A Truffling Quest

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The early morning was Dario’s favourite time of the day, alone in the pizzeria with the smell of disinfectant and flour. Every day, he’d rise before his mother and stepfather and make the dough for the day. Humming to himself, he’d imagine the dough was his stepfather’s face as he kneaded it, his face lighting up with his only genuine smile of the day. By the time he finished, sweat would be glistening on his forehead, and his eyebrows would have knitted together as Martina, his mother, appeared to make the pizza sauce, followed much later by Enzo, his stepfather.

‘Take that, and that,’ Dario muttered as he kneaded the smug look off Enzo’s doughy face.

‘Ha!’

Dario let out a cry and jumped backwards, looking wide-eyed at the lumbering figure of Enzo in the doorway.

‘Finally found something you can beat up, Small Fry,’ sneered Enzo, enjoying the startled look on his stepson’s face.

‘You know I’m bigger than you,’ said Dario, returning to his kneading with a vengeance.

‘Not in any way that matters,’ sniggered Enzo, grabbing his crotch. ‘Just ask your mother.’

Dario scrunched up his face and brought his fist thumping down onto the dough. Enzo chuckled as he crossed the kitchen to lean against the counter behind Dario.

‘What do you want?’ asked Dario through gritted teeth.

‘That new pizzeria on the corner is stealing our customers; we need something special to win them back. We’re launching a new silver truffle pizza.’ Enzo stuffed a tomato into his mouth and squashed it between his teeth, sending juice running down his chin.

‘They’re really expensive,’ said Dario.

‘That’s why you’re going to get it.’

Dario turned round and stared open-mouthed at Enzo.

‘You can’t be serious?! It’s only found in the sorcerer’s forest. They sent a gang of ten warriors on the last mission to harvest the silver truffle. Only three of them made it back!’

‘It was too big a party, bound to get noticed. On your own, you’ll be able to sneak through, no problem.’

‘But I’m not a warrior. I don’t even have a sword.’

Enzo heaved himself off the counter and ambled over to the cutlery drawer. ‘Here you go.’ He handed Dario a pizza cutter.

‘What good is this going to do against a sorcerer?’ Rolling his eyes, Enzo rooted around in the drawer and tossed Dario a wand.

‘This is Dad’s wooden spoon.’

‘Hold it right, and it looks like a wand.’ Enzo popped an olive in his mouth, smirking.

‘I’m not going.’ Dario’s knuckles whitened as he gripped the spoon.

‘While you live under my roof, you’ll do what I say,’ growled Enzo, stalking towards him.

‘It’s my dad’s roof,’ Dario whimpered, stepping back.

‘He’s dead. I’m your dad now, so it’s my roof.’

‘Well, if you paid me, I’d be able to move out.’ The cutter trembled in Dario’s grasp.

‘And break your mother’s heart?’ said Enzo, hand on his heart, closing in on Dario.

‘What - what would my being killed by the sorcerer do to her?’

‘I’m willing to find out.’

Enzo lurched towards him and grabbed the back of his neck. Dario squirmed as Enzo’s fingers dug into his flesh.

‘You’re going to bring me back that truffle. If you don’t, your mother isn’t going to get the chance to miss you.’

Enzo pushed him, sending him flying across the room.

‘Your bag is by the door. If you’re not back within the week…’

Dario scrambled for the door, still clutching the spoon and pizza cutter.

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