On the route back to Portorosso, Giulia held Luca as he cried nonstop; Mr. Filellene kept opening and closing his mouth, as though wanting to offer some comforting words. He came up with nothing. They crossed a bridge, overlooking the sea.

"The Kraken did much worse," he said.

Giulia and Luca stared at him.

"I mean I've heard." The teacher cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'm not partial to Scandinavian lore - I'm more of a Greek guy myself but… ahem. So your friend is in this Portorosso?"

Luca nodded, pulling away. "That's where it all started. He always goes there, after he… "

I'm so sorry, Giulia started to say before realizing that it was her kind that suffered the loss.

Luca turned to her, his eyes bright with tears. "I'm so sorry, Giulia."

"I know, Luca. Non piangere." She didn't realize inviting sea monsters into her life would cause this much chaos - it was one thing hearing about it, but it was another actually seeing three ships go down.

"It's all my fault."

"No it's not," she said.

"Yes it is… I shouldn't have left him alone."

"No, piccoletto. It's not your fault," Mr. Filellene said.

"But it is," he said, still upset. "I walked away from him. You should have seen his face. I threw his drawing on the ground. I… I don't know what I was thinking. I was just mad."

"Did you find it again?" Giulia asked.

Luca sighed. "It was ripped to shreds… at the bottom of the ocean."

And tape wouldn't fix it this time.

. . .

After a while of swimming, until he ached all over, Luca spied Alberto sitting very still on the ocean floor. That couldn't be a good sign. Still, he decided to go down and investigate. "Alberto?"

Alberto lifted his head. "Luca."

Luca floated onto the floor, folding his legs. His friend was surrounded by brambles and derelict and broken bits of boat. He had never seen the sea look so trashed yet so empty. "What did you do?" he asked.

"I don't know," Alberto whispered. "All I know is that it was bad."

"Do you not remember anything at all?"

He slowly shook his head.

"Did you see what - " Luca decided now was a good time not to tell him about the three ships he'd killed in the Riomaggiore. Then he remembered something:

"I think he was trying to get you to hear him. I think that part of him - the good part - I think he was screaming."

"Alberto," he said. "Those times you called me… three nights in a row? What were you trying to say?"

Slowly, Alberto let his hands fall. "That I'm terrified, Luca," he said, his voice breaking. "That I'm still terrified."

Luca knew. He was terrified too. Probably even more so, because he was actually seeing the real-world implications unfolding in front of him.

"I don't know what's happening." Alberto stared into his hands. "Back then, I could feel myself changing… doing things I didn't want to do. I could feel her there."

"Where? At your old reef?"

"Everywhere."

"I need your help

I need it now

Just give me the strength to go on"

. . .