Red sweater

The sweater is a bright, saturated red, almost alive, despite its creases and the signs of time. It is a light sweatshirt, long-sleeved, with elasticated cuffs and a slightly pulled lower hem. The fabric appears soft but tired, marked by deep creases, as though it had been rolled up and compressed for a long time inside an overfull backpack. It was found along the death pass of Ventimiglia. Abandoned among rocks and earth, among the traces of other invisible passages, it was a vital defense during the coldest hours. It may have belonged to a boy, perhaps young, barely past adolescence. The sweatshirt still carries the sweat and effort that accumulates along the way, even though it was lost – perhaps during a sudden escape. In a moment, it was left behind. And yet that red keeps speaking, even without a voice. It speaks of energy, of motion, of a life pushing forward in spite of everything. And so, this sweatshirt becomes tangible proof – almost violent in its simplicity – that behind every abandoned object there are stories that do not end there. Every trace left along that path is a missing presence, yet one that endures in the story it leaves behind.