They both came from Venice. I saw his lovely two-colored look and found him so nice I took him with me.

She came a little after. I ordered her by phone at the same shop he had came from and she waited there carefully wrapped until my parents travelled to that wonderful city and picked her up.

They are unique wooden pieces made by a venetian craftsman whose mother designs and sews the costumes. It’s plain to see the love and care they are made with. Sure you can find more spectacular ones, but for me they are the nicest puppets I’ve ever seen.

During the trip where I met my first wooden friend I visited also Florence, and got fascinated by the Medici family, so I felt that the patriarch’s name, Cosimo, was perfect for him. She is what they call a venetian dama nera (black lady), so Nera was the name for her.

The mean problem is that puppets can’t keep their balance. They laid badly on the furniture, carrying the strings in a mess and the wooden cross either on their backs, heads or legs. Poor things.

My skillful boyfriend is to acknowledge for two priceless stands from which Cosimo and Nera look as great as they deserve. I find them smashing.

And I think that they love eachother. That perhaps the craftsman himself imagined their love story as he carved them. The jester got deeply impressed by the Lady’s dignity and elegance, and she could not resist that funny red-haired boy’s smile and tenderness. She keeps her peaceful, quiet ways, apparently indifferent to her piano mate.

But he never loses his smile because he knows that the Lady, lovesick, left everything behind and crossed the Mediterranean to be by his side. He needs no further proof.

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