Once upon a time, a long time ago, there was a little city-state, named Fortuna.
It was located in a plain between the dark hills of the east and the deep sea of the west. It had several lawns and forests, and there was a little river that ran across its entire length, known as the «Cloud», since its water, almost stagnant, being near to the mouth, used to leave a dense steam mist in the early hours of the morning. There were nine districts, eight of which known with names of the Cardinal points, while people used to refer to the ninth as «center». Some time before, Someone tried to name them somehow original, but people early forgot about it.
However, despite its indisputable beauty and uniqueness, Fortuna did not brag of an enjoyable fame. The inhabitants used to manage themselves on their own, with ruthless rules that were out of the moral; Fortuna was sojourn to countless criminals, and many of them didn't even pay the consequences, not even a nail had had they twisted or scratched… but yet, people felt bold of living there, and was proud of being born in such a constant threat.
No one knew exactly what age it was, nor in which corner of the world was that loved and feared city located. But anyway, as it always did, the sun appeared from the east and disappeared to the west: to the sun, it didn't matter what day it was.
Shifting one's sight towards the hills, beyond Fortuna's borders, one could notice, in the distance, a bizarre group of gypsies, proceeding to the west. They were about fifteen, sitting on a carriage, that was covered by a big white sheet, and was towed by a black horse.
There were few people who yet used similar means of transport, but, according to them, in the middle of stony paths and barren countrysides, it'd better have been like it was. They had been traveling for days and days, after coming to know about the existence of an almost idyllic place to live: at least, rumors said so; they were attempting to visit it and, why not, perhaps even remaining there. To entertain the fellow travelers, a funny guitarist had perched on the carriage's roof, occasionally playing some nice little music pieces, after tuning his instrument. In the morning, children's songs used to be sung, so, amusing those two or three infants that ventured among them; in the afternoon, one could hear ballads that exalted the beauty of journeys. And at the dusk, when children finally were sleeping, everything assumed a slow and calm tone, and in the moonlight, the melodies of sweet serenades used to float in the air.
But it would have now lasted for a while, since Fortuna was nearer and nearer.
«Have we arrived?» Asked a little girl with deep brown hair and sky-blue eyes.
«We have! Get off, get off, come and see this spectacle! »
The little girl clumsily got off the carriage, now numb from inertia and with flickering legs due to the continuous tossing of the wheels, as they encountered holes and pebbles.
The sweet white dress she carried was now dusty and its color had changed to a slight ivory yellow.
The child looked at the world underneath, at the bottom of the hill.
«Is that Fortuna?»
«Sure it is. And it'll be our home».
Years passed away. The little girl grew up, she became a woman and gave birth to Ylenia. And Ylenia grew up too, in a city that was more and more ill-famed but adored, without forgetting about her humble origins, where everything was serene, one used to savor moment by moment, without too many problems.
Ylenia was not a pretentious girl. She often heard around that figures like hers were already outdated and even denigrated. But her biggest wish was having a happy family, that could tell more and more people those virtues, that, paradoxically, arriving in Fortuna, almost vanished.
But it's known, that, sometimes, wishes do not become true as they should do.