Two wheels the road diabetes

Chapter III Andrea’s breakaway When I was a child I was afraid of the darkness, of night and of sleep. I didn’t understand why we spend so many hours inside a parallel world, different from the one we know. I had weird dreams which I couldn’t remember as soon as I woke up. Often I dreamt of flying but this is very common. But the other times I dreamt of mysterious people, distressing situations that I had to face alone. In my dreams, loneliness was a constant. That’s why when I had to go to bed, I would try to pass time by reading until late at night. I wanted to sleep with the open door and my mother by my side - this gave me peace. Sometimes I tried to draw her attention: “Mom I’m thirsty”, “Mom I’m cold”. And the poor woman would go to get me a glass of water or a blanket. And then I would hear her going toward her bed where she would rest.

On Sundays In Spring I would wake up earlier. I would leave the shutters half-open so the first light of the day would filter in to my room. I would shower very fast, drink a cup of milk, run to play with my friends, run to buy bread when my mom would ask me to do so, I would run to the tobacco shop or the newsagent. Maybe it was just a childish way to run away. Running was always so fascinating for me, even when I played football with my friends. I wasn’t a good player but I liked running, even with the ball.

“Pass!!! Andrea pass!!!”

But I wouldn’t pass the ball, I would just keep running until I reached the end of the field while my teammates would tell me to go to hell. “This is team play! You must pass the ball, bonehead!!”.

The grass was still soaked with dew, but it dried quickly with the sun. I would run down the street that from the town went up to the hills, taking tight curves and sitting on the grass waiting for the first competitors. It was a race of little importance, to a regional level, but I would still get excited at the sight of cyclists’ jerseys. The elders of the town, with the Gazzetta inside the coat pocket, would comment aloud the passing cyclists: they knew the name of every cyclist, they would encourage cyclists, talk about the lead. “This time Pinin can make it”, “No, he can’t take it anymore, instead it will be Attilio…during the downhill he will catch him, you’ll see”, “What are you talking about, Gregorio is there, with the pack, he’s just waiting 61