Piccoletto

The First Clue

"What do you mean you don't know?" Giulia snapped at Alberto.

The pair were outside Giulia's house, looking over the lantern lit village of Portorosso. Alberto had tried his best to cover up the fact that Luca may have gone missing. At first he did it to ease his worries, but now things were looking much worse. Luca, who had promised to be quick, hadn't come back in nearly an hour.

"Shh!" Alberto hissed as he wiped away his tears, returning to the hostile mood he had formed around Giulia. "I said I don't know! Ok?"

Giulia stepped closer to Alberto. "Where was he before? You were with him after our gelato."

Alberto cringed. Giulia didn't sound accusatory, but it still sounded that way to Alberto. And the more Alberto thought about it, the more it made sense that it was his fault Luca was missing.

"I- well, uh- yeah!" said Alberto. "But then he left. Giulia, I need to go find him. Tell Massimo that I'm-"

"Alberto, stop!" Giulia said, reaching out a hand to stop Alberto. "You can't go out alone either! We need to retrace our steps."

"Our steps?" Alberto said with a scoff. "Not our steps. My steps. Luca's my best friend. I don't need any help!"

Giulia stomped her foot. "He's one of my best friends too, Alberto! Fighting isn't going to solve anything!"

Alberto folded his arms. He didn't want nor need any of Giulia's help. If she got involved, it would only worry her, and she could tell Massimo! And the more she found out about the night prior, she might make a big deal about something not so big. What was more important here?

"Fine," huffed Alberto. "We'll retrace our steps. Come on."

The two set off towards the alleyways of Portorosso. As they walked by the sandy buildings, the window lights of their occupants turned off one by one. Soon, they wound up back at the Gelateria.

"Ok," Giulia said cheerfully. "Where did you guys go after having gelato?"

Alberto tapped his foot impatiently as he kept his arms folded. "We went to go talk on the ledge over the beach. Why does it matter?"

"Because," Giulia said, pulling Alberto's arm. "Retracing our steps can give us clues as to where Luca went."

Alberto tugged his arm back to his side. "I meant, why does it matter to you?"

Giulia stopped and turned back around. "I don't think you get it, Alberto. I like Luca as much as you do. You're not the only person who cares about him, he's got other people."

Alberto shifted uncomfortably. What Giulia said stung. And it wasn't true. Alberto brought Luca to the surface. Alberto taught Luca everything he knew. Luca even had Alberto's clothes on his back! He knew Luca better than anyone! And he knew Luca wouldn't just swim away. Alberto also knew that Luca wasn't the type to get lost. If Luca did get lost, he could easily find his way back. Portorosso was small. The only thing that could've stopped Luca from coming back was Ercole.

"I know!" Giulia said. "We need to retrace our steps back further. To this morning. Where were you, Alberto?"

"Ugh, how should I know?" Alberto replied coldly. "I was fishing, remember?"

"Woah, ok," Giulia responded, picking up Alberto's tone. "Well Luca and I didn't train this morning. I showed him the market street."

That's right! Alberto and Luca had made a pact. They'd train in secret. Maybe Luca was still training, just somewhere hidden! It made perfect sense. Right?

"And then I showed him the plant nursery," Giulia continued. "And he wanted to- ohhhhh!"

Giulia slapped a hand to her face. "Alberto, I think I know where Luca might have gone to!"

"Where?" Alberto said, perking up. Giulia pointed up the alleyway towards where the nursery was located.

"I showed him the plant nursery. He said he wanted to buy flowers!" Giulia responded.

"Flowers?" Alberto responded. "Like for a gift? Who did he want to buy them for?"

Giulia shrugged. "I don't know, he wouldn't tell me. I think he wanted it to be a surprise."

"A surprise?" Alberto asked, feeling faint. He could hear Luca's voice echo in his mind.

"Well, it's a secret. Or- or, a surprise! Yeah!"

Alberto felt a chill go down his spine. He turned slowly towards Giulia. Giulia was confused until Alberto lifted his face, not trying to fight back the tears this time. Luca had said he'd give Alberto the surprise. Hadn't he? Alberto struggled to remember. He tried wracking his mind for every clue possible, but he just couldn't remember what Luca had said.

"Alberto," Giulia said, breaking Alberto's train of thought. "What's that?"

Alberto followed Giulia's pointed finger past his shoulder and looked up. At the top of the sloped alleyway was a gleam of red that caught both their eyes. In silence, they both walked up the hill and turned the corner to follow the color.

Alberto's breath got caught in this throat as he saw it. Giulia had more of an annoyed, disgusted look. Alebrto couldn't blame her, she wasn't there last night. Giulia didn't know what had happened so she couldn't make the connection. But this only proved to Alberto that his worst fears were confirmed.

"Ugh, come on," Giulia said in an irritated tone. "Let's leave before that reign of terror comes back."

Alberto didn't follow. Instead he stood, his gaze fixed upon Ercole's red vespa, which was parked right above the hill near the plant nursery. If Luca had come here to get a flower, and Ercole's vespa was here, it all made sense. Alberto brought his hands up to his arms for a source of comfort before turning towards Giulia.

Giulia waited for him a few meters away with a concerned look. Alberto looked up, terrified that he had to come to terms with this. But he had to tell her. If this was really what he thought it was.

"I have to tell you something," Alberto said quietly, looking back at the vespa. "Me and Luca- went to go look at vespas last night. And we ran into Ercole."

Giulia's face fell.

"What happened?"