Multiversum by Leonardo Patrignani

wasn’t at all sure he was doing the right thing. The woman turned her back to him and went inside, taking it for granted that he would follow her.
    â€˜My name is Mary Thompson. Why don’t you sit down in the living room,’ she said as soon as Alex came through the door.
    The walls of the spacious front hall were completely covered with paintings in heavy gilded frames. His gaze lingered on a canvas that depicted the Earth as seen from the moon. The lunar surface resembled a broad roadway that had been left unfinished, running straight into the void, while the shape of the Earth loomed in the distance, enormous and sumptuous, three-quarters illuminated by the sun.
    â€˜Take a seat, young man,’ the woman said again. Alex took a step towards the living room but remained standing by the doorway. ‘What’s your name?’
    â€˜Alex. Alessandro.’
    â€˜And when did you live … here in Australia?’ The tone of voice in her question was that of a police interrogator.
    â€˜I lived here from when I was born until I turned eight.’
    â€˜I’m making some tea. Do you like tea?’
    â€˜Yes. But please, I really don’t want you to put yourself to any trouble —’
    â€˜No trouble at all, young man. I’ve wanted to have a chance to practise my Italian again for years now … I had just put a tea bag in the teapot when you rang the doorbell. It’s as if you were supposed to come.’
    â€˜What a coincidence …’ said Alex, trying to sound friendly, even though he was rather put off by the woman’s attitude. She was alternating between cordial smiles and inquisitorial glares, reminding him of his Latin teacher at exam time.
    â€˜There’s no such thing as a coincidence! There are numbers, and there are signs,’ said Mrs Thompson in a firm voice. Alex looked at her curiously, and she responded with a smile.
    â€˜I’m astrologer,’ she added. ‘The sky is open book to my eyes. I spend my nights on roof looking up … I own powerful telescope, you know.’
    Alex nodded awkwardly. He didn’t know what to say.
    â€˜But back to matter at hand.’ The woman’s tone suddenly changed, and she got a serious look in her eyes. ‘Do you remember what this friend of yours, this Jenny, looked like?’
    Okay. Now I’m screwed . ‘It’s been so many years, I don’t remember all that many details. She was a very clever girl, very nice … I just wanted to see her again, since I was here in Australia on holiday with my family, and I happened to have her old address. Clearly, she’s moved away.’
    â€˜Girl was very smart, this true. And very nice.’
    â€˜Did you know her?’
    â€˜Of course.’
    At once, Alex’s body stiffened. He started looking wildly around the room as if searching for a way out. The woman was staring at him with an icy glare.
    â€˜I see,’ he mumbled.
    Mary Thompson wiped her mouth with an embroidered linen napkin, her eyes still on her guest. ‘I was her nanny.’
    Great. I’m really in deep shit now .
    â€˜Oh, really? Then maybe you can tell me —’
    â€˜Cut it out,’ she interrupted brusquely. ‘Stop lying to me! Tell me why you really here.’
    Alex was on the ropes. It was obvious that his flimsy story had fallen apart. Maybe the best thing to do was to come clean.
    â€˜Well, ma’am, I really did come to say hello to Jenny … I thought that …’
    â€˜I give you one last chance to stop trying to trick me, boy. You want to take chance I give immediately, or you prefer continue with this show?’
    For a second, Alex considered telling her everything. Then he realised it wasn’t a good idea.
    â€˜I’m sorry, Mrs Thompson. The last thing I wanted to do was make you angry, but I only have vague memories from when we were seven … or eight years old. Maybe I have it all