waking up warm

I wake up warm though I fell asleep freezing beneath piles of blankets on my cot-like bed in the corner of our room. The window is closed, as are the shutters, and only thin rays of light are able to stream through the window and penetrated the darkness of my warm den. The window is fogged and I sigh. I fear that my warmth will not last long.

I glance at the clock and realize that I should have put my laundry in the washer nine minutes ago. Its 7:23 by the time I finally climb out from beneath my covers.

Bare Feet.

Tile floor.

My toes curl and uncurl as they suddenly meet with harshly chilled stones and grabbing my laundry, I tip-toe quickly to the door.

The door opens with a creak and i prance out into the hallway closing the door behind me and hurrying to the wash room down the hall.

Christine is in the hallway. She is our housekeeper; a native Roman, hired by the nuns.

Bidding her good morning, I walk by. But sh throws her hands up in the air and suddenly begins to speak.

hands waving.

head shaking.

She stares at my bare feet.

Italian words stream out of her mouth and the one she keeps repeating I know well.

Cold.

"Cold! Its Cold!" she tells me. "Go back inside and put on shoes its much too cold to wear no socks!"

Chuckling, I smile and return to my room. The still unmade bed, lying low in the corner looks so inviting. I want to return to my dreams and be warm again. As Christine said, it is much to cold to go outside.