Giulia looked from one boy to the other. They both looked like her friends, at least in the shape of their heads and in their voices. But how could that be? She didn't put two humans in that cart; they were two sea monsters. How could they have transformed?

"Giulia, it's us," said the one who looked like Luca, getting off the cart and jumping out of the truck.

Thank God he wasn't naked; instead, he wore shorts made of what seemed seaweed.

It was funny to Giulia that she never noticed that in the laboratory.

As soon as the boy put his feet on the snow, a shiver ran through his body. He looked at the floor without knowing what he was standing on. Giulia also saw the ground, and her eyes widened to see what was happening. The boy's legs were still human, but his feet only had three fingers and were covered in scales the same color as Luca's.

The boy examined his feet before putting them back on the land, then looked at his friend. The flakes that fell on him melted, changing the skin into scales, and suddenly, the boy's body had small green scaly dots. Luca spread his arms, letting more flakes fall on top of him, his curious gaze passing over them.

"Is this- water?"

Alberto also got off; when he touched the snow, his feet transformed, and purple dots also appeared around his body; he looked just as surprised as Luca. He was also wearing seaweed shorts.

Giulia looked curiously at both boys; at least she verified that they were indeed her friends. Also, the fact that they asked if the snow was water made her suspect something.

"Guys- does water...?"

But she couldn't finish because her father approached her. Massimo seemed just as surprised but kept his emotions under control better.

"You can explain everything later; now we have to get out of here."

The boys looked at him, and Luca gasped at the sight of the makeup, while Alberto only opened his eyes, feeling intrigued by that wound.

"Don't be scared; it's not real," Massimo clarified.

Then he walked to some nearby bushes and parted them, revealing a white Chevy behind them.

"Let's go; before they can follow us."

Luca and Alberto exchanged glances, nodded, and went towards the car. Giulia was about to follow them when her father stopped her with his arm.

"Giulietta, wait. I need your help."

She didn't argue; her father went to the truck and took out a bottle with a transparent-colored liquid inside.

"Hold it," he instructed, and she obeyed.

Massimo ripped a piece of his shirt, rolled it up, and stuffed half into the bottle, then took out a lighter and ignited the garment. Giulia looked, with confusion, at the bomb in her hands, then her father opened the van's tank and put the bottle inside.

Giulia opened her eyes.

"Papá!"

"We can't take risks, Giuletta."

Saying that he turned around and started running towards the Chevy, Giulia following him.

"But that's Old Bernardi's van!"

"Don't worry. I'll explain Bernardi later. Right now, we have to get out of here. Besides, something tells me you have some questions for your friends."

Having said that, she couldn't argue anymore; her father was right. She wanted to know how the change worked; the doubts were eating her alive.

So father and daughter got into the car, and they decided that it would be better for her to drive so that it would go faster. Giulia took the wheel, but not before seeing Luca and Alberto through the rearview. The dots had disappeared, and they both looked like ordinary humans, looking outward, happy to be free again. That made her happy.

She started the engine and quickly started the trip; the boys did not take their eyes off the truck.

"What did you do?" Luca asked.

"Oh well, you see..."

KABOOM!

Before Giulia could answer, the van exploded, going up into the air; the boys didn't scream but froze at the explosion. Even Giulia got a little scared but didn't let go of the wheel. Both boys watched as the truck returned to the ground, burning in a sea of flames, then looked back at Giulia. She giggled nervously and shrugged.

"Leave no trace behind."

...

For the rest of the trip, Luca and Alberto looked at the landscape they passed, with their faces glued to the glass, marveling at the trees and the falling snow. Giulia felt happy for them; she doubted they had seen it before.

"So what's this?" Asked Luca, pointing at the falling snowflakes.

"Snow," Giulia answered, "you know what steam is, don't you?"

They both nodded.

"Yeah, the thing that saved our butts back there," Alberto answered.

"Exactly, and sometimes the vapor reaches the atmosphere, decomposes, and falls back to the ground."

"So it is water," Luca said.

"Yes," and that reactivated Giulia's curiosity, "water... changes you, doesn't it?"

The boys nodded again.

"But in the lab, there were times when you were both dry. I gave you towels; why didn't you change then?"

The boys exchanged glances, smiling at each other, then pointed at the night sky.

"The moon?" Giulia asked.

Luca and Alberto nodded.

"As long as the Great Fish shines in the sky, we shall walk among the humans," Alberto cited.

That answered some of her questions but not all; she wanted to know more. But then she saw they were entering the town, so the boys again marveled at the lights and the buildings.

"Wow," Luca exclaimed in astonishment.

Giulia smiled, she would let them enjoy the moment, and when they got home, she could ask them anything she wanted.

...

The rest of the trip went normal, with both boys in awe of each new street they passed. It seemed they found every detail a marvel, and Giulia didn't judge them; it was a whole new world.

She wished they had more time to explore it; when they got home, Massimo got out to open the gate, then disappeared through the door while she put the car in.

"Go in," she invited.

Luca went down first, taking one step at a time, the girl showed him the way to the kitchen, and he went in while Alberto followed him.

"You two walk pretty well for… well, you know," Giulia commented.

"At home, there was an island where we used to play," Alberto answered, "we are not so new to this Surface stuff."

"This isn't even the first time we change," Luca added.

Alberto giggled.

"You should have seen Luca his first time; he was a fish out of water."

As they passed, they saw the walls, pictures, and furniture that adorned the entire place.

"What a strange cave," Luca said.

"Is it similar to yours?" Giulia asked.

"Well, we live underwater caves; and we almost do everything on rocks; the jellyfish serve as lighting," Luca explained.

"That sounds great; it would be nice to see it someday," she continued, with a dreamy tone, even though she knew that might never happen.

They went to the kitchen, where they took a seat just as Massimo arrived without his makeup; he was cleaning his face with a damp cloth. Without the burn, Luca looked calmer, while Alberto was still amazed by his size; he had never seen a land monster of that dimension.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself properly before, but we needed to be safe." He threw the towel into the trash can and then extended his arm, "Massimo Marcovaldo, Giulietta's father and fisherman."

Luca took Massimo's hand, his was tiny in comparison, but the older man's grip was gentle.

"Luca Paguro."

They let go, and Massimo went on to take Alberto's hand.

"Alberto Scorfano." He waved his hand to both sides, then back and forth, though he could barely move the fisherman's arm. "Piacere, Girolamo Trombetta."

Massimo raised both eyebrows and looked at Luca; he shook his head, then looked at his daughter, who just shrugged.

"Um… it's a pleasure, Luca and Alberto."

Both boys smiled. Massimo went back out and returned with two blankets, one blue and one yellow.

"I thought you might be cold."

Luca was given the blue one while Alberto wrapped himself around the yellow one.

"Thank you very much, Mr. Marcovaldo."

"You're welcome, Luca; by the way, you can call me Massimo."

Luca nodded in agreement, although at first, his father's friend seemed terrifying; everything indicated that Massimo was very kind and peaceful. But Luca was still surprised by Massimo's strength; he would never forget how he threw them into the truck with minimal effort.

"How did you know how to blow up the truck?" Alberto asked, "did you do it before?"

Massimo laughed before taking a seat.

"No, it's like I was telling Giulietta before; when you've spent most of your life at sea, you meet many travelers, and each one has a story to tell and some advice."

Giulia smiled; the boys would be distracted by her father's story, so she stood up, saying she would make hot chocolate. She thought about making espresso, but after the chaos, she decided that something sweet would suit them better.

When she finished preparing it, Giulia served it in cups and distributed it among the four. Her men thanked it and began to drink carefully, already warned that it was hot. So the four ended up drinking, while Luca and Alberto didn't stop paying attention to Massimo's stories.

Giulia smiled; now that Luca and Alberto were free from Ercole's clutches, she couldn't express how happy it made her; no more chains, no more torture. From now on, things could only get better.

And despite this, she couldn't help but feel strange, and she believed that it was due to the appearance of her friends. It was simply- weird seeing them as humans after having spent weeks with them as sea monsters.

And it's not that their human appearance was ugly; they both looked quite good. It was strange how suddenly they had changed, even if only the physique seemed to change; the tone of voice, the expressions, the personality, everything was the same.

Luca noticed Giulia's gaze and turned to see her; she didn't take her eyes off him, which made the boy blush and look away.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable," Giulia apologized, lowering her gaze, "it's just... I think I got too used to the scales and fins."

"We can transform if you want."

"No, it's better this way; it'll be easier to hide you two from Ercole."

In that, Alberto's smile disappeared, and Luca made a face.

"What's wrong?" she asked,

"You see... this transformation trick... it's not permanent; we can only do it the days and nights that the Great Fish is in the sky, although technically it hides during the day."

Then Giulia understood it.

"As long as there's the full moon, you can change, even during the day."

The boys nodded.

"Are you and red pandas related?" Giulia asked, remembering an old Chinese legend; about women who could transform into enormous red pandas thanks to a wish granted by the blood moon.

"Oh, don't bring those hooligans into this," Alberto said, somewhat annoyed.

"According to the legends, our ancestors were at war with them," Luca explained.

By now, it shouldn't surprise her that other skinwalkers existed. And even if all that story about a war sounded interesting, she first needed another explanation.

"And why can you only change on these days?"

They both exchanged glances; Luca put a hand behind his head and began to scratch.

"Well, no one knows for sure-"

"Yes, we do," Alberto interrupted him.

"It's a legend; nobody can verify that it happened."

"I would say that the fact we can do this," Alberto took the jug of water from the table and dropped the liquid on his hand, transforming it; he raised it so that everyone could see his webbed purple hand. "Is proof enough."

Giulia admitted that seeing the claw gave her a feeling of familiarity.

Luca sighed.

"Fine, there's a legend that explains why we can change."

"Once Upon a Time, there lived a sea monster girl who dreamed of exploring the human world. But she knew it was too dangerous; since humans would launch their harpoons at her first sight. But that did not prevent her from observing the land of those beings; all days, lying on a rock.

One night, the Great Fish was shining in the sky; she was watching when fireballs came out of the castle, flew up to the sky, and then exploded into a sea of colors. She was amazed by the spectacle. Wanting to know what those lights were, she prayed to the Great Fish for a chance to explore that realm; her desire was so passionate that the Great Fish responded.

The fish told her that in the three nights and days that his full-form was in the sky, she could become a human, and thus she could attend the castle. With the only warning to not get wet; otherwise, she would return to her sea form.

She promised to be careful and accepted the deal. The Great Fish descended, and when he passed over her, he dropped raindrops that came out of his own being; the girl was bathed with them, and when it was finished, she saw that she had become human.

Enthusiastic, she admired her new body; it was beautiful. Without wasting time, she dove into the water, verifying that it transformed her back. She swam to the shore and dried herself.

Venturing into the castle, she realized it was a ball; millions of faithful had gathered to celebrate the prince's birthday. She walked fascinated through the corridors, feeling amazed by every invention and custom of humans.

But nothing could prepare her for what happened next; the human prince noticed her, surprised when he saw her in that seaweed dress. He approached her, asking her to dance, and she very nervously told him that she did not know how; the prince replied that he would teach her.

And so they began their dance; at first, it was hard for her to keep up with him, but he reassured her, telling her to watch her feet and follow him. Little by little, she kept up with him; the prince smiled. She was a fast learner.

After the dance, in which they received an ovation, the prince showed her the rest of his castle; the palace blew the young girl's head; it was incredible how big it was and how many rooms it could have.

The girl made the most of each day, spending every second with the prince, who showed her the wonders the human world could offer. When he asked her where she came from, she only replied that she was from a faraway kingdom, which intrigued the nobleman even more.

The days passed as the love between them flourished. Unfortunately, the moment she feared so much arrived, the Great Fish would sleep again until a new month, and it was time to separate.

Fearing that he would reject her true form, the girl fled into the sea without warning. But before she could dive, the prince caught up with her, begging her on his knees not to go, to which she had no choice but to reveal her true self. She plunged into the water to emerge as a sea monster, expecting her love would hunt her. To her surprise, the prince was not terrified; all he saw was the woman he loved.

He took her hands and gave her true love's kiss; the young woman had never been so happy.

Unfortunately, even if their love was true, they were from two different worlds and couldn't be together. Since the kingdom would never understand it. Seeing that their love was sincere, The Great Fish decided he would grant a gift not only to her but to all of his children.

During the three nights he shined fully in the sky, the children of the sea could become humans to explore the Surface. With his breath, he bathed the oceans, granting that miracle to all sea monsters.

The prince and the maiden were content, and they swore eternal love. She returned to the sea, and each month the Great Fish ascended, she returned to the coast, where her beloved waited for her to spend three days by her side. They lived this way until their time came.

They rose together into the sky, where to this day, they swim alongside the Great Fish.

And since then, we can change so we never forget their love."

Luca finished the story and smiled; the legend was well-known to everyone at home. It was common for parents to tell their children before going to sleep, and as he had said, it was the only explanation they had for the change.

Giulia had put a hand to her chest, feeling moved by the story.

"And is it real? Did they really exist?" She asked.

"No one can say so," Luca replied.

"I repeat, the fact that we can transform ourselves should be proof enough," Alberto refuted, finishing his chocolate.

"The legend is old," Luca continued, "no one knows exactly how old. There are no records in stones or paintings in caves, it has been transmitted from generation to generation orally, so it may also have been distorted."

"My father used to tell me the same story; every detail is the same," Alberto continued.

"Well, that could be the version our parents heard; our grandparents' could be different."

"Grandma tells it the same."

"My point is that it's old, nobody knows where it came from, but it is the only explanation we have," Luca finished.

Giulia put a hand to her chin.

"Well, if red pandas also exist, their origins must also be linked to the moon; maybe they have an answer."

But Alberto snorted.

"Don't bring those furries into this."

Giulia rolled her eyes; she would ask about that war another night.

"Well, guys, I think it's time for us to go to bed," said Massimo standing up, "it was a day full of emotions, and we'd better get some rest. Tomorrow you have to go to work, Giulia."

"That's true," Giulia affirmed.

Luca got scared; his eyebrows narrowed his smile fell.

"You have to go back?"

Alberto looked away, not wanting the others to notice that he was afraid; he never wanted to return to that laboratory.

"Yes, it's my job after all, and if I'm absent, I'll look more suspicious, but the fact that you can change into humans makes things easier. You can spend the day with my dad."

Massimo smiled, bringing the good spirits back to the table.

"And relax, Ercole can't beat me."

Now that the boys were safe, she swore to the Great Fish that if that pig ever touched her again, she would gouge out his eyes.

...

"We thought one of you would sleep in the bathtub and the other in a pool, but since you are technically now human. I think the bed will be fine," Giulia said as she opened the door to the guest room.

A bed in the center and two bureaus on the sides; one had a lamp and the other a book. There was also a wardrobe and furniture on the other side with several drawers. The girl turned on the light and stepped aside for both of them to pass.

"We only have a bed do."

"That's not a problem," Alberto answered with a wave of his hand, "we share a room at home."

"And we've also camped on the island," Luca continued, at which point he laughed, "even in the laboratory, we share a room."

Alberto laughed, while Giulia didn't know if she should find that funny. She opened the closet and took out an extra pillow. Luca looked at it in amazement.

"Oh, this is a pillow; we humans use it to sleep," she placed it against the head of the bed and squashed it a little, "it's soft."

Luca reached over and put a hand on the cushion; he put a little force, and his hand sank, and he smiled.

"It's like a jellyfish! But less slimy," Luca laughed.

Giulia smiled.

"There are more blankets in the closet if you get cold," she added.

"Our species is very adaptable," Alberto said; proudly as he looked at his nails, "we'll be fine."

Giulia rolled her eyes but still smiled.

"Buona Notte, boys."

She was about to leave when Luca took her by the hand. Giulia stopped and looked at her friend, who looked into her eyes with gratitude.

"Thank you for what you did for us; you saved our lives."

Alberto appeared at her side and took her free hand.

"I mean this; thank you so much; we can never repay you."

"You don't need to pay me anything."

And without prior warning, she threw herself on the two of them, surrounding them in a hug and then squashing them against her cheeks. Again she felt strange for not feeling the scales, but she didn't care; humans or sea monsters; they were her friends.

The boys returned the hug and pulled her lightly against their bodies, then separated but continued to hold hands.

"Rest," was the last thing she said before releasing them; to go to her room. Giulia felt that if she stayed there any longer, she would never be able to leave.

The more she thought about it if they could disguise themselves as humans for three days and three nights… maybe they could spend them in town. Now that they were safe, she could see that the next logical move was to release them so they could return home, but if the boys could hide as humans… Maybe they could be with her a little longer, just a little.

She shook her head, that should be their decision, and it was too late at night to think about it; they could discuss it in the morning.