La Prima Luna (The First Moon)

Chapter 1 : Unexpected

A small town in Sicily Island, Italy—called Taormina—was in autumn when she first saw him visiting her brother, G. She did not know that the fated meeting was that of a destiny, that he was not just some boy who happened to pass by in her life. Nor did she know that from the very first time he saw her, he had felt a certain feeling, one that even he himself could not figure out. At the time, he was still a boy, maybe a year or two older. It was just his intuition or premonition you may call it, as the result of the Vongola blood running through his veins, the Vongola Hyper Intuition.

"G, who is it?" she asked her older brother while shyly hiding behind him as he was welcoming his blonde friend.

"Ah, Val, it's Giotto. I think I have mentioned him to you and about his visit today. He also visited us last week with his grandfather, remember?"

She only stared at G in confusion. Of course she did not remember, she did not go out much. She was mostly in her room reading books or in the kitchen helping her mother cooking. But she finally caught a glimpse of memory when a neighbor visited them last week. The silence made the blonde notice the shadow behind G's shoulder, thus made him the one to introduce himself first.

"Salve, you must be G's sister, Valentina. I'm Giotto, pleased to make your acquaintance," as he smiled a little towards her, creating a thin shade of pink on her cheeks.

But little Valentina, though shy was never the one who would show her embarrassment, especially in front of boys. She soon realized how she acted cowardly while the boy bravely introduced himself. So she felt degraded and burst from behind G's shoulder.

"I-it's nice knowing you, too! I'm sorry I wasn't present during your last visit. I-I was, I was in my room—reading," she said, while noting to herself how guilty she had felt then for not paying attention when G had told her about Giotto.

Giotto, with his smile got even wider, only replied, "That's fine. We finally meet after all, and I've heard from G that you like to read a lot, so I can understand."

If not for the gentleness the boy had shown her, then it must be his oh very warm smile that made her blush even deeper. Having a brother like G made her mentally strong from the very start and most boys her age would occasionally insult her, with saying she must be a boy, not even fit to wear dresses, since she used to be not only mentally boyish, but also played and acted like one as a small kid. Some others would be scared of her.

Yet this boy managed to make her blush and even stutter at her words only because a simple, warm smile. Not to mention his polite greetings as well. It was unexpected by her, that there was a boy who would treat her with such kindness, instead of insulting her or running away from her. Especially when a girl such as herself was born with quite an intimidating, cold visage, which had made people around her think she was angry when she was not.

Finally responding the blond, it was certain that Valentina gave up her pride and just accepted the warmth coming from the particular boy.

"W-well, I hope we can be good friends then."

It was also unexpected by both Giotto and Valentina that their friendship might one day develop into a stronger feeling. Although a smirk was formed on the face of a certain redhead, knowing his sister's heart had finally softened, the way he had predicted.

~ Җ ~

Author's Note : I don't own the photo, it is taken from from www.ronny-pannasch.de

Note :
1. Taormina is a small town in Sicily Island, Italy. I chose this town as the main location/setting of the story because it is near the sea and also the hills, making it the location that supports the story most. The photo in this chapter is also a photo of a location in Taormina.
2. 'Salve' is the Italian formal way of saying 'Hello'.