“I’m out of work and I don’t have a euro” – Corriere.it

Marcella is always quiet behind her counter. The other day, surprise: she leaves the customers, leaves the bakery agitated, takes a distant look and runs, she who is not exactly a gazelle and not even a girl. He snuggles, elbows, grumbles. But what happens today? We are in corso Vercelli, a Milanese street full of beautiful shops, including yours: the Prestin del Cantun on the corner with via Cherubini. A little later there is a commotion and she screams: “Shame on it!” Everyone stops to watch the scene, which is decidedly anomalous for this middle-class neighborhood. Across the street, a man walks away and gestures to the devil. How to say: but enough. Marcella leaves him and retraces her steps clutching something under her arm. “Think of yourself, for a loaf! … and be a gentleman too!” He continues to swear with his ragged breaths. Under his arm is the bread that the other evidently returned when she pounced on him from behind. Rarity: the man is elegant, black coat, hat. He disappears into the crowd in the opposite direction from the bakery. He does not run away, he does not run, he walks at a good pace and he does not seem to mind the looks of astonishment that are given to him.

The technique

Intrigued, we followed him. Who will this be? A well-dressed man who steals a loaf. Why? A few blocks later, the mysterious thief turns the corner of piazzale Baracca and twenty meters further on he sticks to the window of Bollani, a small old bakery with steaming focaccias that make your mouth water. Mr. X, mask well up, come in. You see him talking to the young baker and when she turns her back on him, he jumps into action. He reaches over to the nearby shelf and takes something out of his pocket. The saleswoman serves him a focaccia, and as soon as he turns around, he is back: he grabs a tiny basket that he tries to hide a little awkwardly. He starts to leave but, before opening the door, he notices us. Alarm. He stops, investigates the intruder for a very long second. He no longer knows what to do and seems scared. He chooses to go out: “Does the tram pass through here?” He asks. We don’t have time to answer that the girl leaves the store: “Excuse me sir, but you haven’t paid for the jam.” “Oh yeah, forgive me, leave it here,” and he returns the basket he was holding.

Hungry

The jam, the bread … Taken twice out of two in ten minutes. In short, he is not really an Arsenio Lupine. “I was wrong”, is justified. And lower the mask far enough to bite into the hot focaccia as it continues to scrutinize us. He seems really hungry. “I saw what he did, but don’t worry,” let’s say to reassure him. As a thief he is unsuspected: shaved, tie, classic pants. It will be about fifty years old. “He tried it there too …”. Eat, think and then sigh: “This is the first time, I have no money left …”. We ask him if he has lost his job and he nods. “I had a business … and I have a son,” she whispers awkwardly and her eyes water. Maybe I’ve never stolen before. “What kind of business?” Keep watching us while the focaccia is finished. “He had a business … sorry …”, and he greets him with a long look that has sadness and anguish inside. Who knows if it was really the first time he stole and who knows if it was a businessman. Be that as it may, one thing is certain: he was hungry. The story is discussed in the bakery. “But who was he?” Asks the baker. “He was unemployed, he says he ran out of money.” “He didn’t seem desperate, if he told me the focaccia I would offer it to him anyway.” Let’s go back to Marcella and tell her what happened. “I don’t think so! Did you really go to Bollani’s too? Oh, listen here! – calls the colleague – And how did it end? … I’m sorry, I could have asked and I would have given him the bread but he seemed fine Even nice, and I felt mocked. ”He has a client in front of him who says his thing:“ Maybe he’s ashamed to beg for bread ”.

Loneliness

When we return we greet John, a friendly African who always asks for alms with his hat. “But stop people’s lies!” Annoys a boy leaving him baffled. Perhaps it had never happened to John, known and loved by all. In short, unpublished scenes in Covid’s Milan. That man’s hunger, John’s fears, an unknown, growing, silent loneliness.