The Unraveling of Julia

The blue light transforms into Caterina, then retreats back into the crack in the wall. Julia examines the wall, then pushes on it until it breaks. She uses the poker by the fireplace to break the plaster in the wall and more blue light can be seen. A door appears behind the wall. Julia opens it, looks inside, and sees Caterina. Caterina flies back and Julia sees that there is a tunnel behind the door. She takes her flashlight and goes inside the tunnel, following Caterina’s blue light.

At the end of the tunnel, Julia finds another door. Behind it is a child’s bedroom, covered in mold. On the desk are watercolors of the vineyard, geese, the villa, and a well. The last watercolor appears to be a self-portrait of the young artist: a troubled-looking girl with blue eyes. To Julia, the room looks like a prison and she considers that Rossi might be a “monster” (162).

Julia finds a comb and picks it up, getting a little electric charge from it. When Julia looks in the mirror, her reflection distorts and frightens her. She runs back through the tunnel, feeling like it keeps extending into space.