Ercole, Guido, and Ciccio sat at a restaurant table; the blond sighed in satisfaction while stretching his legs. It was the first break he had in twenty-four hours.
Guido, meanwhile, was trying to understand what the hell he had just seen; he still couldn't find an explanation for how Luca and Alberto could transform like that; he couldn't understand it.
And Ercole, for his part, continued to think; something about those two seemed familiar. He didn't know what it was; the militant felt he had seen them before, especially the tan one, that look, that hatred with which he saw him... It was too well known; unfortunately, he had made many people angry throughout his life, so the list was extensive…
It would be hard to find out who they were.
Besides, what the hell were those two doing with Spewlia? She mentioned they were friends from Genova, but he didn't buy it. It had been years since he was last in town, and he couldn't remember ever seeing that guy. Wasn't it too much of a coincidence that he pissed off some local guy who just happened to be friends with his childhood archrival? No, he had met that other one recently, like Giulia, but where the hell from…?
At first, it seemed silly, but the more he thought about it, the more and more sense it made, the shape of the heads, the hair, those eyes…
Could it be possible? Could the monsters disguise themselves as humans?
The waitress appeared and asked if they were ready to order; Ciccio requested a lasagna, Guido a spaghetti alla carbonara so as not to look suspicious, and Ercole a Dorada en papillote; he was in the mood for fish that night.
Guido noticed this but didn't say anything.
They finished the order with wine for the three of them, and the waitress returned to the kitchen. Ercole took the opportunity to look at Guido, who began to play with his napkin so as not to meet his eyes.
"So…" Ercole began, "weird those guys we saw, right?"
Guido swallowed.
"Oh, really? They seemed normal to me," Ciccio mentioned as the waitress returned with the wine and three glasses.
"Yeah, I didn't seeanything strange on them," Guido continued; perhaps he could divert the conversation to another topic, and thus Ercole would forget about it.
But Ercole just shook his head.
"No, there was something fishy about them." He looked directly at Guido.
The biologist had to make an effort not to lower his eyes; now more than ever, Ercole had him on the ropes, he had a feeling that those two were actually his laboratory subjects, but he couldn't let Ercole confirm his suspicions.
"One of them stood up to you, Ercole; you've always hated those who do that, that's all," he could also tell him one of his truths.
Ercole gave a mocking laugh.
"He's right, Ercole," supported Ciccio after taking a sip of the wine, "he was just a fool who believed himself too much, and that's it; stop thinking about it. The food is almost here."
Guido smiled. It was good to see that, unconsciously, Ciccio was helping him; maybe that way, they would make Ercole forget the whole thing.
But Ercole did not want to give up.
"It's not just that; something about those two doesn't sit right."
But Ciccio was no longer listening to him; they had brought the bread, and he had begun to eat, forgetting about Luca and Alberto. While Guido took a drink from his glass, pretending he was not interested in continuing the subject. But Ercole's suspicions were already at their maximum; he hadn't seen Guido this nervous, a wound had been opened, and he had to press it until he revealed what he wanted.
"You know, Guido? I've been thinking…"
Guido lowered his glass and looked at him; it was time to try to be casual. God, he sucked at lying.
"...we've never seen things like those two in the lab, right?"
"I think I've made that point clear, haven't I? In fact, perhaps we should refocus on finding them."
"That's where I'm going, don't interrupt me," Ercole added, raising two fingers.
Guido didn't like that gesture. Ercole continued:
"If these things are that strange, we still don't know much about them, right?"
Guido nodded, not liking where this was going.
"So it could be that, and this is only hypothetically, that these things could… disguise?"
Guido felt a chill down the spine; it was clear what Ercole was suggesting; he had to undo those suspicions of his.
"Camouflage in what way?"
"You know, changing so they could pass as someone else, something they're not."
Guido sighed before answering:
"Well, judging by the color of their fins and scales, my hypothesis is that they must use them to blend in with their surroundings, among the colors of the marine flora, or perhaps among the water itself, as I told you, there are many things we don't know about them. There may be other species of sea monsters and predators, so it would be natural for them to develop a defense mechanism against them."
Ercole nodded, pouring himself more wine.
"I understand. It makes sense, like everything you say, Guido."
This time, Guido did not trust himself; he already knew Ercole's tricks. He had to do everything to divert him from any idea he had about Luca and Alberto.
"But I mean a more... drastic change, Guido; like, let's say... they could pass themselves off as another species."
If Guido had been drinking, he would have drowned because Ercole had hit the nail on the head.
"Like a werewolf?" he asked, perhaps using such a ridiculous example would make Ercole forget that possibility.
Ercole smiled and moved his index finger up and down.
"Exactly! That's what I mean."
Guido laughed as if he had just been told a good joke.
"Come on, Ercole," he continued when he regained his composure, "those are pure fantasies, stories we're told before going to sleep. Scientifically someone can't undergo a transformation of that magnitude."
"Do you think so? Because you just said that these things are unknown, and you haven't discovered everything they have to offer us, so I would say that the possibilities are limitless. Don't you think?"
Guido clenched his teeth; now he was using his own arguments against him, how he hated him.
"Yes, Ercole, but I was talking about real things. To think that these beings can transform into humans is... ridiculous; no other species can do it, and I doubt that they are the exception."
It seemed he had convinced him, for Ercole looked down the streets at the snow falling on the ground.
"Is it scientifically impossible, Guido?"
Guido nodded, feeling more relaxed; now it seemed Ercole was abandoning those crazy ideas.
"Scientists only believe what we can prove, and in all my time with them, there was never anything to indicate that they could make that kind of change."
"No proof?"
Guido shook his head.
"Well," Ercole leaned back, "I guess science can't help me."
Guido did not trust those words; they did not sound like resignation or defeat.
"I'll have to look for a more… mystical approach."
Guido did not like that; the waitress returned accompanied by a waiter; she brought a tray with food, and they began to give each man his plate.
"Thank you very much," Ercole thanked as he raised his fork, then plunged it into the meat and brought it to his mouth, savoring it before adding: "You know? I have always liked fish; it is so soft and delicious."
Again, Guido did not like the tone he used.
...
Massimo was putting the last barrels in when the boys returned, he was going to greet them happily, but in that, he noticed that Luca and Giulia were holding Alberto, who was coming with a grimace. The good mood of the fisherman disappeared.
"What happened?" he asked as they approached.
Giulia let go of Alberto; the boy had already resigned, so he didn't even try to go back against Ercole.
"Why don't you go in the water?" Suggested Luca kindly, "That always calms you down."
Alberto just nodded his head; it was a miracle that his friends took him away because if he had seen Ercole any longer, he would have killed him.
"You can use the tub. I'll catch up with you in a while," Giulia said.
The two nodded and went inside while Giulia looked at her father.
"We ran into Ercole," she said with a guilty tone; after all, it was her idea to go out...
Massimo raised both eyebrows and dropped the barrel, looked up the hill and across the square, checking that no one else was there, and looked back at his daughter.
"Do you think he knows?"
Giulia bit her lip. She didn't know what to answer; Ercole did seem to recognize them, well, not as such; it was more like he had the impression that he had seen them before. Would it be possible for him to deduce it?
"No... I don't think so," she answered, although she wasn't quite sure if she tried to convince herself more, "I mean, would you have believed it if you hadn't seen it?"
Massimo looked up at the second floor, then back at Giulia.
"Honestly, I'm still not sure I fully believe it."
Giulia laughed. It was true; the idea of sea monsters turning into humans out of the water was crazy; someone would have to see it with their own eyes to believe it. Ercole was an asshole, he had no imagination, but… they'd better keep going carefully.
"I'm going to see if they need anything," Giulia said, pointing inside.
Massimo nodded. Giulia entered, but her father's voice stopped her.
"Giulietta," she turned to face him, "please be careful."
"We will, papa. I promise."
Massimo nodded again. Giulia smiled at him and went inside; the fisherman went back to his work, he liked the boys, but he was beginning to doubt if having them in town was the best idea.
...
Giulia went upstairs and headed to the bathroom; when she noticed that, just outside, the boys' clothes were piled up, she looked at them surprised and picked them up.
"Sorry, we didn't know where else to put them."
Giulia looked up to see Luca, dressed only in his seaweed shorts; she shook her head, dismissing it.
"I'll put them in your room while you finish…" She didn't know if "bathing" was a word that would do it justice.
"It's okay; the truth is that Alberto just wants to be in the water for a while. It helps us relax when we're tense."
She nodded.
"Is he alright?"
Luca shrugged.
"It's hard for him to control himself sometimes, especially after… well, you know."
She nodded again; boy, did she know what Luca meant.
"Can I talk to him?"
Luca nodded.
"Yeah, he's not angry with you."
Giulia smiled; she didn't know why, but hearing that was comforting; Luca stepped aside, letting her pass. Alberto had both hands on the sink, looking directly at himself in the mirror; like Luca, he was only in his shorts.
The girl entered slowly.
"Alberto?"
"We had him," he said sternly, which scared Giulia a little, "I could have beaten him!"
"No one doubts that, but what would have happened afterward?" The girl asked, getting closer; "there was snow everywhere; if you fell on it, you would have transformed, and believe me, with that, Ercole would have more than enough to come for us."
Alberto was going to answer, but he closed his mouth again, his gaze softened, and he looked instead at the sink. Giulia smiled compassionately and put a hand on his shoulder.
"If they discovered us, not only would we lose our chance forever, but they would have retaliated against Giulia and her papa," added Luca, "who knows what they would do to them."
"Most likely, we'll be locked up in jail for the rest of our lives," Giulia replied.
Even if they were discovered, they would only have to run back into the sea and never return; but Giulia and Massimo didn't have that option; they would have to deal with all the consequences. Neither Luca nor Alberto wanted that.
Alberto sighed and stood up, looking at his friends.
"I'm really sorry, it's just that…"
Giulia hugged him, dropping the clothes.
"You don't have to justify yourself; we know that."
Alberto just sighed before separating from her, then he looked into her eyes and smiled. Giulia smiled back.
"Thank you, both of you, for keeping me from doing something stupid."
"Hey, someone has to take care of you two," Giulia said, giving him a friendly blow on the arm. Alberto just laughed.
Giulia was gonna add something else when she noticed something on Alberto's chest; scars from when Ercole tortured him in the laboratory. She made a face; seeing them reminded her of that horrible day. A part of her wanted to let Alberto consume his revenge, he wanted to see Ercole suffer, but no, they should be better than him and not let their instincts win.
"Come on, let me help you prepare the bath," she offered herself; after their encounter, it would be best if Alberto relaxed.
Giulia went to the bathtub and turned on the faucet; the water began to come out while she put the stopper on.
"It's a shame you can't swim right now," Alberto mentioned, placing both hands on the tub. "I would love to show you my skills."
"It would be amazing to swim together," Luca added.
Giulia smiled wistfully, it sounded like a great idea, but as Alberto had stated, quite impossible in the current climate, and they wouldn't even find a pool…
Unless they made one.
Giulia looked up; there was only a small rectangular window a few meters above the tub; other than that, there could only be leaks through the door, and if...
"Can you carry me on your shoulders?" she asked Alberto, then pointed to the window.
Alberto nodded his head, got into the tub, and then crouched down, Giulia sat on his shoulders, and Alberto got up.
"Try to stay stable."
Alberto let out an amused snort.
"Please, you are nothing to these muscles."
Giulia rolled her eyes and shook her head. What would she do without her airhead?
She opened the window, and after making sure it won't close, she asked Alberto to put her down; her friend obeyed.
"Now, wait for me," she instructed, taking the clothes, then she went out of the bathroom.
The boys exchanged looks, not knowing what idea had gotten into her mind.
Not long after, Giulia returned, now dressed in her blue-sky swimsuit; she closed the door behind her. Luca blinked; was this all a weird human costume? It didn't seem like anything she had told them before.
"Luca, pass me those towels, please," she asked, pointing at a shelf above the toilet.
He blinked before obeying, he didn't know where his friend was going, but he was interested in seeing the result. He handed her the towels; Giulia thanked him, then covered the space under the door. Then she went to the sink and turned on both faucets while clogging the lid; soon, the water overflowed.
Alberto looked over his shoulder; the tub was also overflowing.
"Woah!" Luca exclaimed.
"Seriously, what are you thinking?" asked Alberto again.
"Relax," she answered, taking each one by the hand. "Right now, it's just the three of us. Together."
It was a risky idea, maybe this time, even her papa would be angry, but they would never have the opportunity to do it again, and, after what they had just experienced, they needed a bit of peace of mind.
The boys were going to add something else, but then they felt their feet wet; they looked down and noticed that they were transforming, and the room was beginning to flood.
"Wow!" Luca was beginning to understand what she had in mind, "You really are crazy, Giulia!"
She let out a laugh.
"Learned from you two," she laughed as she crouched down, spread both hands over the water, and, using all her strength, splashed them.
The boys laughed as their bodies transformed, then looked at each other, smiled, and nodded; they lay down and rolled on the ground to transform completely; after that, they got up, and with their tails, they threw a stream of water that drenched Giulia completely.
"Hey, that's not fair!" she replied as she sprayed more on them.
The boys laughed as they drenched each other, the bathroom getting more flooded.
...
Massimo was in the kitchen preparing dinner when the first drop fell on his shoulder.
"What the…?" He asked, looking up, noticing that there were at least six leaks. Massimo raised both eyebrows; now that he listened more carefully, he could hear the water overflowing. "Giulietta?"
He got no answer, so he hurried up the stairs.
...
The room was already underwater; except for the ceiling lamp, and thank goodness they did not want to be electrocuted. Luckily, the water went out through the window, thus preventing it from reaching the ceiling. Giulia had her head a few meters from the top, and Luca and Alberto still had their faces at the same height.
"Ready?" Alberto asked.
Giulia smiled, nodded, took a breath, and dipped in, closing her eyes and opening them again; the boys were staring at her smiling. She did the same. She still wasn't breathing out; she could hold up to a minute before she started doing it.
The girl's reddish hair floated, moving to the sides; Luca smiled when he noticed it, reminded him of the corals back home; it was beautiful.
Giulia felt a little strange; she had already gotten used to the human forms of her friends, but seeing them again as sea folk made her feel even better. She missed the fins, the scales, and the tails; as strange as it sounded, she loved that part of her boys.
While the bathroom was not big, it gave them space to goof around.
Giulia approached them. Luca extended his left hand, and Giulia joined hers with him while they held on to the other. Luca raised his arm, and Giulia turned to the left, placing one foot behind and then going around.
Once the spin was finished, Giulia laughed, releasing bubbles. Luca smiled and let go of her hand. Giulia swam backward as if she was falling, only to be caught up by Alberto, who had moved back while they 'danced.' Giulia fell into his arms like one of those damsels in distress in an old monster movie; she even pretended to faint.
It didn't take long for the three to burst out laughing.
Giulia opened her eyes and pointed a finger up; the boys nodded. Alberto carried her to the surface while Luca swam behind them. Once their heads were out of the water, Alberto let go of Giulia.
"That was fun," she said, still chuckling a bit.
"You were good, you know, for a human," Alberto teased.
Giulia opened her eyes and mouth as if she was offended.
"Excuse me?" She tried to sound angry, but her laugh gave her away.
Alberto was about to respond when Giulia splashed him; all the water went into the boy's mouth, and he swallowed it. Alberto's entire body stiffened, his eyes wide opened, and he began to cough while punching his chest.
Luca and Giulia couldn't help but chuckle.
Once Alberto had stopped coughing, he looked maliciously.
"Oh, so that's how you wanna play."
He plunged back in; it wasn't long before Giulia felt her feet tickling.
"Alberto!"
Underwater, the boy gently touched her feet with his tail; only that touch was enough to tickle.
"Now you will see!" Giulia said before diving in.
Being submerged, she noticed Alberto with his arms crossed and whistling. She went against him and put her arm around his neck; obviously, she didn't apply pressure; she just squeezed him a little.
"Oh no, help!" Alberto playfully screamed as he moved sideways, "Luca, save me!"
Luca went with them, seeing the scene, he moved his head to the sides, approached and placed a hand on Giulia's, the girl stopped and looked at him, despite the scandal, Luca was smiling, he was happy to be there with them.
Giulia smiled and released Alberto but immediately took his hand. After what happened with Ercole, it was clear they had to leave; even without that incident, tomorrow would be the last night the change would be possible; their hours together were counted.
When Giulia remembered that, she was a bit saddened. She was just about to say goodbye to the best thing that had happened to her in her life, after this, she would be the same lonely girl as always...
No!
She shouldn't think that perhaps their departure was close, but there was no use worrying about it now. Giulia should enjoy the time they had left together. She approached them and wrapped the two in a hug; by now, it had become a cliché, but she didn't care. Giulia loved the closeness with those two.
Luca and Alberto looked at each other over Giulia's shoulders; they sent the other sad smiles; they knew what it meant. Soon, it would be time to say goodbye. Part of them was happy to return home and see their family, but… they were also saddened Giulia couldn't accompany them.
"We are always going to be friends," Luca said as he and Alberto hugged her back.
Giulia squeezed them tighter.
...
Massimo was walking hurriedly towards the bathroom. Machiavelli was outside the door, watching how the water was coming out of the edges of the frame and under it. The entrance seemed to be making an effort to resist.
"Giulietta? Giulietta?" Massimo asked, coming over, put a hand on the handle, and opened it.
A waterfall was released, and the water gushed everywhere, wetting everything in its path. Machiavelli let out a scream and ran away.
The water continued to run, but to a lesser extent; when it was more controlled, Massimo looked inside; the boys, in their amphibious form, had their backs to him as they hugged his daughter, her face between them.
Giulia knew that a scolding awaited her, but she didn't care; she would accept the blame and the punishment, but her father didn't seem angry, just… confused. Massimo opened his mouth but couldn't think of anything to say; the scene was just…
Odd.
Giulia closed her eyes as she rested her head on the boys' shoulders.
Massimo just backed away slowly and closed the door again.
