Prelude

1990
A sullen boy entered his home and quietly closed the door behind him. He was a bit overweight and his curly, black locks stuck out from under the baseball cap he had angled sharply over his face.
"Ya missed the bus, Tony," Carlo, his father, a balding Italian man in his late 30's, got up from a recliner and went to his son, "Your sister and me been worried. What happened?" Tony grunted and shied away when his father took off his hat. "Hey, what happened to ya face? You bleedin'?"
"It's nothin'. Let me go," the boy mumbled and struggled to get away, ashamed to let his father see that he got beat up.
"Ey, ey! Settle down!" the father knelt and held his son by the shoulders, "Did he go home lookin' this bad?" Tony scowled and turned his head away. "Well, did you stand up to him at least?"
"That's why he beat me up," Tony nodded and sniffed, "They were pickin' on Sal and I told em to stop."
"Then what happened?"
"They started pickin' on me, so I took a swing at one of em'."
"Tony, ya gotta realize when you're outnumbered, it's okay to make a quick getaway."
"Then they'd think I'm chicken."
"They're bullies! You actually care what they think?"
"No."
"Well don't let them get the upper hand again. No one controls what you do but you."
"I guess so."
"Tony, come here. I have something for you," Carlo stood up and pulled out his thick set of keys. "You see this ring?" he parted his keys and held out a silver ring he had put on his key ring. "This ring has been in my family for generations, passed down for who knows how long. You keep this ring with you to remind you that you're in control of your own destiny." He twisted the ring off the key ring and handed it to his son, "You keep it in your pocket on your key ring for good luck. Just never put it on your finger."
"Why?"
"Cause I said so, that's why!"
"Oh. Okay. If it's so old, how come it looks brand new?"
"I asked that same question when your grand mama gave it to me," Carlo said as Tony joined the ring with his small collection of keys, "She said that's how you know it's magic. It never gets old or tarnished. So don't put it on or it'll get old and crumble to rust. And don't tell anyone about it, neither. Not even your best friend or the good luck'll wear off."
"No, sir!" Tony proudly clutched the keys to his chest, "I'll keep this ring secret forever!"

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