " She's telling lies." " Stand up!" " No..." "You don't care about us." "No I don't, Laura..." " Come along!" " What have I done to you?" " You didn't obey our orders." " Please!" "You're hurting me..." "I gave you..." "I gave you everything..." "How long will it take to die?" "It will be a long fall for her!" "Very long!" "I'm not just some animal..." "Listen, this is a legal execution." "You have already been condemned by the laws of my kingdom." "And now... the execution." "Prepare yourself." "It's a long drop." "I would say 50 meters." "You will hit the rocks and die." "I will count now." "Come along." " This isn't fun." "You won't enjoy this!" " No!" " 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9..." " What are you waiting for?" "Please!" "Let me go!" "Attention!" "You are now in front of the cliff!" "And now... you fall!" " Goodbye, Silvia." " Bye." " See you!" " Bye..." "What about you?" "It's late!" "Go home!" "Silvia is also going home." "Do you want me to stay?" "Why?" "I like to be alone." "Okay, as you wish." "Tell me, why do you sleep in the forest?" "Because I like it. I feel very well here." "I don't like it so much." "I prefer my warm bed and my shower." "I take a bath in the lake." "You're strange." "I never met anyone like you before." "One day we noticed the beginning of autumn." "The trees and the plants began to change color, and it grew dark earlier." "Soon it would be over." "The day of departure was near." "And now, when the summer was over, Fabrizio became more and more troubled." "It seemed to me that he suffered." "He wasn't happy anymore." "Even when we were with him, he seemed to be lonely." "Summer vacation will soon be over." "We had such a good time." "Feel the wind!" "It's a sign of autumn." "Don't leave me alone." "Stay with me, here in the forest." "Don't be foolish, Fabrizio." "I am serious." "Stay with me forever." "Okay, I'll think it over." "I'll tell you my decision." "Maybe tonight, maybe tomorrow." "Well then..." " Well what?" " What is your answer?" "What's your decision?" "I still don't know." "Bye!" "Goodbye, Fabrizio..." " l have to go this way." "Bye!" " Bye!" "We'll leave tomorrow." "We have to be home on Sunday." " l have to go back to school." " It was such a nice time." "Then  today is the last day of our vacation." "We haven't climbed the mountain yet." "The "Blue Mountain"..." "We could do it now!" "Let's go!" "Hurry!" "Look at the clouds on the mountain." "It will be hard to get up there." "Damn, that means a thunderstorm." "It's too far to the cave." "Hurry if you want to see my secret." "It will soon be a downpour!" " Wait!" "I'm tired!" " By evening you'll see my god." "Wait, Fabrizio!" "Hurry!" "Get inside!" "It's strange in here, and hard to walk." "I don't want to go on." "It's too dark." "I'm sore, it's late and I want to head back." "Let's not do this. I want to go home." "lmpossible!" "It's dark outside." "We wouldn't find our way through the forest." "Damn it!" "I have to go home!" "We're lost in here!" "We can't go back home!" "If we search for the way out, we'll find it!" "I beg you, Fabrizio!" "We'll spend the night in the cave." "There's no other way!" "No, don't do this to me, Fabrizio!" "My parents will be searching for me!" "I'm going to be in big trouble!" "Do you understand?" "Calm down..." "There's no way out of here!" "Please tell me this is a joke, Fabrizio." "Take me home!" "Please take me home, Fabrizio!" "Silvia was desperately looking for the way out." "She was stumbling around." "She was crying." "She wouldn't stop crying." "Her arrogance was gone." "Only a frightened little girl lost in the cave." "A little girl, crying for her mother." "She fell into my arms and cried." "I couldn't move." "I was both confused and happy." "I took her in my arms and stroked her hair." "But I didn't tell her that Fabrizio knew the way out." "In fact, I could easily find the way out." "After a while we sat down in the silence." "A silence more terrible than the loudest noise." "I wanted to cry, but I couldn't." "Fabrizio and Silvia were only shadows on the wall." "I didn't notice anything around me." "I felt very tired." "I only wanted to sleep." "I dreamed we'd awaken surrounded by green trees." "I've never been that tired before." "The labyrinth was frightening." "Its beauty was gone  and Silvia had shown her true self." "It must be early morning." "Let's go now." "Take me out of here, Fabrizio." "I'm terrified." "If you love me, you'll show me the way out." "No, Silvia. I don't want to lose you." " We'll stay together forever." " No... no..." "Let go of me!" "..." "Let go!" "..." "I want to go home!" "I'm scared to death!" "I'll go insane!" "I want to get out of here..." "Silvia!" "Wait!" "Where are you going?" "You won't find the way!" "Silvia, come back!" "No!" "I want to get out of here!" " Wait!" " Where's the way out?" "Someone help me!" " l want to go home!" " Please calm down, Silvia!" " Stay with me forever." " No!" "Why do you want to leave me alone?" "I don't want to lose you!" "Hands off!" "I want to leave!" "I'm going insane!" "Silvia..." "Fabrizio..." "Fabrizio  what have you done?" "What have you done?" "The way out is easy to find." "We found it before, remember!" "Take the light." "Leave..." "What about you?" "What are you going to do?" "I'll stay here." "No, I can't leave you alone!" "Please come with me." "I'll do anything for you." "I'll stay by your side in the forest." "I'll never go home." "Leave me alone!" "Go... and don't look back." "Leave!" "Why?" "Please, come with me!" " Fabrizio, let's stay together!" " Leave!" "Leave..." "leave..." "It's all over now." "Tell me, will you be my playmate?" "Will you always, always want to play?" "go together in the darkness, with what seems important to a child's heart, take a seat at the head table with seriousness, pour wine and water with wisdom, cast pearls, great or worthless, with nostalgia and wear old clothes?" "Say, you want to play everything and life, winter snow and autumn long, you can drink the tea, in silence, on the ruby and the yellow water?" "Do you really want to live with a pure heart, remain silent for a long time, sometimes afraid, because it's nearly November on the plaza, because the street sweeper is a poor and sickly man;" "who whistles under our window?" "Do you want to play with the snake, the eagle, go for long trips, by train, by ship, and at home, to dream of all the beautiful things?" "Do you want to play the happy lover?" "pretending to cry at a colorful funeral?" "Do you want to live, live forever, live in the game and become real?" "lie flat on the ground among the flowers and do you want to, do you want to play dead?" "Deszo Kostolanyi translation by Edith Bruck"