Chapter Text
"Your dream, Alberto. Not mine. Not anymore," Luca had said, his voice firm but tinged with regret.
Alberto remembered that conversation as vividly as if it had happened just days ago, not seven years in the past. The sense of drowning he had felt when Luca confessed he didn’t want to run away with him had long since faded. The wound had healed, and now he was finally ready to make his dream a reality.
It had taken years, but Alberto was prepared. He was no longer a thirteen-year-old boy dreaming of escaping on a Vespa; he was twenty, holding the keys to a Fiat 500. His dream had evolved—he wasn’t leaving to flee from something but to discover the world, with every intention of returning home. And while he wouldn’t be leaving alone, Luca wouldn’t be not the one by his side.
When Luca had first left for Genova, it seemed like everything would be fine. They wrote letters to each other constantly, sharing every detail of their lives. Every Wednesday, they spent hours on the phone, talking until Massimo or his ex-wife would call them back for lunch. As the years passed, Alberto slowly built a life for himself in Portorosso. Each summer, Luca and Giulia would return, and the three of them would be inseparable once again. But then, four years ago, things began to change.
It’s astonishing how quickly time can pass and how much things can shift. Alberto didn’t hold Luca responsible for the way their relationship had deteriorated over time, but he couldn’t deny the sting of disappointment that would surface when he thought about how Luca’s letters had gradually become shorter and less detailed. Now, at twenty and with his heart at peace, Alberto no longer felt anger toward Luca. But back then, he had. He could still recall the nights he had cried in Massimo’s arms, the man who had become his father in everything but blood.
He remembered the bitter disappointment of learning that Luca and Giulia wouldn’t be coming back to Portorosso that summer of four year ago. The following summer, when they finally returned, something was different. The effortless chemistry and energy they once shared had vanished. Something had broken between them, and though everyone pretended otherwise, they all knew it. The visit was brief, and Alberto had felt an odd mixture of relief and sadness when the train carrying Luca and Giulia pulled away from the station.
But it was the summer after that which left a deeper mark. When the train arrived, only Giulia stepped off. She had hugged him tightly, her voice barely a whisper as she said, "I’m sorry, Alberto. Luca decided to stay in Genova to catch up on his studies."
Those words lingered with Alberto, but they didn’t hold the same weight they once might have. The years had changed him, too, and he knew that life was about moving forward, not clinging to the past. Now, with his Fiat 500 and a heart full of anticipation, he was ready to explore the world on his own terms, knowing that the journey would lead him back home, to where it had all begun.