Aki and the Spheres of Time

1

My name is Achille Chiorri

My friends call me Aki. I’m twelve years old and I’m not very good at writing, so the fact that I was able to write something more than a couple of pages long without having a total brain meltdown is a miracle.

I mean, a novel? No way.

But here I am, my fingers whizzing over the keyboard, churning out page after page about all the things that have happened to me. Specifically, the amazing adventures I’ve had.

I imagine some of you rolling your eyes right about now, wondering what sort of adventures I’ve had, seeing I’m just a normal twelve-year-old kid from a small town in Italy that hardly anybody has ever heard of.

But that’s the whole point.

You see, I had always thought I was a normal kid too, no different from anyone else; but as it turns out, I’m far from normal. I’m not bragging either. I’m an Heir to the Superior Beings. There, I said it; and I bet many of you are now asking yourselves: An Heir of what?

That was my first reaction, too, when I found out.

Unfortunately, I can’t explain it in a couple of sentences. It’s far too complicated, so you’ll just have to read on.

Of course, you could also end up deciding that nothing you’re about to read is true, that I made it all up. That it’s all a whole lot of baloney. And I wouldn’t blame you. Because what I’ve been through recently is quite unbelievable.

But believe me, it’s not like that at all. All this stuff I’m going to tell you about. It really happened.

2

The Day It All Began

I usually tend to eat breakfast on my own, but that day my little sister Aurora was already up, sullenly dunking Oreo cookies in her milk while watching cartoons on her iPad.

She didn’t answer when I wished her good morning, like she didn’t even hear me. Too focused on her cartoons, I guess.

I sat across the table from her and added some cereal to the bowl my mom had set out for me, and poured some chocolate milk over it.

What are you doing up so early? I asked Aurora, who was usually sleeping like a rock this early in the morning.

Because you’re taking her to school today, answered my Mom, Virginia, as she walked into the kitchen. She was all dressed up, wearing makeup, which meant she was going somewhere.

I hadn’t seen her dressed like that in ages. I also realized that she must have been to the hairdresser because her brown hair was now glowing with golden highlights.

Brown hair was the standard in my family. Most of us had brown eyes, too, except for my grandma on my father’s side. Her eyes are this rare shade of grey just like mine.

I have a job interview, she said.

Mom knew I didn’t like to take my sister to school because it meant I would have to walk, given that Aurora wasn’t allowed to ride on my bike with me. But that’s only because one time we fell off and Aurora hit her chin. She still had a small scar to remind her of the accident.

Please Achille, you won’t forget, will you? she asked, worried.

I’ll remember, I promised.

A job interview. Mom had been trying to get back to work ever since she had been fired from the law firm where she had worked for twelve years, but she hadn’t been able to find a job. The economy is terrible, she would say. I think that must be the tenth interview she had gone to in the past year, but so far she hadn’t had any luck. In the meantime, she was working as a cleaning lady to make ends meet.

What about dad? I asked.

He left very early this morning. Remo’s mare is about to have her foal.

My dad Cesare is a vet. Remo Dionigi owns a huge farm with horses, cows, and pigs, making him one of Dad’s biggest customers.

Mom planted a kiss on my sister’s forehead then on mine, and practically ran out.

I finished breakfast and cleaned up after myself and Aurora.

Get dressed. And brush your teeth, I told her. Aurora pretended not to hear, so I took her iPad away.

Humph, she huffed before poking her tongue out and running off to her room, yelling like crazy.

At ten to eight I told Aurora I was ready, that she should get a move on, and I went out in the yard to wait for her.

It was a beautiful sunny day and the spring air was pleasantly cool.

A black and white neighborhood cat named Oscar noticed me standing outside. He hurried over and started rubbing up against my legs. A moment later a pretty ginger cat named Rusty came running up with her two kittens, Pippo and Nemo. The last to arrive was Pluto, a two-year-old mutt of some unidentifiable mixed breed. He was kind of ugly, but super smart. He avoided coming too close because he didn’t find the sight of the cats very reassuring.

As you can tell, I love animals. All animals. And they love me back. I know they do because I can read their thoughts.

Laugh all you want. But believe me, I’m not crazy. I’ve never told anyone because the one time I tried telling my best friend, Giulio Nicoli, he made a face at me, like I was crazy. A bit like the face I imagine you’re making right now. But it’s the truth. Believe it or not.

I still remember the exact moment I realized I could do it. It was the time my mom took me to the circus. I was five. I cried the whole time I was there, so we left the big top halfway through the show. My mom asked what was wrong and I told her I could feel the animals were suffering. She tried in vain to reassure me that the animals were actually treated well and cared for, but I knew it wasn’t true. At least I knew they weren’t happy. The elephants, chimpanzees, and lions, as well as giraffes, tigers, and zebras; they were all miserable. Even my mom didn’t seem to believe what I was saying and attributed it to a child’s imagination.

But it was true!

About a year later it happened again when I went to fetch a ball that Giulio had kicked over a fence into the Filippis’ yard. I wouldn’t have climbed over the fence had anyone been home, but I knew they weren’t there. However, what I didn’t remember was that they had a pit bull named Maciste, that they let roam freely in the yard when the family was out of town for a few days. I had heard Maciste was a bad dog because he had frightened and chased off many postmen, door-to-door salesmen, and other bothersome people. By the time Giulio tried to remind me, it was too late. I had taken only a few steps when I found myself face-to-face with Maciste. He was growling at me, baring his fearsome teeth.

I thought I was a goner. However, in that moment I could feel all Maciste needed was to be petted. His owner hardly ever petted him. I sat cross-legged on the lawn and spread my arms as if I wanted to hug him. Maciste came towards me, sniffed me, and let me pet him like a puppy. Giulio couldn’t believe his eyes. Even though Giulio saw everything, when I tried to explain how I was able to do it, he didn’t believe me. He laughed at me.

Since then, I’ve never spoken about my ability again.

My sister’s school is in downtown Pieve Olimpia, between the town hall and the post office. It’s a fifteen-minute walk from our house.

I took Aurora to the entrance before heading rapidly to my own school. On the way, I stopped by Mrs. Grimoldi’s bakery to buy a focaccia for my mid-morning snack. A focaccia is an Italian flatbread, like a pizza crust, and you can put different things on it, but I like mine plain.

I waved to Mr. Nenni, who was already at his guard post on the bench in front of the gardens, ready for another long day of watching what little traffic went through the town. I dashed up the sidewalk, overtaking Mrs. Paoletti without saying anything because the lady had lost her hearing, not to mention quite a bit of her memory. I smiled at her, but she didn’t respond. Mrs. Paoletti must have left her dentures at home. I hurried, almost running, and got to school just as the bell started ringing.

Hi Aki, Giulio greeted me as I sat at my desk beside him. You’re late.

I had to take Aurora to school, I justified.

Ugh, sisters. He looked disgusted, like he’d eaten a huge spoon of banana yogurt. Because he really hates banana yogurt. Giulio always complained that his two sisters, one older and one younger, wouldn’t leave him alone and he often quarreled with them.

Friday’s lessons started with Mr. Doldi’s math class. Ermanno Doldi was middle-aged, with wisps of unruly hair and an unkempt beard; he wore a green corduroy jacket that often smelled of fried food. I didn’t like math; things like minimum common denominators and maximum common divisors made my head hurt. But Mr. Doldi was a good teacher who wasn’t too strict when handing out grades.

My dear Achille Chiorri, he said, it’s your turn to be quizzed today.

I had only a few days left in the school year to make up for a lackluster performance.

Probably in an attempt to help us relax, Mr. Doldi called us dear when he quizzed us; however, it didn’t work very well with me because oral quizzes always made me feel sick to my stomach. I didn’t do too badly, but not great either, so I ended up getting a score of six and a half out of ten, bringing my average for the year just barely up to six. But that’s all I needed to avoid summer school.

Nobody beat me in English, though. I could speak it as fluently as a native. I was a natural. However, I preferred science and geography with Ms. Sandra Mazzei, one of the younger teachers. But even more than that, I liked the history class with Ms. Elide Bonelli, the oldest teacher in my school. Although she was almost sixty, she dressed youthfully and always wore a scarf around her neck. She had lots of scarves in many different colors. I liked how Ms. Bonelli taught history, but I was one of only a few students who were interested in the subject. Some of my classmates really disliked Ms. Bonelli, even to the point of ridiculing her for her excessively teased blond hair and the lipstick that often stained her front teeth.

During break, we went out to the front yard. We were allowed to go there in the spring and summer, but only if it wasn’t raining because the janitors complained when we returned carrying mud and dirt on our shoes. As was the case at least three days a week, Giulio had forgotten his snack at home, so I offered him a piece of my focaccia before joining a small group of laughing classmates. There were also