Boniface looked longingly into the calm waters of the canal. He was thinking of the times when Venice had enough magic for everyone, when nothing could go wrong. The times when he and Prosper had thought that they would be together forever. It was early in the month of December. Prosper had left in the beginning of Autumn to go to a college in Rome. Boniface stayed in Venice and was now eleven. And even though he had spent six years in Venice, the beautiful city hadn't lost all its magic for him. The golden horses on the Basilica still told him about the time they were stolen. The abandoned movie theater had been torn down and the property had been sold, but Victor and Ida had bought the golden-starred curtain and it had been draped over a wall in the room that Boniface, Hornet, and Prosper used to share. Boniface had dropped the nickname Bo, because it made him sound like he was still five. Boniface and Hornet still shared the room, but Hornet was going to leave in January. She had decided to skip college and had gotten a job opportunity in a huge library in Rome. He slowly looked around. It was nearing midnight and the city had calmed down. There was nobody in the canal, on the walkways, r on the bridges. He was entirely alone on this lonely street in Venice. He started home to Ida's house.

While walking down an alley, he happened to look up to the sky. He looked just in time to see the small burlap sack that was falling from one of the windows that promptly fell on him and knocked him to the ground. Stunned, he didn't get up immediately. A small person likely around eight or nine fell next to him, but managed to land on their feet and remain standing.

"Nice catch!" the boy said with a smile. His face was obscured by dark face paint, but his eyes shone in the moonlight and Boniface could see the boy's dark and unruly hair. The boy winked at him, picked up the bag,(It wasn't all that heavy), and started walking calmly down the alleyway. Boniface slowly got up, brushed himself off, fixed his sandy blond hair, and ran to catch up to the unusual thief.

"Where are you headed?"Boniface casually inquired.

"I dunno. I never go anywhere in particular except places to find food. I sleep wherever I end up. It changes every night. I've slept in old cellars, dungeons, the old piombi prisons, and tons of abandoned buildings" he bragged.

"Well what's your name?" Boniface asked.

Without warning, the kid turned and tackled Boniface to the ground.

"You're really too curious for just being a kid not much older than me walking around at night. Are they making kids work as Carabinieri?".

"No way! I'm no policeman! I just wanted to know if you had anywhere to stay and if you didn't I was going to see if you wanted to stay at my house. It's right by the Campo Santa Margherita" Boniface protested.

"There aren't any police stations near there, but why do you want to help me find a place to stay the night?" the boy said curiously.

"I used to be part of a group of thieves. We were led by the thief lord and we lived in an abandoned movie theater. It was sometimes cold and not very fun when we were by ourselves, but we were all friends and we helped each other get by when things got tough. I figured that nobody should need to be alone all the time" Boniface said.

"Fine. I'll go with you. It does get lonely sometimes when you're living on your own. By the way, they call me the spider monkey, but my real name is Alphonse and I've been a thief for five for six years".

Alphonse helped Boniface to his feet and followed him through the alleys until they reached the Campo Santa Margherita. They then snuck in throught the back door of Ida's house. Boniface quietly led Alphonse on a tour throughout the house, then showed him the bed that used to belong to Prosper.

"I knew I could trust you to not take me to the Carabinieri," Alphonse said hazily,"You just aren't the type of person who'd turn a kid like me in".