Storm and Sea - Book 1

Chapter 1

Art provided by @Inkendz
TW in the description

(The Song that inspired Storm and Sea is - "Storm" by Ruelle)

Alberto POV

The rain trickled on the tin roof of the train station where Alberto and Massimo sat waiting. The train was running late. Massimo read a newspaper pretending to be unconcerned, but Alberto caught him sneaking peeks at the train tunnel every few seconds. Alberto sat fiddling with the Shark-tooth necklace around his neck, bouncing his leg up and down in nervous anticipation.

Alberto couldn't believe it had been three years. So much had changed.

He had changed.

The letter that started it all still sat on his desk. The news that Luca wouldn't be returning to Portorosso.

Years ago, when Luca had left with Giulia to the city of Genova, Alberto knew it wouldn't be forever. His two best friends would return to him every summer as promised. And they did. Each time a little taller and voices a little deeper, but they always returned every time the air grew warm with summer heat.

That was until he got the news. Luca had excelled in his studies, making up for the years he missed in elementary school. But the Genova Trinity Academy had told Luca that he would have to work through the summers if he wished to graduate alongside Giulia.

So for the past three years, Luca and Giulia had not returned to Portorosso. The news was devastating to Alberto. He felt cut off. Abandoned. It was the first time he wished he had gone to school with them. But after brooding for a month, he decided the best way to distract himself was through work. So he began working full time for the Pisceria, helping Massimo catch netfuls of fish and selling them to the locals. He became so well known as a successful fisherman that other sailors hired him for week-long excursions to catch big game like tuna or shark.

Alberto liked his time at sea. The townspeople of Portorosso had become very fond of the Sea Monsters. Well - they weren't called Sea Monsters anymore. The people of Portorosso had banished the use of that word and instead called them Sireni, which was the local word for Merpeople. They used Sireno for the men and Sirena for the women.

After a particularly grueling fishing trip, one of the sailors had gifted Alberto the shark-tooth necklace woven from the teeth of the shark they had caught. Alberto never took it off. For him, it was a symbol of his coexistence with the people of Portorosso. He loved them, and they accepted him like he was one of their own.

Massimo had taken the news of Luca's and Giulia's extended stay a little better. He understood the importance of education more than Alberto did and supported them wholeheartedly. Though Alberto heard him writing letters to Giulia late into the night on many occasions. She wrote him back just as often.

Luca's letters became more and more sparse. Alberto took to sitting by the mailbox in the early hours of the morning, waiting for the mailman to make his delivery. But most of the time, the only letters that came were from Giulia.

"Spiacente, Alberto, not today." The mailman would say, giving Alberto a sorry sort of look.

"It's ok. It's not very important." Alberto would say, waving his hand in mock indifference. But it was important. VERY important. His heart sank every time he didn't get a letter. And this past year, he didn't bother waking up early for the mail anymore.

But after three long years - it was finally time. They were coming back. Back to Portorosso. Back to where it all began.

A train whistled in the distance. Massimo and Alberto shot up as the rain fell on the station roof harder than ever. Alberto squinted to watch the tunnel. And finally, it came. The train began to slow as it made its way to the station. Its breaks screeched in protest as it came to a grinding halt.