That perks me right up. ‘Yes please.’
‘Ever heard of Melusina?’
I shake my head.
‘Well. A fisherman pulled up his nets one night and found a mermaid begging him to free her. They fell in love and agreed to be together on one condition – he couldn’t see her on Saturdays.’
‘Like a mates before dates rule?’
Leo laughs. ‘He broke the promise.’
I roll my eyes. ‘Typical.’
‘—and she was cursed to turn into a snake …unless they married. They did, and had children. But Melusina fell ill and died.’
I let out a small mewl. ‘That had better not be the end.’
He drops a kiss to the top of my head before continuing.
‘Strangely, though, every night when the fisherman came home, the house was clean and the children were cared for.’
‘Yay!’ I grin.
‘Until one evening …’
‘Uh-oh.’
‘… he found a snake in the kitchen and killed it, realizing only too late, it was Melusina in her animal form.’
‘Right. And I thought Scottish folktales had the monopoly on eerie and uncanny.’
‘Thissottoportego,’ he says as the story ends, ‘is where they used to live.’
We duck under an arch and into the passageway. Leo opens his phone torch to show me a small red brick carved into the shape of a heart.
‘They say Melusina left this as a reminder. And if you touch it with someone you …’ He hesitates, eyes searching mine.
‘Someone you … blank?’ I prompt, my pulseskittering fast and uneven.
‘Exactly. Someone you blank … it will last forever.’
He lays his hand on the heart and I add mine to his. It’s exactly the kind of moment you’d get arrested for not sealing with a kiss.
When we break apart, I fumble for my phone. ‘Sorry. I need to immortalize this.’ I snap the red-brick heart from a few different angles, but the photos look flat and ordinary compared to my maxed-out feelings. My fingers itch to start a new collage anyway – Melusina, the heart, us. Maybe that way I can hold on to this fullness a little longer.
Another hour passes before we end up near the market and find a bar that’s already open for the first stallholders.
I grab a cappuccino while Leo orders an espresso and a couple of warm brioches to share.
‘Did you see @Agatheia’s ink work on the app?’ he asks through a mouthful of pastry.
I nod. ‘Yeah. Must have taken days!’
‘Not as long as her last one though.’ Leo scrolls to the one he means.
‘We’ll keep posting there, right?’
‘Always.’ He shrugs, like it’s obvious. ‘You’d bemissed if you didn’t.’
