Finally he invited me at home. I was thrilled. I knew where he was living since the big building with the bright green shutters could not be missed in my daily morning and afternoon walks to and from the school.
What excited me was that I would see his aunt, the famous actress. He gave me a signed photo before and promised to let me see her. And there was it, the invitation.
When we entered his room he mentioned something about his grandmother and I asked if she was the old lady sitting in the living room watching TV. He said that was the sister of his grandmother. He, his elder brother, his grandma, grandma’s sister and the famous aunt were living all together. His parents and his younger brother were living abroad where his father worked as a newspaper correspondent.
In my tender age, they struck me a bit as an unconventional family, at least compared to mine. He was the first in our group at school who talked and bragged about having a girlfriend. He traveled a lot with his family and came back with new stories about the places he saw in summer vacations. He talked freely about his aunt’s boyfriends, and his grandma’s criticism of his aunt’s attitude towards her last rich boyfriend. His answer was vague whenever he was asked about his religion. Even as young as I was, I felt that what I knew about his family did not lie well within the sphere of the “family values” my family adopted!
And there I was in their home anticipating seeing his aunt. She was asleep when I arrived and my friend told me she came back home very early in the morning. I saw her for few minutes when she waked up. Tall, thin and blonde. The grandmother’s sister pointed at me and told her “He has been waiting long in order to see you” She smiled and asked her nephew “Did you give him photo?” She disappeared and I saw her again on her way out in full make-up and wearing a black suit. She seemed beautiful and glamorous, or that what my young brain told me back then.
The following year my friend left the school and nobody knew where he went. I never heard of him until maybe 20 years later when the media started to talk about him as a promising movie director. Ho got married to an actress who was (and still) known for her daring roles. It felt funny somehow to try to match my memories of this slim blond boy with the bony cheeks, with the image the media gave him. He witnessed few years of success and fame, but then at 39 years old the news of his illness spread and within one year he passed away.
The aunt is still now on the screen. Old with almost no trace of beauty, but the memory of seeing her is very alive.
