Cover letter (from “This is the Garden”)

by Giulio Mozzi
Translated from Italian by Elizabeth Harris

Dear Signorina,
Please find enclosed your two letters (I imagine you recognized them right away), which I’m returning because I don’t think it puts me at too much risk. I won’t return your money—I spent most of it anyway on things I need—and I won’t return your purse, which I destroyed, or the other things I found in your purse that I hope didn’t hold too much practical or sentimental value. You must have gotten your ID cards by now: I tossed them in a mailbox like always (I know the mail is reliable). I’m afraid you’ve already changed your locks, and in a way I’m sorry about this, since there’s no benefit for me and it was a waste of money for you, as your keys—along with everything else—wound up in a trash bin, where I’m fairly sure no one will fish them out, and even if someone did, without your address, he’d have no idea what to do with them. For security reasons, I generally don’t save or resell what I find in a purse, even if it’s worth something. But I always go through purses carefully—you never know—there might be some kind of medicine for a life-threatening illness like diabetes or heart disease that a person has to carry at all times. While I’m sure there’d be some risk, you should know if I found this type of medicine, even if it can be replaced at any pharmacy, I wouldn’t think twice about returning it as quickly as possible, and that’s why I’ve memorized the numbers for two express delivery services. Actually, so far I’ve found only aspirin, other headache remedies, eye drops, etc. I once kept a lottery ticket, but then I realized I’d never bought a lottery ticket in my life, and a sudden windfall—even a spectacular one—might not turn out to be such a happy event for me. You should never own something you didn’t desire first, I thought, so I tossed the ticket.

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Tag: Elizabeth Harris