What lies on the other side ....

I never was a good student. All things considered however I was a pretty good wanderer. In 2021 I found myself in L’Aquila, a beautiful Italian city that several years prior had been struck by a serious earthquake. It had seen its fair share of hardships: inaccessible areas, cracked walls, and construction sites were testimonies for what had happened. They marked a difficult past but also the perseverance of moving forward and rebuilding.

I was there for a written exam - the first step in the selection process for the next PhD students at the University of L’Aquila. I had arrived one day early since it would have been impossible with public transport to get there on the day of the test itself. I went to the B&B, took a shower and planned for the following day. Since night would soon start to creep, I was left with a serious decision to make. Any other normal person in my condition would have stayed in, possibly revising their notes, preparing better for an exam that could potentially dictate an important part of their future. Unfortunately, as I said, I was never a good student. So I decided to go out for a walk, maybe have a drink and just think about things.

I stopped in the main square for a quick beer, enjoying the setting sun and street lights turning on. Then I started wandering aimlessly through the unknown city. As I explored, I eventually reached the faculty where the exam would have taken place and close by I found a perfect spot to meditate. It was a little resting area, no more than two benches, a tree close by and a small parking zone. What caught my attention however was the massive waist-high wall that was on one of the sides. It was part of a much larger fortification, one that wasn’t even visible from the benches and that stretched down for quite a bit.

That was the spot.

I climbed on top of the wall, which admittedly is not something I would advise doing (that goes for most of the things that I do in life), and got a fantastic view of the other half of the city beneath me. I have this fascination for heights and places where you can witness the minute doings of the people down below. A sort of a bird’s-eye view that just makes you appreciate the immensity of the world. A perfect spot to think about life.

It was then and there that I started thinking not only about my own situation but also about that of the other students, the ones that would have taken the same exam. Did they have questions similar to mine? Had they arrived a day early as well and decided to go out for a stroll or were they much more diligent and stayed in to study? What did they think about pursuing an academic career and remaining in L’Aquila for the next three years of their lives? Did they have a plan B? What would they do otherwise? Were they eager, sure of themselves, worried, terrified?

From wanderer to wonderer, pondering the what if scenarios, asking myself what lay in the hearts of others and understanding the endless beauty that came from their boundless answers. That was me the day before an exam. As I said, I have never been a good student. I did eventually find my way in life, not in L’Aquila, but doing a PhD in Siena, and that is a story and a journey for another time.

____________________________________-

Bogdan Groza was born in Romania and currently is living in Italy doing a PhD in Philology and literary criticism at the University of Siena. Although he has been working mostly in Italian for the past several years, publishing in minor anthologies, recently he started writing in English to see how this influences his stories and narration. As a result, he published short stories with Deep Overstock and Flash Fiction Magazine.