A Closed Up Story by Alessandro Toscano

The first thing they give you in exchange is the prisoner’s kit, with rough sheets, an even rougher blanket, a metal plate and bowl, cutlery, but no knife, a plastic cup, and the charter of prisoner’s rights and responsibilities. If you’re lucky, you’ll even get a toothbrush and soap. That’s all they give you, but lately I’ve seen more and more people come in with just sheets and bowls. Must be the financial crisis.

Anyway, you walk along carrying all this stuff so you almost can’t see what’s in front of you, you look up and down, trying to understand where you’ve ended up, or if you can catch the eye of someone you know who’s already inside and who’s been expecting you. And without fail, it happens to nearly everyone, you drop your plate and bowl on the floor and they make a huge noise, that typical clatter of pots and pans, and everyone calls out from the cells, “Ben venuto! Welcome!”, or if it’s not your first time, “Ben tornato! Welcome back!”.