The exercise and the mild spring air lightened his mood instantly. After all, he was still in Rome, in the Eternal City, the city that he loved. The unexpected video that had aired during the RAI I morning news had left him with little time to reflect on his dream of the night before. At some point, he had woken on the floor of his hotel room, naked and freezing, moaning as he struggled to get up. He had tried to recall his dream. Usually these efforts proved futile. He knew that his dreams were always about narrow spaces, darkness and drowning, and had been plaguing him for years. Peter knew precisely why. He knew he had to be careful. However, this time he also recalled chaotic images of the destruction of St. Peter’s Basilica and the whole Vatican. And he had an astonishingly clear recollection of a tearful voice coming from the radio, including the exact words that it had spoken. Peter tried to suppress his thoughts of the dream and to focus on his upcoming conversation with Don Luigi.
