“After returning from military service, Turiddu Makka, the son of Aunt Nunzia, walked importantly every Sunday in the square in the uniform of a rifleman and in a red beret. The girls devoured him with their eyes, going to mass wrapped up in mantillas, and the boys circled around him like flies. He also brought with him a pipe with such an image of the king on horseback that he looked like he was alive, and when lighting matches, Turiddu struck them on the back of his pants, raising his leg up, as if he was going to hit someone...”