A to Z 2026 - M - Contessina’s Collection of Human Treasures

“I have so many questions,” Shelby said.

“I have answers,” Contessina said.

“Good,” Shelby said. “Let’s start with the obvious one. Everyone knows the Puck name themselves after their favorite humans. You’ve got to explain yours.”

“I honestly find that sad,” Contessina said. “You don’t know Michelangelo?”

“I have seen you talking to him,” Shelby said.

“There are so many things you don’t understand,” Contessina said. “Yes, you have met Michelangelo, but you don’t know his namesake? He was a sculptor, six hundred years ago.”

“So?” Shelby said.

“He pushed the very limits of the form,” Contessina said. “His David alone…There are those who value his work even more now than ever. He was also a painter, even though he himself despised the art form. He saw himself as a sculptor his whole life, and only reluctantly anything else. He labored on his greatest work for years…And anyway, I call myself Contessina because a woman named Contessina was the only person he ever knew who was unquestionably devoted to him, all her life. I was the first of my kind to adopt these human quirks.”

“You were the first Puck to visit Earth?” Shelby asked.

“No, not the first,” Contessina said. “Modesty suggests I may have made it an art form, though. That’s all I’m prepared to admit.”