Who is it?
The question echoed in Maldo's head, his heart racing.
He turned slowly, and when his gaze fell on Luca, who was crouching behind him, he saw in his eyes the usual mischievous sparkle—a sparkle like the light of a candle, which you don't know whether it warms you or burns you.
Luca was about to open his mouth, but Maldo quickly raised his hand to his mouth and whispered nervously:
"Shh... don't say anything."
The air around them seemed to lean in to listen to.
Maldo's fingers trembled slightly as he thought:
Damn... how did I not hear his footsteps? Is it because he's... a ghost?
Luca blinked in mild surprise, then smiled faintly, not without sarcasm, as if the idea amused him more than it bothered him.
Maldo removed his hand and whispered in a barely audible voice:
"Why did you follow me?"
Luca replied in a whispering, amused tone:
"Because I know you're planning something... and I'm not wrong, am I?"
Then he tilted his head slightly, whispering close to his ear:
"And why were you spying on them?"
But before Maldo could answer,
The silence was broken by Giulio's hesitant voice from the next room:
"Did you hear something? ... A strange sound, or is it just my imagination?"
Maldo froze in place.
The air around him grew heavier, as if afraid to move.
A cold shiver ran down his neck to his fingertips, and every cell in his body whispered the same thing:
They're going to find us.
He didn't think, he didn't hesitate.
He reached out and grabbed Luca's wrist with a light grip,
Then pulled him back with quick, silent steps, running through the narrow corridor back toward the kitchen.
Daniel approached the corridor cautiously,
His eyes scanned the shadows stretching across the wall.
He stopped at the corner, looked around, then muttered confidently:
"No... there's no one here."
The place was quiet,
But as he turned to leave, he noticed a small spot of milk on the wooden floor... white, still wet, glistening in the dim light.
He froze for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his face,
the smile of someone who knows more than he lets on.
"Hmm..."
He muttered in a barely audible voice,
Before turning his back and returning to his place, he left the hallway to swallow the silence again.
Maldo gently closed the door in the kitchen,
then leaned his back against it, panting heavily.
His shoulders rose and fell rapidly, as if his heart was still racing even after his body had stopped moving.
We survived... Damn, I wanted to hear the rest.
He muttered to himself and looked up at Luca with a silent reproachful gaze.
Luca responded with a playful smile, raising his hands in peaceful surrender:
"Really... sorry." His tone carried more lightheartedness than remorse.
Maldo sighed with exhaustion, not anger.
"What happened?" asked Sally, her lips smeared with milk.
"You two look like you've seen a ghost."
Maldo and Luca exchanged a glance... the kind that says a thousand words without a sound.
Luca opened his mouth and said:
"Maldo was—"
But Maldo's voice quickly interrupted him, sharp as a slap:
"I saw... an insect!"
Then he added in a fake tone full of disgust:
"Yes, a disgusting insect."
Sally blinked for a moment, then burst out laughing:
"This is the first time I've discovered you're afraid of bugs!"
What a mess I'm in...!
Maldo thought grumpily, looking away from her and trying to regain what was left of his dignity.
He said quickly, trying to sound as normal as possible:
"I'm going to get ready for practice."
He left with slightly nervous steps, like someone fleeing from a minor crime that no one admits to,
while Sally remained smiling to herself, drinking the rest of the milk as if celebrating a small victory she didn't quite understand.
Maldo went out to the garden,
the air lightly ruffling his hair, like a touch of forgetfulness.
He raised his head toward the sky, following the scattered clouds as they slowly drifted over the city,
and in his mind, the words he had heard from Daniel and the doctor rose, dancing as if they were incomplete.
"Dad... Haa..." he muttered softly, as if trying to grasp a lost thread of his memory.
What did the doctor mean by not registering me in the civil registry?
A strange feeling began to creep into him, as if everything around him had become a scattered puzzle, with no clear picture.
I want to solve it... I must solve it.
He suddenly clasped his hands,
and his heart trembled in his chest for a moment.
"But... how?" Maldo whispered silently, as if trying to grasp the reason that was slipping through his fingers.
Amidst the confusion of that moment, a voice rose within him with an urgency that could not be delayed:
I must become stronger... and rely on myself.
He moved to the middle of the garden, closed his eyes, and began to dive into his thoughts.
I must feel, as Luca taught me, the heat and the cold... the heat creeping under my skin, the cold wrapping around my bones... then bring them together.
He raised his head, and his hand glowed for a brief moment, then quickly faded.
Despite the temporary failure, he felt in his heart that he could try again, determined to understand what his body and mind were capable of.
He tried again, twice, three times...
He repeated the attempts, each time with more determination, each time feeling closer to controlling his sense of heat and cold.
Then finally, he moved his hands in a theatrical gesture, as if acting out a power he had never experienced before.
The scattered leaves around him moved smoothly, then immediately ignited with a revealing light, wrapping around his hands as if they were an extension of his ambition.
He clapped once, and suddenly the flames vanished like ashes in the air, leaving behind a deep silence and calm.
He paused for a moment, watching the ashes slowly rise into the air, fading away with the wind, leaving a trail of silence and emptiness.
He whispered in his chest, as if addressing his heart first:
"I did it..."
Then his voice suddenly rose, filled with triumph and amazement:
"Yes... I did it!"
Clap... clap... clap.
The sounds echoed behind him, filled with joy and amazement:
"Haha... Finally, my little disciple did it!"
Maldo turned naturally, his eyes following the movement without haste, his heart still beating fast after the last attempt.
He saw Luca approaching him with confident steps, his smile broad, full of pride and joy, as if filling the whole place with his own warm light.
"That's normal... I'm talented!"
Maldo raised his hands boastfully, feigning false greatness and pretending to be proud of a real feeling, just to annoy him.
Luca sighed, puffing out his cheeks in obvious annoyance, and said:
"Hey... I taught you that!"
In his eyes was a glimmer of pride mixed with sarcasm, all his annoyance was just a way to hide his admission of success.
Maldo nodded with a smile, a half-smile that almost hid all his inner surprise, then said:
"Now... will you teach me more?"
Luca looked at him, his eyes shining with a mixture of annoyance and pride, and said:
"No... I won't teach a cheeky little kid like you."
Maldo smiled an innocent smile he had never used before in his life, and in front of that sincere gaze, he said:
"Didn't you say I was your master... Are you going to refuse?"
Luca sighed, feeling a hint of confusion creep into him, then said with a smile and a half-amused voice:
"Oh my God... I think I'm going to regret that day."
At that moment, Maldo felt a small victory creeping into his body, proving to himself, that first step that makes you believe that you are no longer that child who needs to be saved.
They spent some time training,
The hours passed, and the fatigue gradually dissipated under the glow of enthusiasm,
until Maldo mastered new skills in using magic skillfully... and hiding it from people's eyes.
Suddenly, a soft voice carrying the tone of everyday life
came from the top of the balcony. Sally leaned over, waving her hand and saying,
"Maldo! Luca! Come on, Uncle Daniel made cookies!"
Maldo wiped the dust from his forehead. Before he could say a word, Luca had already rushed toward the house, waving his hand like a child who had heard the call of happiness.
"No... no more training, boy!" he shouted with cheerful enthusiasm,
"The cookies are waiting for me!"
Maldo watched him run away lightly, Luca's laughter fading into a distant echo that meant little to him.
He stood still for a moment, his eyes following the void, then moved calmly toward the house, without haste, as if time itself had lost its importance.
When he reached the door, he stopped.
He looked at the garden, the sun, the leaves on the trees...
There was no sadness or joy in his features... only a composed calm that hid an unshakeable determination.
This is the beginning... and now I will set myself free.
He muttered to himself in a low voice, then pushed the door open quietly and entered the house without looking back.
As soon as he entered the apartment, warmth enveloped his face as if he were crossing into another world.
Everyone was sitting in the living room, laughter rising lightly, mingling with the smell of fresh cookies and coffee that filled the place with a flavor reminiscent of security.
Daniel joked, pointing to Luca, who was reaching for the plate without hesitation:
"Hurry up, or Luca will eat all the cookies!"
Maldo stopped at the door, not moving.
He kept watching them, their laughter echoing something deep inside him, something that warmed his heart more than he could have imagined.
This feeling... how beautiful it really is.
The thought crossed his mind, and a small smile appeared on his lips, though he didn't know if it was joy or longing.
Then he finally moved with steady steps and took his place among them.
He sat among them, sharing laughter with them;
simple laughter, but more precious than any other.
Small moments, but they carried great meaning...
Luca's madness, Sally's jokes, Daniel's tenderness...
All came together to create something resembling the security that Maldo had long forgotten.
As the evening wore on, when the sun wilted on the horizon like a slowly melting ember,
Maldo got up and headed toward his room with quiet steps,
And Luca followed him like a shadow that never leaves its owner.
Luca closed the door behind him and turned to Maldo, tilting his head slightly, with a curious look:
"Why is your head so preoccupied? What's on your mind?"
Maldo did not answer immediately.
He slowly reached out his hand toward the table, picked up the small necklace that held memories he did not know the extent of, and contemplated it for a moment, as if he saw something in it that no one else could see.
"This necklace..." he said in a low voice that carried a tone of broken hope... or rather, hope that no longer existed.
"It's the only thing left from the past."
He paused for a moment, then added.
"And now... there's also my father. Another thing that goes back to that past... the past that I forgot."
Luca stared at him in confusion before taking a small step toward him and saying,
"I don't understand... What are you getting at, Maldo?"
His tone was less denial than a call for clarification, and a hint of hidden concern seeped through his words.
Maldo ran his thumb over the pendant, then whispered, more to himself than to anyone else:
"Every time I look at this pendant... I feel uncomfortable because I can't remember anything about it,
but at the same time... it gives me a somewhat warm feeling... I don't know why."
Luca's eyes widened for a moment, then a slight smile appeared on his face.
He ran his hand through his hair, then sat down on the bed, crossed his legs, and looked at Maldo with smiling eyes:
"That discomfort... may be a longing for what was left unfinished,
and that warmth... is proof that what was, no matter how gently it touched your heart.
And I believe... that the feelings we don't know the name of
These are the most genuine we have."
Upon hearing his words, Maldo placed his hand on his heart.
He paused for a moment, thinking:
Is this feeling... a true feeling?
The silence was broken by Sally's laughter from outside the room, and Daniel's voice with her, light but warm.
He turned back to the necklace in his hand, its cold touch and faded memory connecting the past with the present.
This is my family now... a new family.
"I... I really want to protect this family... I don't want to lose anyone." The picture finally became clear to Maldo.
All the doubts, all the worries, all the previous confusion... faded away,
leaving in their place a sincere feeling of responsibility, love, and a warm unity he had never known before.
"Hmm..." Luca hummed, a broad, unsettling smile spreading across his lips.
Then he added lightly, his voice carrying a mixture of humor and support:
"A beautiful desire... I look forward to helping you with that, kid."
Maldo nodded, and suddenly, the door opened shockingly, revealing Sally without any introduction.
"Maldo... Tomorrow it begins... October has come."
The surprise in her eyes was not just joy, but a strange mixture of happiness and hidden pain,
as if the long wait for a month that comes only once a year might be her hero.
Maldo's eyes widened for a moment, and a sudden feeling of tightness crept into his chest, something he could not clearly explain.
He was supposed to feel happy, to rejoice in this moment with Sally, but something about this news hurt him, a hidden pain whose cause he did not know.
He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to calm his heartbeat, then whispered to himself:
"Why do I feel so anxious... God, I hope nothing bad really happens."
Anxiety crept into his heart like a light shadow.
Even as he looked at Sally's joy, he felt that something was lurking in the future,
something that might put him to a new test,
and he was not yet ready to face it.