Wellington HZ182
When a Little Girl Defused the Bomb
by
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"Happy Landing," exclaimed Elisa, turning to the last guest. "You must be a very important person, a high-ranking Army officer, perhaps a General. What do all those stars and colored stripes on your chest represent?" Elisa was a very lively and alert child; nothing got passed her. She was especially drawn to colors and ancient artifacts. Despite still attending elementary school, she loved historical readings and uniforms, so she couldn't help but ask her simple, but precise, question in front of that stately military monument adorned with decorations and ranks, lit up like a giant Christmas tree seated next to her on Flight FR2909, which had just left Palermo bound for Cristoforo Colombo, Genoa. The senior British aviation official smiled before responding. "I don't think I've worked for the army, Elisa. I would say you're almost certainly talking to a high-ranking officer of the British Air Force... if I'm not mistaken..." Laura, Elisa's elegant mother, leaned forward smiling and curious, searching for an answer that could satisfy her daughter's innocent question. Lowering his small glasses for a moment and peering over the central pages of The Guardian, the elderly officer smiled with the upper part of his mustache and gave a convincing answer. "I certainly feel safer among the clouds than with my feet on the ground, that's for sure, Elisa. Happy landings to you too!" The very young student blushed and lowered her gaze for a moment... only to quickly raise it again, taller and prouder than before. Laura, however, was momentarily struck by a doubt and wondered for a few seconds how the officer already knew Elisa's name. She didn't remember mentioning her daughter's name before taking her seat on the plane, so she mentally rewound the memory tape and quickly tried to recall...
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About the Book
It is 1943 when a squadron of English Wellingtons take off from Tunisia with the mission of bombing FIAT factories in Turin. Among the Wellingtons is one aircraft assigned to destroy Berlin with an atomic bomb. When the pilots encounter a terrible snowstorm over the Ligurian Apennines, some return to base but the three who decide to continue the mission crash in Val Boreca. Before the impact that ended the lives of too many young men, five English aviators choose to postpone the date of the bomb explosion to 2025. Elisa is a curious girl living in modern times who is especially drawn to colors, ancient artifacts, historical readings, and uniforms. After she boards an airplane in Palermo bound for Genoa with her mother, Laura, she is seated by a senior British aviation official and Paolo, a navy veteran. As they engage in a lively conversation, Elisa has no idea that she is about to be given a secret mission with the potential to change the course of history. In this exciting novel, a little girl who meets two men on an airplane bound for Genoa must rely on her ingenuity and resolve to stop a fateful mission outlined some eighty years earlier.
About the Author
Paolo Zanardi hails from Val Trebbia and Val Boreca. He and his wife, Daniela, have two children and a loyal dog who participates in all family events. This is Paolo’s first book. Sergio Bossi is the author of the Voice of the Bossare, My Three Men, Nonexistence, as well as several other works. He and his wife, Anna, have three mischievous boys.