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Clouds of smoke…

The story

Damien is the attractive owner of an electronic cigarette store in Florence.He’s unfathomable, mystical, rich and above all, he has a healing power which is born from water, like steam. Desperate souls unconsciously come to Damien’s store for help. Like Sonia, a beautiful girl devoured by cancer; or Massimo, afflicted by serious economic problems; or Giorgio, young, rich and seemingly superficial, who hides within him the seed of Evil and pain.

Barbara Mennitti (Sigmagazine)

"The struggle between good and evil, in this novel, assumes the fashion of a thriller and it’ll surely catch all readers’ attention"

Sellerio Publisher

"The value of this anagogical book makes it essential, one of those books that you have to have on your shelf, because it’s much deeper than it seems. A work that makes you feel better than you did before reading it."

Sergio Bonfiglio (Aromatiere)

Gianluigi Ciaramellari

Clouds of smoke…

The story

To my Grandparents

Silvio and Vera

Clouds of smoke…The story

by Gianluigi Ciaramellari

Let me tell you a story that

began in an electronic cigarette store,

managed by a mysterious character.

Make yourselves comfortable...

Any resemblance to actual persons and to actual events is purely coincidental.

Health warning

Always read in a well-lit environment. Take regular breaks, about thirty minutes every hour of reading. Stop reading immediately if you experience dizziness, queasiness, lethargy or headaches. Individuals who are sensitive to flashing lights or to particular shapes or geometric forms may suffer from a type of undiagnosed epilepsy and could experience seizure attacks by reading this book. If you are caught by seizure attacks, consult your doctor (or an exorcist), or contact them as soon as you encounter one or more of the following symptoms while reading: altered vision, muscle twitching, other involuntary movements, loss of consciousness, confusion and/or seizures.

Because of the use of analogue cigarettes while reading this story and/or the use of smoking tobacco along with other additives, some individuals could experience various disorders, (such as fatigue and eye irritation, headaches or nausea). If you experience such symptoms, promptly stop using cigarettes, joints, chillums, or hookahs immediately, until the discomfort subsides.

We generally recommend avoiding a prolonged use of combustion tobacco and endorse trying an electronic cigarette (also called e-cig) for at least 15 days. However, in the beginning, the addiction recovery from smoking, the duration and frequency of the vape varies from person to person.

The reading of this book by minors (under the age of 18 years old) is yet unsafe.

While reading some short parts of the story, you will learn about certain features and functions of the electronic cigarette and its effects on health. In this novel, some effects have been enhanced beyond all limits of imagination.

Enjoy your reading and I wish all of you a "good Vape".

Gianluigi Ciaramellari

Introduction

Once, my son Sasha and I, (who was 4 years old at the time), were traveling by car on a highway, when he surprised me with another one of his “whys?”, typical of that age.

It was a winter Sunday morning and the fog did not allow a good visibility, so I drove slowly, especially where the road crossed stretches of farmland. Sasha was sitting in the back, in his “car seat”, bound by the seat belt.

At one point, on the left we saw what remained of an old sugar refinery and the child asked me why there were flashing red lights on the chimney, which was still standing. But he asked me in this manner:

“Daddy, why are the lights of that tower on?” in the rear-view mirror I saw his face awaiting my answer, he was expecting a prompt and thorough response.

“Sasha, those lights are used to warn the birds to be careful not to crash into the tower. They light them at night and when it is foggy, like today!” I replied, waiting for him to ask me a second why. Instead he kept quiet. I felt guilty for not telling him that that was not a tower. Then I stopped the car in a rest area.

The old refinery was truly a ruin, only the "tower" still stood high and proud, it looked like a rocket stuck in the ground, after precipitating and destroying everything around it.

“Sasha – I said, trying to find the easiest words for him - that's not a tower. It’s a chimney and when it was alive, it smoked a lot.”

He looked at me as if I was about to tell him a story of wizards and dragons.

“Then it died because it smoked too much?” I wished I could have recorded him.

“No, it died because nobody needed it anymore” I noticed a change in his expression, he looked sorry.

“You know, - I continued - the chimney is a tall, tall tube, which is necessary to blow the smoke of the fire that is lit at its foot into the sky.” Sasha looked at the chimney and, without taking his eyes off of it, he asked again:

“Daddy, then all the clouds in the sky are made of smoke?” I needed to find a simple and short answer. You never know where children’s questions may lead you.

“No Sasha, smoke comes from fire, and clouds come from water and all the clouds in the sky are made of water.”

And for the rest of the trip, my son wanted to know everything, about smoke, fire, clouds and water.

Gianluigi Ciaramellari

Gen, 1

In the beginning God

created the heavens

and the earth.

Now the earth was

formless and empty,

darkness was over the

surface of the deep,

and the Spirit of God

was hovering over the waters.

CHAPTER ONE

First entries

Part one (the first time)

Massimo occasionally went through the street of the Novoli district of Florence in which he lived, by foot or by car, and he marvelled that he had never noticed that shop before. It seemed strange to him that in the year 2015, in the midst of the economic crisis, someone had decided to open a business and, moreover, in an unfrequented suburban area.

It was a warm mid-March afternoon, one of those days that whoever could afford it, didn’t waste by working. Massimo, as a young freelancer, could afford it, however reluctantly, because his work was scarce. Therefore he strolled around casually, but that store drew his attention and he stopped to look at the shop window, discovering that they displayed electronic cigarettes. On the sign it read: "Clouds of smoke - steam cigarettes".

A middle-aged man was sitting behind the counter, absorbed on working on something that glittered. The shop was decorated simply with makeshift furniture, all in all dignified, but not fancy and modern like many other brand stores. It looked more like a tailor’s shop, those of the past, in which the tailor, while he was taking your measurements for a suit, asked you if you had had the measles during your childhood. The lighting of the shop, from the outside, looked as though it wasn’t even fit for a card game, but once inside, you realized that the light was just enough to make you feel at ease.

Later, he discovered that it was the “Light” that he had been searching for his entire life. He decided to go inside, just to get some information.

Therefore, he entered.

He pushed the glass door with some force; he pushed hard because it looked closed, instead it opened and the light that greeted him when he entered was somewhat familiar, he felt as if he was in his room, in the evening, reading a book or playing the guitar.

Within the shop one could smell delicate notes of tobacco mixed with other fragrances; it reminded Massimo of his grandmother baking apple pies, his favourite dessert.

To his left he saw himself reflected in a large antique mirror, which he guessed used to be the door of a wardrobe. In the mirror he saw that the light of the store had flushed his face and made his skin look smooth and glowing, making him look younger than his forty-three years of age.

But before he could feel any gratification, he was caught in a déjà vu. He had already seen himself in that mirror a long time ago, but at that time he had a heavy heart.

They say that these sensations are alterations of our memories. For him, however, it was a subconscious premonition.

The deep, full-bodied voice of the shopkeeper brought him back to reality.

“Hello, welcome to Clouds of smoke!” said the man while standing up, with a big smile.

“Hello, I needed some information… May I? I don’t want… That is, I’m a smoker, and…”

The younger man seemed a little uneasy, but it wasn’t actually an emotion, rather he almost physically felt the shopkeeper’s handshake, although he had only greeted him verbally. He found himself with his hand stretched out and it tingled, as if someone had actually shaken his hand vigorously

Part two (mystical attraction)

The man behind the counter was tall and lean, he had an attractive and contagious smile, a nice and elegant appearance; his eyes were emerald green, and they stood out in his olive skin face, his hair was neatly combed and he had a neatly groomed goatee, both streaked with grey. He had big hands with long thin fingers, manicured nails, although a bit longer than normal.

On his left ear he had a piercing. It was a jewel in white gold, shaped as a five-pointed star, with a small diamond in the centre. The ceiling spotlights made it sparkle for a moment, just as the man spoke.

“Our customers are also smokers; otherwise I would have closed down by now. Many of them have been able to quit, others are still working on it, but every person has his or her own time.”

While speaking, the shopkeeper picked up an electronic cigarette which he had carefully chosen from a display of various models; he put a disposable silicone mouthpiece on it and handed it to him.

“Now, if you don’t mind, I would like you to try to inhale, while pressing on the battery button.”

Massimo, without a word, took the electronic cigarette in his hand and brought it to his mouth, performing the recommended action. He took two or three puffs, then a forth, each time exhaling a white and dense steam, both from his nose and his mouth and he found it very pleasant, as it gave him the typical shot in his throat that he got when smoking a cigarette, the flavour was fine, a fragrance of tobacco mixed with currants.

“It’s great! It feels like I’m smoking!” He said, surprised by the taste.

“Exactly! – said the shopkeeper - But you didn’t smoke. You didn’t breath in all those toxic substances contained in cigarettes that are given off while they burn! What comes out of your mouth is vapour, a condensed spray of natural food flavourings, mixed with vegetable glycerine, propylene glycol and a little pharmaceutical nicotine. None of the substances I've listed are harmful to humans, if not taken in excessive doses.”

Massimo inhaled another couple of times and felt glad that he had entered that store; maybe he had found a system to break free from his smoking addiction. He handed the electronic cigarette back to the shopkeeper, but the man’s attention was focused on the front door.

“Oh! Look who’s here! – He said smiling, while he reached for the cigarette Massimo was handing him – Can you do me a favour, young man? Could you open the door for Lisa?”

Massimo turned towards the door but he didn’t see anyone.

“Sorry, for who?” He asked, surprised.

“For Lisa, who isn’t a girl, look lower down!” The other answered.

Lisa was a female Labrador, pitch black, who was knocking on the wood of the door with her paw. Massimo let the dog in, and while wagging her tail, she sat on her hind legs near the counter, barking a greeting.

The shopkeeper went to meet her, apologizing to Massimo:

“Excuse me just a minute, I'll be right with you - and patted the dog on the head - Lisa can’t leave her friend alone for a long time, can you, dear?” Lisa seemed to like his touch and wagged her tail while she looked at the man with misty eyes.

Massimo noticed that the man took a small case which was attached to the dog’s collar and contained ten euros. In the case the shopkeeper put a small bottle of liquid, which he took from a showcase and a receipt for the ten euros, he then reattached it to the collar and said:

“Here you go, Lisa, now go back home!” he let the dog out, making sure she went in the right direction. He watched her until she turned the corner and then came back into the shop, turning his attention back to Massimo.

“Well, my name is Damien – he said holding out his hand – I was born in Tunisia and I’ve lived in Florence for ten years now, what’s your name?”

“Massimo, and I’m from Florence, it’s a pleasure meeting you! - In that handshake he again felt the same sensation as when he first walked in - I live close by, but I had never noticed this store before.”

“I know, - said Damien while still smiling – a lot of people say the same thing, this store is a little hidden because it’s between two stores which have been closed for a long time and in a small unfrequented street.”

Damien wore a pair of glasses, which he took off when he looked at people in the face and put back on when he had to read or prepare something. His movements were calm, and he gave a sense of irrefutable composure, it almost seemed like he was performing a ritual.

He was a very interesting person, one of those rare old-fashioned shopkeepers, who Massimo immediately took to liking and, somehow, he made him forget that déjà vu he had experienced when he walked in.

Part three (some notions)

Maybe it was due to Damien’s appeal, or to the funny and unusual scene of Lisa bringing the liquid to her friend Marco, but Massimo decided to buy an electronic cigarette, if its cost didn’t exceed the amount he had in his wallet.

Therefore he dug into his pocket, while Damien, already sure that he had acquired a new client, watched him with some interest…

“How much does a cigarette like the one you let me try cost?” He asked Damien in a friendly manner.

“Not very much, I’d say, if you consider that you can recover the cost with the first eight packets of cigarettes that you won’t buy anymore, once you switch to the vape!”

“Well, yes… I guess so, - he reasoned with a mental calculation – I buy a pack a day! So, do you mean to say that I could buy it with forty euros?” With a quick peek in his wallet, he counted sixty euros and a few coins.

“I mean to say that that amount will do and I’ll also throw in a gift for you, - Damien pulled a black strap out of a drawer - see? You can attach this to the cigarette so you can put it around your neck, and have it within your reach every time you want to take a puff! “

Massimo watched Damien put the strap on the cigarette and while he followed the operation, his eyes fell on Damien’s long, strong fingers, well-manicured nails, unusually long for a man.

Since he also had long nails, particularly the thumb and pinkie of his right hand, in order to pinch the guitar chords, he wondered if Damien kept them long for the same reason, but he refrained from asking him.

“Well Massimo, now we just have to decide which tobacco flavour and which degree of nicotine you want to load your cigarette with!” Massimo glanced at the liquids in the display case, there was a great number and variety of brands, all arranged in groups, by brand, by taste and degree of nicotine, but not knowing what to choose, he turned to Damien:

“What do you recommend?”

“To begin with, - said Damien heading towards the liquids showcase – I need to know what type of cigarette you are used to smoking, whether light or strong, aromatic or not.”

“I smoke these, - and he pulled out the packet – about 15 a day!”

“Alright, Massimo, - he said while opening the showcase and pulling out a little bottle – I think this tobacco flavour is the one for you, it contains about twelve milligrams of nicotine per millilitre, therefore, the amount loaded in the tank of the e-cig, corresponds to the amount of nicotine absorbed by about six of your analogue cigarettes”.

Damien explained to Massimo how to carry out the calculation of the absorbed nicotine compared to that of traditional cigarettes, he told him that he multiplied the degree of nicotine to the millilitres of the e-cig charger, divided the result by four and also divided it by the degree of nicotine of a cigarette smoked by Massimo. This confirmed the fact that the nicotine absorbed by vaporization is one-fourth of the one actually contained in the charger, and this was also confirmed by several tests performed in laboratories. While explaining this calculation, Damien filled the charger, calling it "atomizer", showed Massimo all the steps he should follow and advised him to be careful not to pour the contents of the flask onto his hands, and in such a case he should immediately wash them, because nicotine is easily absorbed by the skin.

Then, once he ended the sale, he came out from behind the counter to say goodbye to him.

“Thank you Massimo, for passing by, you won’t regret it, today you made an important purchase for your health and you gained another friend. – He looked into his eyes kindly - Come see me whenever you want, I'll let you try new flavours, I’ll lead you along the path away from smoking, we can talk, you can tell me about your experience and keep me updated!”

Massimo returned Damien’s smile and at the same time, he felt the urge to confess his tendency to be inconsistent.

“You know, - he said lowering his head – I’m not sure I’ll be able to quit smoking; every time I’ve tried I failed after just a few days!”

“Don’t limit yourself - Damien answered promptly – don’t think of the past. You're trying something new now, make pretend that this is the first time you decided to quit and especially, remember that you are not abandoning nicotine, the gestures, the little clouds you puff, the taste of tobacco! - Then he put a hand on his shoulder, and Massimo felt a reassuring warmth that made him turn towards the mirror attached to the wall - Here, sit here, in the middle of this rosette on the floor and look at yourself in the mirror.”

Massimo had already noticed the strange pattern in the middle of the store, a curious and geometrically perfect decoration, a mosaic made of colourful tiles in concentric circles.

He sat at the centre of the rosette and curiously looked at his reflection in the mirror.

“Look at yourself in the mirror – Damien repeated - and repeat with all your determination: “I will stop smoking, I will stop smoking, I will stop smoking”.

Massimo promised, while looking at his reflection and as he vowed he felt to be strangely solemn and sincere.

“Now, - Damien added - you have carved this promise in your soul.”

Part four (the reward)

Massimo left the store saying goodbye to Damien, without looking away from his eyes which held him locked like a powerful magnet from which he could not escape.

Finally he lowered his head and walked quickly away, with his mind still reflected on the store mirror, in which he had sworn to give up smoking.

It was six o'clock in the afternoon, the days of mid-March had lengthened and mild temperatures allowed staying out until late at night, to walk, visit the city and feel that spring was already in the air, go window shopping... Oh... No, no, he had shopped enough for one day, he thought, although he didn’t regret what he had just done.

He absently put his hand in his jean pocket to pull out his lighter, and then from the pocket of his jacket he pulled out the pack of cigarettes. What was he doing? He stopped himself when he had almost brought the cigarette to his mouth in the act of lighting it, saw his reflection in the window of a bar, and remembered Damien, with his glowing green eyes: “…Now, you have carved this promise in your soul… “.

He was overwhelmed by the urge to smoke; he had never wanted a cigarette so much in his life. A man who was smoking casually passed by him and he turned his head in the direction of the smoke, craning his neck and opening his nostrils to catch the grey exhalation, his hand was bringing the lighter to his mouth and his eyes never left his reflection in the window. His mind was fighting a gruelling round; a strange force pulled the flame away from the tip of the rolled tobacco that was panting as much as he was; another force, intentional, brought it close again in the need to satisfy his desire. But the roll remained unlit, because he finally decided to trigger the new electronic cigarette button, he then pulled it out and took a puff.

He took such a long one and he inhaled so much of it that he was afraid he would fuse the battery. He found satisfaction, yes, and decided to put the package back in his jacket pocket.

“For now I can resist”, he thought. He saluted his image in the window of the bar, someone inside probably thought that the greeting was addressed to him, but Massimo turned away and continued walking, pleased with himself for not giving in to the tobacco industry.

Shaking his head he resumed walking, he decided that a walk would have relaxed him; he would continue to vape his electronic cigarette on his way home. Once he got home he would put his cigarettes on top of a closet, perhaps he would toss them up there, no matter where they ended.

The taste of tobacco which he was savouring was not bad indeed, it had a pleasant aromatic aftertaste; it didn’t give him bad breath, it satisfied his desire for nicotine and the steam coming out of his mouth was even whiter and more dense than that of a cigarette.

A cat crossed his path, passing almost over his feet, and hid in a garbage can. That morning the market had taken place on that street. Several cats were busy rummaging through papers and other debris, even food, spread across the ground. In the distance he saw that the vans of the garbage collectors were already arriving, to clean up the street and the plaza.

The black cat reappeared putting his nose out from his hiding place, staring at Massimo with a look of defiance, his eyes were green like Damien’s, and he made a gesture with his paw that seemed an invitation, “Come here if you dare!” it seemed to say.

But it wasn’t a challenge. The cat had something under his paw, something made of paper and on which was imprinted an image, a five-pointed star, like Damien’s earring, but it didn’t shine.

Massimo approached the cat, leaned over and was surprised to see that... Beside the star with five grey tips, was impressed the number 50. He had found fifty euros! Wow, the same amount he had spent in Damien’s store! He picked it up promptly, heedless of the cat who ran away quickly, without asking for a reward.