A Promessa

Scialle

A father will always do what he thinks is best for his children.

—*—

Alessio awoke with a start. His hand slipped out the pistol from beneath his pillow as he looked around his bedroom. It was dark and silent, except for the faint sound of crickets outside. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary... until he looked toward the door. It was open. That's odd. He was sure he'd closed it before coming to bed.

With a pistol in hand, Alessio quietly top-toed to the door and peeked into the corridor outside. Nothing but silence. Shrugging it off as another bad dream, Alessio turned to go back to bed when he saw another open door–his wardrobe. His stomach was knotted with dread as he approached and looked inside. Everything seemed to be in order until he caught a glimpse of the dark, wooden chest tucked at the bottom. The lid was open. When he peeked inside, he saw it was empty.

Alessio swore he was going to have a heart attack. Scrambling to get back to his feet, the shark rushed to his daughter's room, nearly bringing down the door in the process.

Her bed was empty.

Shitshitshitshit!

He barely managed to put on a coat as he flew out of the house and into the night. If she'd found it, she could only be in one place. His bare feet carried him away from the house and to the beach where his daughter was born. She wasn't there.

"Giulia!" he'd call out occasionally, hoping to see a glimpse of pink in the dark waters or in the surroundings. "Bambina, where are you?!"

Not for the first time, he wished his daughter could reply.

Alessio didn't know how long he stayed at that place, and frankly, he didn't care. He continued his walk down the sandy shore, red eyes scanning the area for any sight of his daughter.

At last, he saw something. A little—seemingly unconscious—pink figure was lying on the sand a few meters ahead.

"GIULIA!" in seconds, he was kneeling next to his daughter and checking her over. Thank Mammon, she was breathing. "Giulia, are you okay?!"

His daughter didn't even stir. She's always been a heavy sleeper. Alessio's suspicions were confirmed when he noticed a pink shawl wrapped around her shoulders. For the time being, though, he removed his coat and wrapped it around Giulia's little body to warm her up as he took her in his arms. She seemed to realize where she was as she instinctively snuggled deeply into his embrace, head resting against his chest. She was still soundly asleep as he got home.

"Papa?" Pietro was half-sleepily peeking from his room's door.

"It's okay, Pietro. Go back to bed."

"What's wrong with Giulia?"

Alessio shot his son a stern look." Go back to bed ." he repeated before closing his door behind him.

As he lay Giulia down on his bed, he carefully removed the shawl from her shoulders. His daughter frowned in her sleep and began to stir. Alessio shushed as he tucked her in.

"It's okay, bambina . Everything's alright," he whispered while stroking his daughter's damp hair. His voice had the intended effect as Giulia soothed down and snuggled into the blankets.

Alessio glanced toward the little pink shawl, forgotten on the edge of his bed. After a few minutes of silent pondering, the shark clenched his fists. This couldn't happen again. He wouldn't allow it.

Silently but quickly, Alessio grabbed the shawl and placed it back inside the chest. This time, however, he locked the trunk with a small iron key. He knew this wouldn't be enough. Giulia was a smart girl. She'd find a way to find the key and open it. She was just like her mother in that sense: she never gave up when she really wanted something. Alessio carried the chest downstairs and into the garage, where he placed it inside the trunk of his car alongside the key. Once back in his room, he typed a message on his phone.

With the issue taken care of for the time being, he returned to his room. Giulia cracked an eyelid open as he sat down next to her and began stroking her hair.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep, bambina. Everything's okay." he whispered. The little dolphin snuggled into the blankets again and did as told. Smiling sadly, Alessio kissed her head. Thankfully, she'd think it was all a dream.

While he loved both of his children, he'd felt a special bond with Giulia from the moment she was born. She was his light, his bambina, his little dolphin. He didn't know what he'd do if he ever lost her.

He can't lose Giulia too.