Massimo woke up punctually as every day, with Machiavelli sitting on his knees, he gave him a little push, the cat jumped to the floor and ran towards the corridor as the fisherman got up, putting on his slippers, his robe, and followed his pet.

Winter was the time of year he hated the most, all his life since he was a child, he had been a fisher, his life was in the sea, and now the ice prevented it.

Maybe that was the reason why his wife abandoned him; Monica was her name.

She was a student the summer she arrived in Portorosso; one day Monica was swimming at the beach when the current swept her away; she would have drowned if Massimo hadn't been fishing for those areas, he managed to put her out of the water, and return her to shore. Monica invited him to dinner as a sign of gratitude; he was reluctant at first since he didn't expect any reward for saving a life, but Monica insisted; her parents taught her to pay favors, so Massimo ended up accepting.

They both got along well in the supper; Monica found life in the sea fascinating, and how Massimo was so capable and independent; while he found Monica as both intelligent and cultured, she wanted to be a painter, and he liked it.

Ever since his great-grandfather, all his family had been fishermen, and he continued with the tradition, and meeting someone who wanted to dedicate herself to something so different broke the monotony of his life.

As if someone opened his eyes towards a bigger world than the one he knew.

They dated for the rest of the summer, she kept in touch with him back in Genova, and she returned the following summer, as well as the next one.

And in the fourth summer shared, after drinking too much wine in dinner.

They made love.

A few days later, Monica told him her period was late.

Massimo wasn't worried, he had a home and a job, he could provide for her and the baby, and with Monica's parents being so old-fashioned, they agreed Monica should stay in Portorroso and raise the kid alongside him.

So a wedding was celebrated, and a few months later, his Giuletta was born, the most precious little girl in the world, with the same beautiful red hair as her mother.

Massimo loved her since the moment he saw her, a love that only grew with the years; she was free-spirited, always looking for new things to do, and standing up for those in need, a reason why she never got along with Ercole. Despite all the difficulties she faced, Giuletta always stood still.

Even when Monica and he- decided to go separate ways.

And Massimo understood her; life in Portorosso was monotonous, something Monica didn't want for her or their daughter; she wished to go back to her studies, to become an artist, and for Giulia to see the world, something Portorosso couldn't give them.

That became clear to him the night Monica yelled at him how trapped she felt; Massimo tried to comfort her, telling her they could do better, but Monica wanted to leave Portorosso, so he didn't insist.

A few weeks later, she and Giuletta took the first train to Genova. Monica's parents took the news badly, calling her daughter all kinds of names, so Massimo intervened with a call telling them that their divorce was a mutual decision and that they had done it thinking in the best future for Giulietta.

But they remained as cynical and ignorant as always, so they decided to cut all tides.

Massimo wasn't leaving his girls alone; town life was simple, he didn't have many expenses, so he always sent more in his alimony. Monica didn't like this, telling him he should think in himself, but he reassured her he was fine; been a simple man had its advantages.

Massimo missed the company of Guilia, but he knew the best future for her was in Genova.

They lived like this for many years; until fever struck, and Monica fell ill.

For the first time in his life, Massimo left town, and the experience was overwhelming.

Too many buildings, too many people, and worst of all: traffic.

An hour and a half to get to his ex-wife's house, he couldn't believe some people did that the entire week; but it was all worth it when he arrived.

Guila was so relieved she didn't have to look after mom alone, and having him by her side was a big moral help. So father and daughter spent months taking care of Monica; she was so grateful to Massimo, he had never stopped loving her.

And that was until the day his precious Monica had to leave this world.

The funeral took place days later; Monica's parents attended, devastated that they never made peace with their daughter. Massimo decided not to talk to them; they had so much time- and they wasted it.

Massimo did not like to hold a grudge, but he found his in-laws despicable and was more than happy when Giulietta asked to go with him.

Massimo insisted that he could look for more jobs to help her with the bills, together they could achieve it, but Giulia did not want to grief alone nor stay with her grandparents.

And although Massimo would have liked her to follow her dreams, he accepted her wishes.

Thank Godness Guilia was an adult, no custody battle.

So after packing, and Giulia withdrew from the University, they returned to Portorosso.

Massimo didn't know how Giulia could handle so much; she never felt welcomed in town; all the summers, Giulia saw herself as an outcast, and Massimo understood to a degree, Giulia had a spirit too big for that small town, like her mother.

A spirit that, unfortunately, had been broken with the loss of Monica.

Since that fateful day, Guilia wasn't the same: her cheerful and imperative personality had disappeared, her energy was minimal, she rarely smiled anymore, and it seemed that she did everything mechanically, without interest or passion; she had even stopped looking through Bernardi's old telescope, he no longer even read books or was looking for more- knowledge.

She now was like a machine on autopilot.

And Massimo hated that, he hated that his little girl's flame had gone out, and the worst thing is that he couldn't do anything, he didn't know how, at that point, his daughter already had more education than him, a simple fisherman, so no he had no idea how to get her out of that trance.

And to make matters worse, he couldn't fish or open the shop with the frozen sea he couldn't even do the only thing he was good at it, now surviving thanks to his daughter, and he hated himself for adding another weight to her shoulders.

At this point, the only thing he could do for her was making her breakfast, so he didn't feel so useless; Giulietta hated her job, so at least he could give her a few more minutes of sleep before she had to go to that hell.

That's why, when he was going downstairs and saw that the kitchen lights were on, he was surprised, when he got there, his eyebrows rose because they couldn't believe what they saw.

Giulia was up and dressed, making an omelet, the coffee maker was on and the table set, three pans were boiling some eggs, why did Giulia want so many?

But the most surprising thing wasn't the enormous amount of food that his daughter prepared, but that she looked.

Happy.

She went back and forth, circling like a ballet dancer, one without training but who had all the desire in the world; she had the same energy as before the tragedy, that flame in her heart sparked again.

But how?

Giulia turned around, seen him, she smiled and went to him.

"Morning papá! I made breakfast!"

She took him with both hands and brought him to the table; Massimo was too surprised to object; he couldn't believe Giulia was the same again. She made him sit down and put the silverware.

"Giuletta I..."

"Is no big deal, papá." She answered as she took a cup from the cupboard, then the coffee pot and poured some, left it in front of him while she went to the stove.

Massimo followed with a glance.

"Giuletta I..."

"Papá is fine; I'm too excited to sleep anyway."

Massimo raised an eyebrow.

"Excited... for going to work?"

"Crazy, right?" she laughed, "but is true."

She took the skillet and served the omelet with some toast.

"Is because... I made some friends."

He wasn't expecting that.

"Friends?"

"Yes, Luca and Alberto, interesting guys," she smiled and went back to the stove.

Massimo couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Friends... from work?"

"Yes... we have to clean the same room, so we started talking to make it less boring, and they're friendly, they like me, and I like them."

Massimo then seemed to understand everything; Giulietta had found those who treated her like an equal; maybe they were foreigners, transfer employees, people who didn't know the rumors about her little girl.

"They sound nice."

"They are," she answered without looking at him, turned the stove off, and began to put all the eggs in topers, a dozen at least.

"May I know why so many?" He asked before drinking his coffee.

"Oh... the boys don't have time to make their lunch, and I don't want them suffering from the cafeteria food; that could kill an entire army."

She wasn't lying, but neither telling the truth; Massimo could tell, she didn't want to tell him the whole story, but he couldn't care less if those two could bring her daughter back to her old self, they could eat all the eggs from his cupboard.

"You are very considerate with them."

And he quickly regretted saying that, as Giulia lowered her gaze, and her face darkened.

"They're passing for difficult times, is the less I can do for them."

Massimo left his fork on the table; he had ruined it again with his stupid fisherman brain.

"I'm sorry, Giulietta; I didn't want to..."

"Oh no papá, don't worry, it's nothing without solution," she quickly said, placing both arms on his shoulders, "believe me, now that I know them, I won't let anything bad happen to those two."

Massimo calmed down a bit.

"Well, I ask God to have mercy on the fool who unleashes your wrath."

Giulia laughed before hugging him.

"I love you, papá."

Massimo did not respond, but he clung to his daughter's embrace and closed his eyes, enjoying her affection.

"Well, I better get going; I don't want to be late."

Giulia freed him and went to her bag, put the food in it, and turned one last to see him.

"I'll come home early; enjoy your breakfast."

Massimo smiled as he tried the first bite; it was delicious; Giulia smiled and went out, the smile never leaving her face, she advanced towards the bus stop jumping.

Meanwhile, Massimo felt that something inside him replenished, his little girl was back, he had to do something for Luca and Alberto, thank them for what they had done, he couldn't wait to meet them.