ACCIDENTAL DETECTIVE

January 12th - The Training

"Good morning, sleepyhead."

"Good morning to you, Lucrezia. Did you sleep well?"

I look at her smiling, her head resting on the pillow. She smiles back, her bright eyes fixed on mine.

"Yes, very well. It was wonderful to stay with you last night. I'm the happiest woman in the world."

"I'm the happiest man on earth too. Now that you know everything, you can also come with me inside the journal and live these wonderful adventures."

Suddenly, she looks at me with a very surprised expression.

"Journal? What journal!? You've never mentioned a journal."

My heart races, I start sweating, and I can't find an explanation... but luckily, the alarm clock rings. I was only dreaming. I turn on the bedside lamp and look at the bed: I'm alone. I stare at the ceiling and instinctively dial Lucrezia's number.

"Hello," – a sleepy, groggy voice answers – "Giorgio, do you know what time it is?"

"Hi, Lucrezia. Yes, I know it's early. But I felt like hearing your voice."

"Now that you've heard me, can I go back to sleep?" – she says, still sounding like she hasn't even opened her eyes and isn't sure if she's dreaming.

"Yes, I'll let you sleep now. I'll call you when you're more awake. Bye."

I smile and hang up. I stare at the ceiling and then turn again to look at the other half of the bed, imagining her there by my side. "How nice it would be to wake up with someone next to me. Too bad it was just a dream. I hope the explanations I gave her yesterday are enough for now and that this dream can come true soon," I think.

I get up, and, without even realizing it, greet Joel as if he were in my room at that moment.

"What are you doing, Giorgio!? Joel doesn't exist in reality," I say out loud.

Before I can even finish the sentence, the journal suddenly opens by itself to the page for January 12th. I go over to it and notice red writing.

Giorgio, I am real.

I'm left speechless in front of the message.

"How is it possible that he can hear what I say?" I think to myself. But my curiosity is always greater than any doubts, so I decide to put him to the test.

"Joel, so I don't always have to write in the journal; you can hear me," I say aloud to see if my curiosity is satisfied.

You're always doubtful, Giorgio, but one day, not far off, everything will become clearer to you. Now, don't waste time. Take the feather and write LUCKY.

"I didn't want to start today's adventure immediately, but all right, we're already in it." I pick up the feather and dip it in the ink.

LUCKY

I find myself on a street in an unspecified town, standing in front of an unspecified villa.

"Good evening, Giorgio, I'm the ghost of Joel," – he greets me humorously – "Today is January 12th, 1985, and we're in Toronto."

"Good evening to you. Are you upset about what I said about you not being real?"

"Don't worry. Even though I live in the journal, I can assure you I'm as real as you are. You can't expect to know everything about my life in just twelve days."

"What are we doing in Toronto at night?"

Like a fool, I ask the typical question to which the answer is already obvious. If I've arrived in this place, it's certainly because I need to solve some particular case.