La Prima Luna (The First Moon)

Chapter 12 : Premonitions

Saturday morning. Or to be precise, dawn. The sun hadn't even come out fully yet. Among the households living in the mansion, only the butler or the maids had woken up. And then, there was Valentina. However, worse than the butler or the maids, it wasn't that she had awoken; she hadn't slept since the night before, not even for a blink of an eye. She couldn't although she tried, not after what had happened between her and a certain idiosyncratic, yet irresistible blond.

-The Previous Night-

After the memorable fling, which probably lasted for only a minute, they stared at each other for what seemed like hours. Giotto was the one to bring an end to the silence by calling her name softly, almost like a sigh.

"I…"

She was at loss for words.

"Let's talk outside," he advised. Taking Val's hand in his, he led her out.

Hand in hand, they strolled in the garden filled with the dim but warm orange lights. Giotto took a deep breath before he began to speak.

"I realize we've been the best of friends for years now. But… I've realized, too, that I've developed a stronger feeling for you. Since when, I don't know."

Such was his vague confession.

They stopped in front of the bench and she sat down before giving her reply.

"I-I thought… I mean, you've been everywhere outside Taormina. I'm pretty sure you've met a lot of women out there. And…" she paused.

Giotto sat beside her, not letting go of her hand. For a second, his grip on her hand became tight. And through his grasp, she could somehow feel his fears and insecurities.

"It's… It's complicated—and weird, is it not? I don't know why myself," he said with hesitation.

"You've been with me all these years. You stood there for me in my darkest times. You were there when I didn't even know that I was in need," he continued with more confidence in his voice. "I even felt guilty because you distracted me from my sorrows of losing my parents, or Antonio."

He blamed her jokingly, but there was pain hidden behind his orbs. Val reacted by smiling faintly before she looked away to the ground, not knowing how to respond.

Using his other hand, Giotto stroked Val's hair before placing it on her cheek, making her turn to face him again. In return, she held his hand, pressing his palm to her cheek. Although for some moment nothing was said between them, the silence was a pleasant one.

"Do you mind if I touch you like this?" asked Giotto finally.

Val shook her head and a smile slowly crept back to her lips.

"We did this when we were younger. It's not a big deal," she replied.

Shutting her eyes, she indulged in the feel of his touch.

"But isn't it different this time?" he asked again.

Val opened her eyes and fixed them on his as she opened her mouth and asked back, "Is it different to you?"

Giotto shook his head.

"Perhaps," he said.

The blond gazed lovingly at the girl before him as he was thinking to himself that if there was anything different, it was the girl herself. She had always been.

Unlike any girl he had met in all the parties and meetings he'd been to. Not only she had a sharp-mind, she was bright, critical, and contradictory; she could be cheerful and quiet, mysterious yet predictable, ignorant but also sensitive. Aside from her elegance, it was the undisguised goodwill of her heart that allured him—for she had never meant to hurt anyone, regardless of her sometimes rude remarks.