Sofia: Donne de 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 didn’t know what to feel. Numb was the only word she could think of but numb didn’t begin to describe the emptiness that took 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 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 the memory of that fateful day.
It wasn’t a dramatic exit like you see in the movies; no crying, screaming, begging 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 it’s human is saying.
She knew this was going to happen, the movie reel in her head had already played this 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 delivered. Well, this is Nevada so she figures that 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 for a number of years. 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. Sorry, this is probably too much information for an introduction email but I’m just so excited 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. 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 then 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 all of 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 increases 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, pulsating like a lifeblood pulsating through the earth.
The rhythmic beat begins to slow down, becoming softer and more somber. As the music stops, the 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, along the water’s edge and clasp hands. A serene peace engulfs Sofia, a centering, deep peace unlike anything she has ever felt before. As the line of women’s breath becomes synchronized and they are there as not separate entities but one organism, filled with love and peace, they watch the sun break the crest of the horizon. (Chapter Six)