Scipio gave Marina yet another puzzled look.
"Who do you think I might be but couldn't be?" He asked, in aa way that confused him very much.
"Well, When I was little, maybe 4 or so, I did know someone named Scipio. But he was my age at the time. And you appear to be much older than he would be now. He was reported missing very recently. "
"I know you! We were the best of friends when we were little! You're name is Marina Montebella, and you lived on Fondamenta Bollani, 225! But you moved to Spain, and now, you've come back to Venice!"
Marina stared at Scipio as if he had just shown her proof of confirming the existence of extra-terrestrials.
"How'd you know all of that? You're far too old to be Scipio Massimo." She said quietly, almost as if she were contemplating.
"Well,..I,.." Scipio's voice trailed off. He thought for a second. How could he explain to her the carousel of the Merciful Sisters without needing to mention his career as "The Thief Lord?" He could trust her, he'd known her since they were both in diapers. But then her family had to move to Spain. He had thought about her everyday, but eventually became so occupied in his other life, that he didn't have time to think about anything.
"You...?" Marina asked.
"Well, why don't you tell me how you ended up here, crying in this lonely alley?" He replied, in an effort to stall, so he could find the best way to explain what had happened.
"Yes, well, You were right about my family coming back to Venice. My Father had finished up his business in a few years time, and so we decided to come back to Venice. However, my parents have been acting strange, and my father has been..." She stopped. Scipio could see a tear role down her face, nearly freezing at her chin it was so cold out.
"He started d-drinking!" she cried, tears were now streaming down her face like a waterfall of sadness.
"And he nearly killed my mom tonight! And she told me to run, but I wanted to help her! But she made me leave. I don't even know if she's ok now, or if she's..." At that, Marina fell into Scipio's arms. Scipio had never seen his childhood friend so troubled. He wanted to protect her. He wanted to comfort her. He decided right there what he was going to do.
