Sofia: Donne di Fora
Enjoy this glimpse into the worlds of Sofia - from 2025 Nevada to 1610 Sicily, Sofia's worlds are filled with family, romance, passion and a mystical battle between good and evil that, if not won, could lead to the demons holding the future of humanity in their grasp.
Sofia Russo doesn’t know what to feel. Numb is the only word she can think of, but numb doesn’t begin to describe the emptiness taking the place of the companionship, love, and contentment that Roger brought to her life. He’s gone. It’s too difficult for her to even say those words to herself, let alone articulate them to anyone else.
As she sits on the couch with the divorce papers in hand, she still doesn’t know where it all went wrong. Her mind wanders back to that day two months ago, a lovely clear mid-October day with a vibrant blue sky and the leaves beginning to change color along the Truckee River. Autumn used to be her favorite time of the year in Reno, but now it will always be tainted by that memory.
It wasn’t a dramatic exit like you see in the movies: No crying, screaming, or pleading. He just stated that he was leaving. No explanation, no harsh words. He just walked out with a suitcase in one hand and his coat in the other.
Sofia just sat there, spoon hovering over her coffee mug, a confused look on her face, her salt-and-pepper hair cascading past her shoulders. She didn’t say anything, didn’t ask why. She just stared, her head tilted to one side like a puppy who doesn’t quite understand the words its human is saying.
She knew this was going to happen. The movie reel in her head had already played the scene but she had brushed it off. She does that a lot when her sixth sense, women’s intuition, or whatever you call it, jumps into action. And now, two months later, she is holding the divorce papers that a messenger just delivered. This is Nevada, after all—if you can have a drive-thru wedding you can have a DoorDash divorce.
(Chapter One)
Hello Sofia,
I am Concetta Telesca. I live in Ortigia, Sicilia. I received a notification through my mtDNA results that we are a perfect match! I have never had another perfect match. It means we are directly related through our mother’s lines.
I have been doing research on our maternal line, and I have traced it back 650 years. Mostly, you will find our maternal line earlier in Napoli and then in Sicilia. This is somewhat unusual because it is usually the other way. People tended to go from Sicilia to Napoli, not the other way around. This is probably too much information for an introduction email but I’m just so happy to have found you! Please write back. Please. I hope to hear from you soon.
Your “sister,”
Concetta
(Chapter Two)
Once all the preparations are in place, the women find their places on the blankets. Concetta takes Sofia’s hand and leads her to a blanket where they sit side by side. After everyone has eaten their fill, one of the women begins playing a tambourine, and the entire grotto seems to fill with energy and vibrancy. The other women all begin chanting in time with the tambourine.
Sofia listens closely at first. Then, to her own surprise, she begins chanting with them. Maybe it’s just her mimicking the others, but Sofia feels like she knows this chant, that it is either deep down in her memories or even in her DNA. She feels like every cell in her body is vibrating in unison with every woman in the circle. It is like they are one being, one powerful being. It is as though the Divine Feminine is filling the space within the circle—no, filling each woman there with the memories of all of those who came before.
Suddenly the music stops, and silence fills the space. Each woman is lost in her own thoughts, lost in the collective memories of their entire matriarchal line. Sofia has no idea how long they sit in this trance-like state, but eventually the tambourine starts up again, softly at first and then progressively increasing in both volume and rhythm. One by one, the women stand and begin to dance with abandonment until the whole cove feels like it is throbbing, like a lifeblood pulsating through the earth.
Sofia feels herself rise and join the dance. It is as though her body is responding to something ancient, something that is so a part of who she is that thought and reason are superfluous, thus abandoned. Nothing exists but the rhythm of Mother Earth throbbing through her body. She has always felt drawn to Goddess worship—the honoring of Mother Earth and all of her creatures always spoke to her. But for the first time, in the presence of these women and immersed in this ancient ritual, Sofia senses a new power within herself that is a reflection of the Goddess’s strength. It is as though she can hear the Goddess speaking to her, telling her that sometimes, that strength must be harnessed in order to protect all that is good.
The beat begins to slow down, becoming softer and more somber. As the music stops, they retake their places on the blanket and one by one begin reciting the names of the women who came before them. Each giving life to their ancestors by speaking their names out loud. When the last woman concludes her list, all of the women step forward, assemble along the water’s edge, and clasp hands. A peace engulfs Sofia, unlike anything she has ever felt before. As the line of women’s breath becomes synchronized, they feel not like separate entities, but one organism. Filled with love, they watch the sun break the crest of the horizon.
(Chapter Seven)