Musical prodigy Elio Perlman returns home after studying abroad all year in Scotland. Only, when he opens the door to his bedroom, someone else is sleeping in his bed.
* Set in modern universe (2018)
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Their story started very weirdly. Their meeting reminded Elio of a scene from that creepy movie of his childhood but, in Elio's case, the stranger didn't have knives and scissors for hands nor water bed to pierce.
It was almost two o'clock in the morning when Elio arrived to his family's summer house in northern Italy. The teenager was barely standing on his two feet, jet lagged and exhausted from the long flight. As he pulled his suitcase inside the villa and up the stairs, all Elio could think about was the soft bed awaiting in his bedroom - a lot more comfortable that these cramped airplane seats with little kids kicking you in the back.
Unlike most teenagers, Elio was excited to see his parents. He hasn't seen them since Christmas break and he missed them so much during his stay in Scotland. They shared e-mails every other days, Elio updating them on his life and academics, sharing his later reads with his mother and cultural discoveries with his father - Scotland is so beautiful. A part of him was hoping they'd still be up, waiting for him, when he'd get home but, given how late it was, he couldn't blame them.
When he opened the bedroom door, he noticed the window was open, the curtains dancing as the warm wing blew on them. His mother or Mafalda must've opened them to ventilate the room. Elio dropped his suitcase and backpack at the foot of his bed, leaving them there to unpack tomorrow. Yawning and rubbing his tired eyes, Elio unbuttoned his jeans and let them fall to his ankles before stepping out of them and pulling off his tee shirt, leaving the items carelessly on the floor. He sat on the side of the bed, about to lay down but eyes widening when he felt a hairy leg under his fingertips as he reached for the thin blanket.
