Death has a way of bringing people closer together; the living and the dead. However, none of my family had ever been very close, so as we all stood around as Uncle Vincenzo’s casket was lowered into the ground, the situation became particularly awkward. The men didn’t comfort the crying women, the children didn’t stay quiet, and I stood alone, a single tear slipping down my cheek.

My uncle and I had always been very close to one another. My parents passed away when I was seven years old, and Uncle Vinnie didn’t hesitate to step in and assume the role of a single parent. Over the years, we did many things together, and little by little as he got into his old age and began getting sick, I helped him fulfill all the items he had written down on a piece of paper, a bucket list. We crossed every one of them off one by one until we had finished every last task. It made my smile to see him doing all the things that he had always wanted to do. He was so happy in his last few days.

After the funeral ended there was a meeting with Uncle Vinnie’s lawyer to which certain family members would be attending for the reading of his Last Will and Testament. Now, most of the family members attending would only be attending because there was the promise of something big in store. It was no secret that the man had been incredibly wealthy. I, on the other hand, did not care what he left to be. I would trade all the money in the world to have my Uncle back. The people who gathered in the small, stuffy room were all greedy and most likely glad that he was gone. It made me despise each and every one of them.

Once everyone was seat and had quieted down, the lawyer stepped up to a podium that had been set up in the front of the room and cleared his throat to begin speaking.

“As you all know, you are here today because Vincenzo Luchetti has selected you all to hear the reading of his Last Will and Testament. So without further ado,”

“I, Vincenzo Luchetti, would formally like to apologize to each and every family member in the room at the time of this reading because you will all be severely disappointed. During my life time, I never married or had and children of my own, but do not let that confuse you, for I did have a son. When his parents passed away, I took him in as my own and cared for and loved him like I would my own son. He taught me so much about life and grew up to be a respectful young man. He took care of me in my old age and helped me live out my life’s dreams so that I could die a happy man. And that is why I would like you all to know that I am leaving my fortune, my estate, everything to my nephew and son, Sebastian De Luca. Thank you all for being here.”

Everyone was in complete shock, including myself. I watched as chaos broke out among the family as a result of outrage at my Uncles actions. Each and every person in the room turned on me, accusing me of planting seeds in my Uncles head and tampering with the Will. But I had done nothing of the sort, in fact, I wasn’t even sure that I deserved everything that my Uncle was giving me.

After all my family members had taken turns screaming at me and accusing me of various things, the all finally left, leaving me alone with the lawyer. He approached me with a very serious look on his face and an envelope in his hand.

“All the papers have been signed by your Uncle, and as of midnight tonight, everything he ever had will be in your possession. You’re a very lucky man, Mr. De Luca. You’re Uncle loved you very much.” He informed me. “Also, he wanted me to give this to you. I have no idea what is inside it, for he was very secretive. Anyways, I must leave. Good day.” He said, slipping the envelope into my hand, and then walking out the door.

Sighing, I walked over to one of the folding chairs that had been set up and took a seat, carefully opening the envelope. Inside was a little, folded and addressed to me. I unfolded it and began to read its contents.


My dearest Nephew,

I know that you believed that we had finished every item on my bucket list, but I’m afraid that there is one task left. It was a takes that I was too coward to complete when I was alive. I need you to do this one thing for me to complete my bucket list. It would honor my memory.

I need you to go to Lake Bolsena in Italy. There will be a large, mansion-like cabin on the west side of it. In that Cabin lives a woman named Victoria Bugacchi. I need you to go to her and tell her that I love her, and that I’ve always loved her. This is my last wish.






Love,






Uncle Vinnie


If my jaw hadn’t dropped before when he had left me everything, it did now. I had never heard the name before, but if my Uncle loved her, then there had to be some great story behind this. I didn’t bother to even think for a moment on whether or not I would do this. I pulled out my cell phone and searched the number for the airport, and then called.

“Hi, I need one ticket to Rome.”





I left the very next morning. My flight took off around 8 a.m., and I was landing in Rome within four hours. When I got off the plane, a sudden determination hit me. Here I was, in Italy, ready to fulfill my Uncle’s final wishes. On the plane ride over, I had had a lot of time to think to myself, and many unanswered questions plagued my mind.

Why had my grandpa waited until he passed away to tell me about this Victoria woman? Why hadn’t he come and done this himself? I know that in his letter he had stated that he had been a coward, but I had never known my Uncle to be afraid of anything. What about this woman made her so special to him? Sighing as I headed to the baggage claim, I shook the questions off for a little while and focused on what I was doing.

Once I had retrieved my duffle bag, I headed to the rental car office. Lake Bolsena was about an hour and forty minutes from Rome, so I figured that I would go straight there from the airport, and then I would probably come back to Rome for the night, and get on a plane back to America in the morning. Anyone else in my shoes might have chosen to stay a week or two to take in the sights and explore all of Italy. I, on the other hand, had been here many a times with my Uncle on his business trips, and at the moment it feared it would bring back to many memories of all the things we had done together. I needed time to grieve before I could revisit all of our favorite places and indulge in the wonderful memories.

It didn’t take long to get a car, for there weren’t that many people arriving in Rome on a Wednesday afternoon. Before I knew it, I was on the road headed for the lake. I remembered driving past the Lake Bolsena as a child, headed down to southern Italy, and remember how fondly my Uncle used to speak of it. We had never actually stopped and stayed there, or had picnic on the lake, or went swimming. It was beginning to become clear to me as to why that was.

Though I hadn’t realized it, I had been speeding, and the lake came in to view in a little over an hour. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it. I needed directions, for I hadn’t gotten an actual address to this place, and so I pulled into a boating shop and dock that sat on the edge of the lake. Turning off the car, I got out and looked at the old, wooden shack and raised an eyebrow. It looked questionable, but it seemed to be the only place around, so I went inside. I observed that all the shelves were covered with dust, and it seemed as if no one had been in in a very long time. In the distance, I heard humming, and followed the sound until I arrived at the checkout counter. Behind it sat an old man with snow white hair and scars covering his face.

“Hello, Sir.” He said, causing him to look up at me. I noticed that he had one glass eye. “I was wondering if you could give me directions to the west side of the lake. I’m going to visit and old friend of my Uncles.” I told him, looking around on the counter to see if there was perhaps a map. There wasn’t.

“All the roads to the west side flooded many years ago, boy. The only way to get there is by boat.” He told me, nodded his head slowly with what was, quite frankly, a creepy grin on his face.

“Great. Well, where can I get a boat ride?” I asked.

“Captain Leonardo Bonichello, at your service!” He exclaimed, pulling a captains hat out from under the counter and putting it on. I looked at the old man who seemed like he was just barely managing to stay on his feet, and felt a bit nervous about this. But it seemed to be the only choice I had.

“Alright then, how much will it be for your services?” I asked, pulling out my wallet. I watched as his carefully thought about this.

“Does 30€ seem fair?” He asked. I nodded my head and pulled out the money, handing it to him. The grin that appeared on his face now was one of extreme happiness. “Right this way.” He said, coming out from behind the counter and walking towards the front door. I followed him outside and around the back of the shop to where the dock was. Tied to it was a rickety old motor boat that I assumed would be his. I would be shocked if he could even get it to turn on.

He climbed onto it first, and I followed after it, and to my shock, when he stuck the keys in the engine, it started right up. Mr. Bonichello pulled out of the dock and in about ten minutes we were pulling into a nicer dock, with a fancy motor boat tied up to it.

“This’ll be the west side of the lake.” He told me, turning the boat off. “There’s only one house over here, so just follow the path up the hill, and you’ll find it.” He informed me. The old man took a business card out of his shirt pocket and handed it to me. “If you need a ride back, just give me a call.”

I thanked the man and got off of the boat, walking off the dock and started onto the path. When the mansion came into view, I was mesmerized. It was absolutely beautiful. A nervous pit had settled into my stomach, knowing what I had to do now. I slowly approached the front door, climbing the wooden stairs, and reached my finger out to gently press the doorbell. It was a few moments before anyone opened the door.

Finally, I watched the nob turn and the door crack open a little, and there stood a woman who was around my age, maybe a little younger.

“Hello. May I help you?” She asked, her blue eyes watching me nervously.

“Uhm… yes.” I replied, nodding my head. I took a deep breath to calm myself down. “I’m looking for a friend of my Uncle Vinnie’s. Victoria Bugacchi.” I told her.

“Vinnie… As in, Vincent Luchetti?” The girl asked, her eyes widening a bit. I nodded my head. She opened the door wider and gestured for me to come in.

“Wait right here. I’ll go get my aunt.” She said, rushing up a large staircase to the right of the door. I stood patiently and nervously, wondering what on earth I was going to tell this woman. I hadn’t rehearsed anything, or written anything down. Not to mention he had never met this woman. He didn’t have much time to think, though, because before he long the girl reappeared at the top of the stairs, helping an elderly woman down. When they reached the bottom, I smiled and offered a hand to the woman.

“Hello, Victoria I presume? I’m Sebastian De Luca, Vincent Luchetti’s nephew.” I informed her. She placed one of her wrinkled hands in mine and I shook it gently.

“Ah… Sebastian. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Tell me; is your uncle with you?” She asked, looking around the room as if he might be hiding.

“No, Ma’am. He’s not. He sent me to speak with you.” I told her in a rather serious tone. I was as she processed this information and nodded her head.

“Right, well, perhaps we should go sit.” She said, gesturing to the room to her left. The younger woman walked with us into the parlor room and helped her aunt sit down, and then left, shutting the door behind her.

“You’re very special to my Uncle.” I told her, crossing one of my legs over the other and folding my hands.

“You’re uncle and I were high school sweethearts.” She responded, a fond smile on her face. “We were so in love, he and I. I never stopped loving him, even when I married Fernando. Perhaps that is why my marriage didn’t last. Tell me, where is he?” She asked. I frowned, looking down at the ground.

“He passed away, Ma’am.” I told her softly. I watched as sorrow filled her eyes.

“But… you said that he sent you here to talk to me.” She said, shaking her head in confusion.

“He did. He left me the end of his Bucket List, and his final wish was for me to come and talk to you. He wanted me to tell you that he loves you, and that he has always loved you.” I told her, offering up a sad smile. I watched while she processed the information, and a sad smile formed on her lips. She reached out and took one of my hands in both of hers.

“Your Uncle and I were High School Sweethearts.” Victoria started. “We were madly in love, but my parents absolutely hated him because he was a “Born in America” boy and they believed that I should stay true to my Italian roots. When we graduated, my parents sent back here to Italy to attend college, while Vinnie stayed in the states. We kept in touch for a while, but soon enough the letters and phone calls came less and less frequent. I never forgot about him though. And it seems as if he never forgot about me either.” She looked directly at me.

“Why don’t you stay for dinner, Sebastian, and even the night, if you wish. I would love to tell you all about your Uncle as a young man, and I would love to hear the stories of him that you have.” She said. I nodded my head and smiled at her.

“I would be honored, Ma’am.” I said. We spent the rest of the night eating, talking, laughing and crying. None of us managed to get into bed until the very wee hour of the morning.






I was on the plane home the very next evening with a lot on my mind. It wasn’t until we were descending into the airport that I began to realize why my Uncle had left one last bucket list task for only me to complete. He wanted to me learn a very important lesson. If you truly love someone, tell them. Don’t wait around, because if you do, you’ll lose them, and you’ll regret it. I could almost hear him telling me this.

Death has a way of bring people together. Though it did not bring me and my family any closer together, it brought me closer together with the living and the dead. I felt closer to my Uncle, and I knew that I would see Victoria and her Niece again very soon…