FERVENT GRACE
Venice, 1988
Vehemently.
it is cold,
what we done to ourselves
away now and away then
to brokenness all over this two sided room
I miss you vehemently
friends of bittersweet symphonies hanging on tiny threads, moving too fast to know.
I miss you vehemently
I sometimes think of love forgone for total idiots
I am an idiot
the past is the past. but boy, if only I grew up quick enough to know.
it is another sad Saturday
I am waiting, waiting, waiting
and you may not believe me
and you may not trust me
what I was may not happen again
but I miss you vehemently, and that's that on that.
-Ciro Gazzidis, to Tatiana Agassi, 1916.
Pain can make you angry. One of the two is life pain and suffering, either way, you must hurt. In the distant courts of Venice where a young Ace Vicente lived, he carried himself around like he owned the place, he was a skinny young man with heart the size of his head. Speaking of his heard, it was huge, like a curse for the sins his parents must have committed before he was born. A petty thief, he had probably the fastest legs around the block, his sight was clear, and his nose seemed to have the ability to smell money from at least a hundred yards away.
In the streets, he hounded his victims like adult grey hounds, his speed and stamina did for him the rest, when he snatched your purse, forget about it. There were those who considered him a friend and would protect him from the police when it came running. Ace knew the streets just as the streets knew him. Perhaps, the greatest detail about the young Ace Vicente was his word. He would have died to keep his word standing and for that he risked getting shot at twice, he was chased down by a dog and bitten, twice, he was beaten up by thugs like himself (well, it was a matter of bullying, but that is a story for another day), he risked getting cremated alive trying to retrieve stolen pieces of jewelry from a dead man's body (still another story for another day) you name it, Ace Vicente has been through the lot for his name.
While Ace Vicente gambled over a rolling dice, a young woman about his age or slightly older joined in on the game, she had a way of rolling that meant she owned everybody and everything in the circle. The dice were either drilled on a side or burned, but you all con men have their day and when Ace Vincente's came, he always outran those who came after him. And with each discovery, a new skill followed. He mastered the art of tossing dice without having to manipulate or cause any physically impairments. He had become so skilled at rolling dice that everyone was convinced that he was either a magician or he was cheating. But of course, he cheated, but his cheating was legal and that won him a lot of money. Sometimes, the only thing that stopped him and took most of his money was his bullies who would beat and take his money away from him. This one time, he ran nearly an hour from them, only to drown in the canals. He would return a few days later and take more money from them. Soon, he met Luca Toni who would introduce him to Vigo Rush in the near future. Luca had nabbed him picking pockets and cheating on dice on various occasions and had set the scenes right for Ace Vicente to be caught and indebted to him, you could say openly today, that that bit of action made Ace Vicente the man he is today. His debt made him work for Luca Toni, and anyone who worked for Toni, had the protection he needed to succeed. Toni ran the underground for the lords of the mob. He was the one you went to for fresh blood, and I suppose at that time, you could say that young Ace Vicente was fresh.
A young woman had arrived at the scene in recent weeks, all the other boys spoke wildly about her, and maybe some even feared her. Some wanted her, the old man under the canopy at the grocery store thought she was attractive, and trust me, Luigi never thought anyone was attractive. But he (Ace Vicente) had not seen her, he was too busy these day under Luca Toni to play dice. He was also not interested in women at the time. She had heard of the guy who would take her down if they ever crossed path in a dice circle, he had the record for most wins and most cash made from rolling dice, but she was on her way to equaling his record and in just a few weeks. They eventually met after Luca Toni's attention had been called to the possibilities of a game between them and Luca Toni let it happen in his yard.
Over a hundred people trooped it with their ticket fees, "don't get beat by a girl." Said Toni who encouraged him. It was a game of equal rounds to make room for either side to win their monies back. The bookies had bet big on Ace to win, but she was not that far off on the listings and that may have worried him. "I know you are worried about losing to a girl. Do not worry, everyone else has." Said Helena softly in the human circle. "What is your name," he asked, "are you here to play me or know me." The first rounds were hers for the taking and those who staked individually rejoiced like they had just discovered fire. "The crowd loves you," he said, as he handed her the dice. "No, the just like to see you lose." "Fair enough," he said, "where are you from?" asked Ace Vicente with keen interest. Even he seemed to have fallen for her with everything that as at stake. "Are you here to roll dice or make forceful love to her?" asked the referee. She rolled again and won the second as it turned in for eight. The crowd went on and the second set of winners cheered on. "Your turn." said Helena.