"I don't know who else to talk to about this," Luca whispered to Giulia over the chandelier-shaking sermon. Ms. Marcovaldo's attention was fixed on the priest, thank God. "I need to tell someone."

"I think so too," Giulia said.

"How about the pope?"

Her poor little fishy friend. "Do you even know who the pope is?" Giulia said.

Luca's eyes flew up to the large vaulted ceiling, the little wheels in his brain tick-tick-ticking. He was so cute.

"Saint Paul VI?"

"Right," he said simply. "I'll just ask him."

"Good luck with getting into the Vatican. Why don't you try the priest first?"

"You can do that?" Luca was amazed. Santa Manchego; if he was going to be Catholic, he had a lot to learn!

After church, Luca decided it had eaten at him long enough, and went into the confession box. Sitting at the imposing box in the quiet corner of the church, he very much felt like a sinner. Luckily, the priest was nice - not nearly as intimidating as he was on the pulpit.

"Buongiorno, young man," he said. "What is your name?"

"Hi. Um… my name is Luca. Luca Paguro, from… far away. Really, really far south. It doesn't matter."

"Welcome to Genoa."

"Thank you. So uhhh it's not me? … I have this friend from back home and he's not doing too well." Luca tried to tamp down the shaking in his voice. "We used to play and do fun stuff together… anyway, he's turned evil. He's attacking ships and he's hurting people and he's acting like… well… a monster."

Luca trailed off with the realization. Even though they were, by definition, sea monsters, Alberto was the least monstrous person he'd ever met. He was fun and funny and kind - this was not him at all.

And yet.

"I don't know how to help him," he finished quietly.

"This is a very interesting dilemma," the priest mused. "Sometimes our friends stray from the path of God, and that is okay. It doesn't make them any less deserving of love, and it doesn't make them any less human."

Human… hmm. Interesting choice of words.

"Just remember that your friend loves the same, hurts the same, feels the same just as much as he did when he was yours," the priest continued. "Maybe even more."

Luca sat back on the bench. Of course Alberto had feelings… at least the Alberto he knew. So what was last night all about?

"In life, you have no responsibility nor obligation to pull your friends out of that dark place," the priest concluded. "But here in the house of God? Stay with the friends who stray, for if we do, will we not make it into the kingdom of Heaven?"

Luca's chest loosened for the first time in weeks, and he let out an audible Whew. Alberto still had a chance. All he needed was somebody to tell him that.

"Come on, Luca. We're leaving," Ms. Marcovaldo called from the hall.

"Coming." He quickly got out of the box. "O-oh and thank you, sir."

"Prego."

Though I didn't know what

I knew that something was wrong

But he still had his pride

He'd tell me in time

. . .