Preface to Between the Cracks

Preface

A cross from Italy’s mainland sat the city of Messina

like an indomitable fortress. Proud of its solid

presence, Messina was the travelers’ first encounter

with the island of Sicily. The earthy colors of

the buildings and landscape signaled to the visitor or returning

Sicilian that Messina and its people belonged to the island, not

to any outside political force or cultural tradition. The clang of

the donkey-drawn carts and the voices calling out to customers

to buy wares in the market added to the music of the city’s

sounds. Visitors marveled out loud at the cathedrals and ancient

art work throughout the city, but the locals walked and spoke

softly, especially near the narrow slits between the buildings.

Visitors delighted in the snake-like movement of the

streets. The streets seemed to lead directly to a famous church

or street market but then would slowly veer off in a different

direction. They seemed to be designed to intentionally confuse.

The city offered no help in arriving at a specific destination.

Ancient buildings were so close together that air barely

squeezed through. Residents believed that between the buildings

old mysteries sat, holding the true essence of Messina.

Whenever one of the townspeople walked close to the

openings, there seemed to be a whisper, not a sound you could

hear with your physical ears, but heard in your mind. The

whisper seemed to convey a yearning that had been imprisoned

for hundreds of years. When this happened, people scurried

past, heads down, attempting to get away from the whispers in

their heads.

6 Carmella Cattuti

Messina was so congested with ancient energy it felt like

the city could explode. Hopelessness was the disease that

plagued the citizens of Messina during the early 20th century.

Small eruptions did occur. Whenever some of the dark

energy needed release, outbursts took place between the locals

who were often surly with one another. Their interactions were

always based on scarcity and not just in terms of money. If a

resident didn’t show enough respect to a compatriot, there

would be a confrontation. If someone had more stylish clothes

than another, there would be jealousy for the lack of

good-quality clothes. If a citizen had more leisure time than the

next person, there would be gossip about how the person with

more time for pleasure was lazy and didn’t deserve the extra

time. Daydreaming was frowned upon. What was the point of

daydreaming when it was just fantasy and would never

come true.

The city’s poor were especially vulnerable to the local

mafia and thieves. Many of the men met an early death at the

hands of murderers, accidents from factory jobs or shoveling

coal, and disease. Women were left to raise children who would

most likely not move above their childhood situation. The lack

of light between the buildings prevented transcendence or

change. This cycle had repeated itself for hundreds of years.

The dark energy of Messina was relentless in its hunger

for the human spirit. Feeding off people’s dreams, it left them

with doubt, fear, and misery. This shadowy energy prided itself

on soul theft. Once the soul was stolen, an over-whelming

amount of energy was required to retrieve it. There were few

people in Sicily who were familiar with the practice of soul

retrieval.

The neighborhoods were filled with children running,

playing, singing, and giggling. Youth were not affected by the

dark energy. They nourished each other with joy and playfulness;

qualities that the malevolent force could not penetrate.

Between the Cracks 7

The children breathed deeply and dreamed blissful scenarios for

their future, but when they returned to their homes, a grim

reality met their physical eyes: parents yelling, a blow or two to

their mother's face or stomach from a drunken father. Imperceptibly,

like a slow death from a chronic debilitating disease,

the children played less and gave up their bliss and dreams to

the heavy energy between the buildings.

So the cycle of poverty and abuse branched out through

time like a spider unconsciously spinning its web. No police

force protected the women or the poor so the residents lived in

fear of everything. Unconsciously, they feared the small spaces

between the buildings. At times, a glimmer of light seeped into

the locals’ fear. This usually took place in their conversation

around sunset, when they would gather in the town piazza.

There was talk of freedom and protection in America. The

townspeople heard it was a country where anyone could

become rich, but more than that, one could become happy.

America equaled happiness. They didn’t know what happiness

felt like since the dark energy took their joy, but they were sure

they could find it again if only they could go to America.

However, few had true hope of leaving Messina. The spark of

light ignited by the conversation flickered and was extinguished

at the last spoken word.

It wasn’t that the townspeople couldn’t find a way to get to

the New World; there just wasn’t enough determination or will.

When the energy between the buildings took their will, the

residents were left with despair. The Black Plague of the

Middle Ages had been cured by an awareness of sanitation

techniques. The town’s hopelessness could only be cured by

cleansing Messina of the dark, heavy energy. This would

require a belief that they could reclaim their stolen individuality,

comprised of their dreams and hopes. In the end, it was

easier to cure the Plague.

8 Carmella Cattuti

The shadowy energy became so thick at times that it took

on form. It was a master shape-shifter that became stronger as it

gathered human dreams. From the corners of their eyes, the

residents would perceive a shape leaning against a building, but

when they looked directly at the form, it would vanish. This

energy frightened the residents into thinking that they had to

stay in the city to remain safe.

In September of 1908, the earth made a decision that

would change the lives of Messina’s inhabitants forever. The

amount of pressure caused by the malevolent energy between

the city’s buildings seeped under the earth and into the

surrounding area. It nestled itself under Mt. Etna, an active

volcano. It was as if the earth released a scream that resounded

through time, releasing a millennium of abuse and maltreatment.

Human dreams and aspirations were sprinkled over the

city as if baptized by an unseen hand. They landed at random,

healing the gaping wounds in the city. Dreams were now for

the taking.

After Mt. Etna erupted, causing an earthquake, the city

moaned. After that, screams from the undead buried under

debris echoed off the skeletons of structural remains. Twentyfour

hours passed and a pristine hush settled over the city. One

could imagine it to be the silence before God said “Let there be

light.” This pre-Creation silence was a relief to a few residents,

who could finally begin again. Especially 13-year-old

Angela Lanza.

The dark energy never stole Angela’s dreams or her

distinct presence. Her awareness had never allowed it to do so.

Different from her contemporaries, as she entered adolescence,

her ability to communicate with the unseen increased. She

hadn’t been afraid of the lurking, mysterious force between the

buildings, and had visions while she slept that instructed her

how to oppose this force.

Between the Cracks 9

One night, during a dream, two beings appeared to her.

Both had shoulder-length, wavy, light hair and faces glowing

with a radiance that compelled her to look away at first. Angela

realized she was dreaming and looked back at the faces of the

beings. Her dream eyes could look into their faces and take in

some of the light streaming toward her. These creatures

explained that they were infusing her with light for protection

against the dark power of the city. If she paid attention to their

guidance, she would live to manifest her dreams and aspirations

and use her will to do it.

When she awoke, she felt special. Whenever she was sad,

alone, or ridiculed, she would think of her two friends from her

dream and know everything would be all right. Angela

maintained the integrity of her internal space. She knew she

could not be violated by the shadowy energy. Angela stayed

away from certain buildings without really knowing why. At

times, her body seemed to be guided by an unseen, gentle

sensation or a distant voice inside her head. She also had the

sense that her time in Messina would be short, that she wasn’t

supposed to stay here. Angela no longer attended school,

typical of girls of her age. The oldest of three children, it was

her responsibility to help her mother.

Angela returned home one day and learned that her father

had left and would not return. A few weeks later, a man moved

into their house. Her mother explained that he would help with

the rent. After a few months, Angela noticed her mother’s belly

protruding beneath her homemade, faded smock. Angela

pretended she didn’t notice. She thought of her dream friends

and felt less alone.

When the earth exploded, Angela was walking on the edge

of the city. She blacked out and started to drift. She floated

above the earth, peering down into the city. She saw people

running, buildings collapsing, and gaping holes in the earth.

From that moment on, her experience of the earthquake always

felt like a dream.


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