Massimo returned home after his search for Alberto to see Giulia sitting at the kitchen table. The red head seemed to be deep in thought and didn't even notice her father's presence until he spoke.
"I could not find Alberto." He announced. His eyes darted around the room as if he was missing something. "Where is Luca?" He questioned, looking toward her and raising an eyebrow.
"He… left." Giulia answered, looking down trodden.
"Mama mia!" Massimo exclaimed. "Are they both missing now?"
"No! No!" Giulia said, throwing her hands up. "Luca… Luca went back to Genova. I'm sure that's where Alberto went too. They must have gotten a little homesick." She lied. "I'll be doing the race alone again this year."
Massimo was silent for a moment before speaking up again.
"I see." He answered before removing his cap and coat. "I just wish they would have let me know before running off. I could have prepared them a lunch for the train ride. I had made Alberto's favorite.
He turned to face Giulia and noticed that she still looked upset about something.
"Giulietta, is something wrong?" He asked, taking a seat at the table.
"No. Just a little tired from training all day." She answered, giving a fake smile and a small laugh.
The room fell silent for a moment before Giulia decided to speak up again.
"Papà, why do you hunt sea monsters?" She asked.
The sudden unexpected question caused Massimo to raise his big bushy eyebrows enough to reveal his pupils. During his search for Alberto he had heard talk that there had been a sea monster sighting earlier that day. He wondered if that was the reason for Alberto and Luca's abrupt leave. Could news of the sea monster have scared the two boys away from the town? He turned his attention back to his daughter's question.
"Because they frighten the townspeople. They pester fishermen, scare away the fish. They are monsters." He answered.
Hearing this made Giulia feel a certain way. She had spent days with Luca and Alberto and they were anything but monsters. In fact, they were like normal people, aside from the fact that they were really weird and weren't very knowledgeable about a lot of things for someone their age. They never tried to harm her in any way, they just wanted to win the race and get a Vespa. They even wanted to come to school with her. She wondered how her Papà would react if he knew that the two boys he had been housing and feeding for days were actually sea monsters. Would he be angry with her? Would he go out looking for them to harm them?
She quickly shook these thoughts from her head. Of course she couldn't tell him. Massimo was a feared and respectable member of the town due to his skill and prowess at taking down sea creatures.
"But what if some aren't monsters? What if they're just like us?" She asked with compassion showing in her features.
Massimo had nothing to add but silence. He had to wonder why his daughter was talking about this all of a sudden.
"Is that the reason why Luca and Alberto left?" He asked, turning the question to her.
The red head's pupils shrank at his words. "You knew?!" She exclaimed, earning a nod from Massimo.
"Yes, I figured they must have been frightened because of the sea monster sighting today. That is why they left to return to Genova, no?"
Giulia's panicked expression quickly changed to one of dumbfoundedness. For a brief moment she was terrified that her Papà had pieced everything together. Giving a sigh of relief she stood up from the table.
"It's late Papà. I need to get some rest before the big race tomorrow." She gave Massimo a hug. "Buona notte." She said before heading up the stairs.
"Buona notte, Giulietta."
Massimo continued to sit at the table in silence pondering something as his daughter's words played back through his mind once more.
What if they're just like us?
The moon hung above the night sky, illuminating the town of Potorosso. The night seemed so serene and peaceful with the sound of waves splashing here and there. Most of the citizens were either at home or asleep this time of night.
Alberto was coming close to the shores of Potorosso when he spotted Luca near the shallows. He ducked his head slightly under the water, trying hard not to be spotted and watched as Luca dragged a weathered and old looking bike out of the water and onto the shore.
Luca shook himself dry. "Ok, now I'm all set." He said to himself, placing both hands on his hips. "But, it wouldn't hurt to get a little more practice in." He said, as he tapped one foot on the pedals.
He slowly mounted the rusted and slightly seaweed covered bike, adjusting himself on the seat. He tried to pedal a few laps around the rocky shoreline, but struggled due to the loose rocks preventing the tires from gaining enough traction. Due to some uneven rock placement, the bike tipped over, taking Luca with it.
"WAAAH!" He screamed, as he hit the ground.
"Luca!" Alberto called out in concern before quickly covering his mouth and ducking deeper underwater. He had almost accidentally blown his cover. He felt weird about watching Luca like this, almost as if he was spying or stalking him, but in his mind he just wanted to watch over the boy.
Luca slowly stood back to his feet, looking around for the voice that he heard call his name.
"Alberto?" Luca said, looking around for the source of the voice. He was sure that the sound of the voice was Alberto's.
Thinking about it again, Luca assumed that he must have been hearing things and shrugged it off. After all, Alberto was still on the island to his knowledge. Luca only hoped that his own scream didn't wake or disturb anyone this late at night.
"This isn't going to work." Luca said, tapping the handlebars with his fingers. "I need a surface that isn't so rough." Luca pulled the bike up the stairs to the entrance of town and began riding laps around the fountain. The ground was much more solid and less shifty, so he had no trouble pedaling at all.
Alberto was still there watching from a distance. He could see that Luca's performance was getting much faster and he couldn't help but smile at the thought that Luca was doing this for him. He continued to watch the boy, so mesmerized by the sight of him. The way his hair flowed in the wind as he pedaled at full speed, the look of sheer determination on his face, and the way he would wipe the little sweat beads from his forehead.
"Luca, you're so amazing."
After what felt like an hour with a few breaks, Luca decided to call in the night, his legs tired from pedaling. Heading back near the rocky shores, he found a place to sleep under a tunnel that led into a waterway. He would have rather gone back to Giulia's tree hideout to sleep or even to Alberto's island, but felt as though both of those options were closed. After all, Giulia knew his secret now. There was also the fact it would seem rather empty without Alberto there next to him. As far as Alberto's island went, Luca didn't think Alberto would want to see him again so soon. Luca didn't blame him though. After what he did to Alberto, Luca honestly didn't think he deserved his friend's forgiveness.
"Guess this is my bed for tonight." Luca said, walking deep into the tunnel.
Luca laid down on the damp ground and though it felt very uncomfortable, due to how tired his body was from the day, it did not take him long to drift off to sleep, curled up.
Alberto peaked into the tunnel, wanting to make sure Luca was asleep before he entered. He could hear Luca's light snores echoing the tunnel, signifying he was asleep. Alberto noticed Luca shivering a bit and an idea crossed his mind. He ran into town and removed a tarp off one of the merchant stands, before flapping it and dusting it off. He then returned to the tunnel where Luca slept and covered him up.
"Alberto…" Luca uttered out, giving a content smile.
This made Alberto tense up a bit, until he heard the little snores continue. He sighed in relief and stared at the sleeping Luca for a moment. He looked so cute all bundled and curled up, Alberto couldn't help but smile at the sight. He yawned, realizing he was tired as well. It had been a long day after all. He decided to lie down next to Luca, facing his back, so he wouldn't be noticed if Luca were to awake. Alberto stared at Luca's back, unaware that his eyes were slowly beginning to droop.
Alberto found himself standing in a field of yellow flowers. He looked around, not recognizing his surroundings and wondered where he was. It didn't even occur to him that he had fallen asleep and might have been dreaming. He suddenly heard a familiar sound out in the distance. It sounded like a very loud horn. He ran in the direction of the sound and saw Luca stepping onto a train, holding bags in his hand. Alberto sped up, calling out to Luca.
"Luca! Where are you going?!"
Luca turned to Alberto and smiled. "Goodbye Alberto." He said, before stepping on the train. The doors shut tight behind him.
"No! Luca!" Alberto ran up to the train doors, banging on them as he frantically called out Luca's name. The train began to slowly move, picking up speed with each second. Alberto chased after the train, tears now welling up in his eyes. "Luca! You said you wouldn't leave me! You said you wouldn't leave!"
The train picked up more speed leaving a great distance between Alberto. Alberto tripped and rolled over onto the ground. He lifted his head and watched the train completely vanish from view. He sobbed heavily and pounded his fist on the ground. The field of flowers that was once beneath him was now cold dusty wooden floor boards, similar to his tower on the island. Water surrounded the outside area of the floor boards he laid upon and stretched around him for miles. The sky had also grown dark with not even a glimpse of a single star.
"Luca… you said you wouldn't leave me."
Alberto awoke and he saw that he was still inside the tunnel he had fallen asleep in. He could feel a wet presence on his face and quickly realized that he had been crying in his sleep. He then noticed that he had felt something close to his body and realized that he had been cuddling Luca in his sleep. He had one arm around the boy and Luca's back was against his chest.
Alberto quickly jumped up in surprise, backing up and slamming his back against the walls of the tunnel. Luckily Luca was still sound asleep and hadn't heard a peep. Alberto's face was flushed red as he panted. He tiptoed out of the tunnel, trying to be as quiet as possible. He walked to the rocky shore and sat down. He thought about the dream he just had. Really he would call it more of a nightmare. Would Luca really leave him? As he pondered these deep thoughts, the sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, changing the once dark sky to a pinkish-orangish color with only a few traces of night left.