"Are you ready?"

"I don't know Alberto, are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am! You heard the one in white telling it to the one with yellow hair, and they're friends, right?"

"I guess-"

Alberto gave him a friendly tap on the shoulder.

"Trust me," he said while looking at the door.

Luca rolled his eyes; he wasn't sure that that would work, neither of them knew what that phrase meant, and the human who used it didn't sound so happy.

But he didn't have time to think about it anymore because the doors opened, Giulia was on the other side with her cart, she was smiling again, both boys were happy to see her, and Alberto rested an arm on the shore while slightly raising his body.

"What's wrong with you stupido?"

Giulia stood still, eyes wide open; Luca knew they had made a mistake, hiding under the concrete barrier, while Alberto just smiled.

"What?"

"What's wrong with you stupido? We heard a human telling it to another a while ago," Alberto answered happily.

"I see- I better explain to you what it means."

After a quick explanation, both guys looked at each other.

"Oh-" said Alberto scratching behind his head.

"Well, that explains a lot," answered Luca.

Giulia laughed innocently.

"Don't worry, you guys still need to learn a lot about the human world, but I'll help you."

"Really?" asked Luca placing both hands on the block.

Giulia smiled; every time she saw Luca he provoked her warmth; seeing his desire to learn, that passion for knowledge reminded her a bit of herself, never satisfied with any answer because there were always more.

She hoped the gift she brought them would help.

From her bag, she took out a Rubik's cube, which she left on the shore, both boys looked at it with amazing eyes, Alberto was the first one to take it, twisting it on his hind, looking if it did anything.

"What's this?"

Luca looked at the puzzle with eyes wide open, Alberto gave it to him.

"Is a Rubik's cube, as you can see, each side has different colors," Giulia explained.

Both boys nodded.

Giulia smiled and grabbed the toy, she turned one of the corners, the boys were surprised when they saw it was movable.

"The objective is to make each side of just one color."

She gave it back to Luca, he twisted all corners and smiled when he noticed he could make combinations, but his face darkened when he recognized that it was more complicated than he first imagined.

"Let me try," Alberto said grabbing the cube, his strategy was to move the corners faster to succeed, but he only ended up frustrated when he saw that it did not work.

"No Alberto, you're doing it wrong, let me," said Luca.

Giulia couldn't help but laugh seen those two fight over who could solve it.

"Don't splat too many boys," she reminded them as she went to clean.

When she finished her job, she moved back to the pool, the cube rested on the edge, while Luca and Alberto were resting against the wall.

"That cube...is gonna fall" an exhausted Alberto exclaimed.

Luca only sank.

Giulia rolled her eyes.

"Calm down, I brought it to entertain you, not to torment you!"

Luca came out again and took the cube.

"Can I have it for tonight? I know if I have more time, I can solve it."

"Of course! You both can have it as long as you want."

Luca smiled and went to the deep again, only to come out a few seconds later. Giulia took the food out of her bag, giving six eggs to each one, the boys' eyes lit up and they started to eat.

As she tried her food, Giulia kept an eye on her bag.

She knew Luca was curious, but she wasn't sure if- from where they came, they knew of stars or had a concept to explain them, so she wanted to see how Luca took that subject, and also she wanted to go back to astronomy.

"This is the first time I do since...mom."

Before she wanted to know nothing about it, but now that she had someone to share- she wanted to try it.

She put her sandwich at the side and took her book out, she showed it to the boys; Luca and Alberto were in the middle of their appetizer when they noticed the book.

"What's that?" Luca asked.

"Is a book, a great form of information.

Luca smiled as if he had realized something, he gave a soft poke to Alberto.

"Look, Alberto! It's like the stones!" he exclaimed.

Giulia narrowed an eyebrow.

"Stones?"

"Yes! Back home, we have big stones where we have written procedures and stories, they serve us as guides when we feel lost."

Giulia was surprised, so the sea folk also had texts- kind of; she opened the book by the middle, showing an illustration of the solar system.

"Your stones also have drawings?"

Luca and Alberto's eyes widened enormously, they lifted their bodies out of the water and got as close as their chains allowed; Giulia brought the book a little closer to them, just enough so that it wouldn't get wet.

"Yes, but they don't have color, we have drawings in our walls that tell stories, but we've never seen a picture like that" Luca pointed at the book.

"Look all those colors, Luca!" Alberto shouted.

Luckily Giulia came prepared, she handed a navy-blue handkerchief to the boys so they could dry their hands, they grabbed and touched the book, keeping it above the water; they passed their claws through the drawings, being delighted with the lines, colors, and shapes.

"Is this an ocean?" Luca asked.

Giulia denied with the head.

"Is the outer space," they both turned their heads, not understanding what she meant; "is what's beyond the sky."

With a finger, she pointed at the ceiling, the boys looked up and then back at her.

"We live in a big round rock called planet Earth, that floats around a star, the sun, like these other planets," she named each one as she passed her finger, "Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune; they all make the Solar System."

Luca had never been so excited before.

"And is there anything beyond the solar system?"

"Only a galaxy full of solar systems."

"Than what?"

"A universe full of galaxies!"

Luca laughed excitedly, jumping out of the water.

"And then what?"

"And then..." she remembered she didn't go that far in school, "I don't know, no one has figured it out."

"You could be the first one."

Giulia brushed at the idea, but quickly denied it with the head.

"Oh no, I don't study it anymore."

"Why not?"

Giulia got a lump in her throat, she may be ready to talk about her passion again, but not of her loss.

"Something happened...I don't want to talk about it."

Luca's happiness vanished, he drew back a little, bowing his head.

"I didn't mean to disturb you; I'm sorry."

Giulia quickly denied with the hand.

"Oh no, this isn't your fault Luca, I just... prefer to tell you guys later."

Luca relaxed when he heard it wasn't his fault; he nodded with his head, respecting his friend's silence.

"Oh, so good you both remember I'm still here," said an annoyed Alberto.

They looked at him, Alberto was looking at one of the walls, arms crossed; Giulia immediately felt regret for making him feel ignored.

"Alberto, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"No, no, is fine," Alberto interrupted her, turning his body to the other side.

Luca's happiness was also gone, he saw his friend, and then to Giulia, she made a face; Luca was about to place a hand on Alberto when Giulia stopped him.

"Let me try."

Luca nodded with the head and went backward; Giulia began to think.

"Let's see, I don't think he's a nerd like us; he looks more like the cool kid, and what do cool kids like?" she went back to her childhood, what do kids like in her infancy?

And she remembered why all the kids envied Ercole.

She put her cellphone out and opened Youtube, searching for videos she thought Alberto might like.

"Oh, Alberto, I have something to show you," she sang.

Alberto didn't know why he was feeling excluded, it wasn't the intention of any of his friends, it was just that- he didn't find that solar system stuff interesting, but Luca was delighted and excited, and he knew that when his brother came to obsess with something, it was until the point of satiety. Maybe he wouldn't feel so bad if Luca wasn't the only company he had on that dumpster, but when Giulia spoke to him, he couldn't help but feel curious, so he looked at her; Giulia was handing him one of those magical boxes.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Just the greatest thing humans have invented," she smiled.

Alberto came closer, after all, the music came from that box, and he liked the music; so he took Giulia's box and examined it, on it, there was a picture of a human riding something.

"What kind of painting is this?"

"Touch it on the middle."

Alberto did as instructed, and the images began to move, he brought his face closer to the screen, impressed by the movement, and more when he saw what happened in the video.

A human was riding some sort of carriage, it was purple, with two wheels, and in a forest during sunset.

"Vespa is freedom!" shouted a female voice.

"Vespa," Alberto whispered as if he had said a former lover's name.

"There are a lot more videos of Vespas; let me show you how to play them."

Giulia taught him how Youtube worked; Alberto understood, and soon he was looking for all the videos about Vespas he could find.

Giulia looked at Luca and smiled; he smiled back as she went back to him so they could continue talking about the space.

...

"Luca, please go to sleep," a somnolent Alberto told him, he was resting on the edge.

It was nighttime, the building was almost empty, except for the night guards, occasionally one of those came to the lab to check they were still in the pool, after that they left without saying a word, the boys suspected the guards were afraid of them, but they didn't mind. Now that they had a human friend that accepted them, they didn't need anything else.

"I'm coming Alberto, just one more small movement," Luca answered as he twisted the cube once more.

After Giulia's departure, and some experiments on them, Luca had dedicated his entire time to solving the cube.

And even if he hadn't found it yet, he wasn't sleeping until he did; he had completed two sides, just four more to go, so he kept spinning and spinning.

Alberto just let out a desperate sigh and sank to not listen to his friend.

Luca didn't notice, he had all his attention on the cube.

...

"Luca."

The boy just smiled innocently.

"You're incredible! You solve it in one night!" Giulia exclaimed happily.

"Yeah...I know," Alberto mentioned, coming up while yawning; Luca's work had prevented him from resting, so when he finished his sentence, he fell again.

Giulia and Luca exchanged looks and laughed.

"You have to tell me how you did it," Giulia urged.

Luca nodded with his head; Giulia sat down on the first stair as the boy raised his body.

"The first thing I did was identify the most important colors, I suggest you start with the red."

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you

So please, don't take my sunshine away

Giulia opened her bag and took the Biology book she had brought out; Luca smiled showing his teeth.

Alberto rolled his eyes and looked away; but this time Giulia had come prepared, alongside the book, she had brought something else.

"Hey, Alberto," she called him.

He looked, and his eyes opened in delight when he saw Giulia was holding a Vespa catalog, he became so excited he began to move his tails sideways.

Giulia smiled, and after Alberto had dried his hands, she gave him the magazine.

Alberto took his time analyzing and reviewing all the Vespas, passing his fingers through the images.

Giulia and Luca were happy for them, they smiled at each other before starting that day's lesson.

The other night, dear, as I lay dreaming

I dreamt that you were by my side

Came this illusion, when I awoke, dear

You were gone and then I cried

When Giulia walked in, the boys were talking between them but stopped when they saw her.

"Hello, what's the secrecy?" she asked as she placed her cart alongside the pool.

"We made you something," Luca answered putting something out of the water.

Giulia stared at the object; it was a doll made of bones and united with what seemed to be a green thread.

"Is a gift," Alberto said, "a doll made in your image and likeness."

"We would have liked to make it of algae, but we don't have enough, just the bones of the meat they fed us with," Luca explained.

Giulia couldn't take her eyes off the toy, no one besides her parents, have ever had a detail with her like that; she wanted to fight back the tears, but it was worthless, she was crying.

The boys noticed that.

"Giulia, we are so sorry, we'll get rid of it..." Luca excused himself.

But before he knew it, Giulia had grabbed the doll from his hands and was hugging it.

"I love it!"

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you

So please, don't take my sunshine away

"Alright guys, you're gonna love this!" the redhaired said as she placed two plastic plates on the pool's edge, then she brought up a bowl.

Luca and Alberto saw each step with curiosity.

Giulia served pasta on each plate.

"Prepare to test the best food in the human world, Trenette al pesto!" she announced.

The amphibians looked at the pasta with mistrust; Giulia bitted her lip; maybe the pasta wasn't the best option; they only had eggs and raw meat scientists fed them, not so different from home, as they told her they ate raw fish back in the ocean.

So they could find the pasta weird.

But before she could ask, Alberto had grabbed a little bit of the spaghetti, and taken it to his mouth, he chewed it before a smile formed on his face.

"Mmmmmmm."

And he lunged completely, using both hands to grab larger pieces and eat them.

Luca watched him, he just took a little bit with one hand, brought it to his mouth, and ate slowly, but as soon as he tasted it, he smiled and started using his two hands to scoop as much pasta into his mouth.

Giulia blinked, looked at her fork, and then back to her friends, who continued to devour whatever was on that plate, but she smiled and shrugged, inserted the cutlery into the pasta, and began to eat, as she watched Luca and Alberto lick up the plate.

Tu sei l'amore, il solo amore

Io son felice accanto a te

Ed ogni sera, in riva al mare

In riva al mare, solo io e te

Before Giulia could leave for home, she noticed she had forgotten the forks in the lab, she didn't want anyone finding them and telling her she was doing her job wrong, so she went back to the lab.

"Hey guys, have you seen..." she stopped when she saw the scene.

Alberto passed the fork through Luca's "hair" the younger one had both hands underwater and was smiling.

Giulia was to add something else but decided it was best to let them continue, so she just stepped back, and the doors closed.

E l'altra notte, mentre dormivo

Ho sognato che tu eri con me

E se sapessi quanto era bello

Quanto era bello stare in braccio a te

That day they had put the boys into the capsule in the wall, luckily it was big enough that neither of them was cramped, and so at least they were no longer chained; she mopped the floor while her friends watched her.

The glass was an impediment to the conversation, but they tried to pass the time as best they could, that was why Giulia made her job dancing, extending the mop to the front, then tracing a circle with her right foot, moving sideways to the beat of the music.

Alberto and Luca had their faces glued to the glass to see her.

Giulia smiled and turned around, returned to her starting position, and put the mop in the bucket, pushing it slightly, underestimating her strength, as the container rolled until it collided with the capsule.

Guilla covered her mouth with one hand, but Luca and Alberto shook their heads and hands, indicating that everything was fine.

Giulia went to pick the bucket up and placed a hand on the glass, as she pulled the bucket away, she looked up, and saw that Luca had his hand against hers, his gaze met hers, and he was smiling with the greatest purity in the world, his eyes showed love, affection, and gratitude, at that moment Giulia felt-

-Loved.

She stood up without removing her hand and turned to see Alberto, who was confused, but Giulia smiled and placed her other hand on his side.

Alberto interspersed glances between her free hand and the one she had with Luca, but then he seemed to understand what was happening, placing his claw with Giulia's, and then took Luca's hand.

And at that moment, it was as if their souls were connected, no crystal between them.

They were not of different species; they were one.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine

You make me happy when skies are gray

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you

So please, don't take my sunshine away

Guido was going to the laboratory, he had forgotten to give the assets their afternoon meal, and he didn't want his guests to feel hungry, after all, he knew how extreme Ercole could get; he had to protect them.

So with everything and a tray, which had two steaks on it, he swiped his card for the identifier, the doors opened and he entered, only to stop shortly after, because what his eyes caught up to see surprised him in its entirety.

Giulia was with the creatures, holding each one with one hand, while the amphibians were holding hands, and they had their eyes on her, and they looked.

Happy.

As if they were seeing a lifelong friend, Guido took a step closer, it seemed that the three were in a kind of trance, because none were aware of his presence, it was as if they were:

Connected.

Then he noticed there was also music, and it sounded- romantic.

"Music, that's it!" they had tried to study them in the wrong way, now he realized it, as well as something else.

Those beings were even greater than he initially thought.

In riva al mare, solo io e te

Quanto era bello stare in braccio a te

So please, don't take my sunshine away.