Luca ran forward and embraced his family with a big hug. Tears fell down Luca's face as he hugged his family even tighter.
"Bubble, we missed you so much," Luca's grandma said.
Luca gave her a warm smile, tears continuing to stream down his face. This caused his scales to appear around his face where the tears fell. "I missed you guys, too."
Luca turned to his parents and both pulled them in for a hug without hesitation. They all embraced each other for what felt like hours. Luca didn't want to let go; he had missed his family so much.
"Son, you have no idea how much we missed you," Lorenzo (Luca's dad) said.
Luca wiped off the tears that were still dripping from his face. "I know, dad, I missed you guys so much as well."
Suddenly, Luca was grabbed by his mother and pulled in for another hug. "T-too tight mom."
Daniela, Luca's mom, laughed and let go of her son. "Your dad is right though. Home wasn't the same without you around. All we had to do was listen to your grandma's boring stories!"
Everyone laughed, even Luca's grandma.
"Hey, at least they're not as boring as Lorenzo's show crabs, or whatever you call those things," Luca's grandma joked.
Lorenzo laughed, "Hey, at least they actually came in use this year."
Luca looked at his dad, "What do you mean?"
A wide smile spread across Daniela's face as she pulled out a blue and white ribbon.
"What he meant was... OUR SHOW CRABS FINALLY WON THE CRAB SHOW!" Daniela screamed as she pumped her fist.
Luca laughed, oh how he missed his mom's energy. Daniela could be loving and caring one moment, while also being super intense at the same time. It was the energy that Luca missed in Genova, and he felt happy knowing that he would be around his family for a long time now.
Daniela continued to brag, "Those Branzinos finally got the loss that they deserve! It was time Bianca and her stupid dolphin impression was finally put to rest!"
Lorenzo put an arm around her shoulder. "Okay hun, I think that's enough haha."
Daniela sighed, "Yeah yeah, you're right. I shouldn't be bragging about myself, I mean, Luca is right here! We need to talk about you!"
Daniela smothered her son in questions, asking him about school and Genova, while Luca stood there unable to say anything.
"Daniela," Luca's grandmother laughed. "The kid just got here. Maybe give him some time to relax, you'll get lots of time with him again."
Daniela stopped talking, "I suppose you're right. Anyway, you'll probably want to see Alberto again too."
Luca perked up at the mention of him..
Alberto
Alberto was who Luca was thinking about during the entire train ride, but here Luca was, seeing his family, but not Alberto. Luca was wondering where his best friend was.
"Oh wait now I remember!" Daniela said. "I forgot. Alberto and Massimo told us that they'd be a little late to see you guys today. They told me they had a surprise, whatever that means."
Luca was slightly disappointed; after all, he had already waited for what seemed like an eternity. However, he sucked it up and nodded to his family. "Oh okay, thanks Mom."
Daniela smiled and kissed her son on the cheek, "Of course Luca, we- OH MY GOSH! Look how big you've gotten! Oh my gosh my baby is so big now!"
Luca nervously laughed as he was embraced by his mother once more.
"Daniela, he's only 14, he hasn't grown that much," Lorenzo said.
"Well it doesn't really matter to me," Daniela said as she stroked Luca's hair. "He's still our bubble, as mom would say."
Luca's grandmother laughed and nodded at Luca. She always had a sense of pride, considering that she had created that nickname for Luca.
At last, Daniela let go of her son and put her hands on her heart. "Oh, all right, you can go now. Why don't you go hang out with Giulia while we wait for Alberto and Massimo to get here."
Luca grinned and waved goodbye to his family as he headed towards Giulia again.
Giulia noticed Luca walking towards her and stopped unpacking her suitcase. "Oh Luca, how was your family!"
Luca said, "Good good, pretty much the same haha."
Giulia laughed with him as she continued to unpack her suitcase. "I'm sure Alberto and papa should be here soon. I mean, why would they be so late?"
Luca gasped, "Oh, my mom just told me! Apparently they have a surprise for us!"
"Oh, no wonder they're so late!" Giulia giggled. "Yeah, knowing Alberto and my dad, they probably either made or baked something. That's my guess."
Luca thought about homemade pastries that were made by Alberto and Massimo. The thought of having his first meal in Portorosso after so long made his stomach rumble. Luca remembered that in one of Alberto's letters, he told Luca that he started to bake with Massimo. It made Luca happy that Alberto had found a new hobby. He just hoped that Alberto was a decent baker. Either way, he was happy for Alberto.
Speaking of the letters...
Luca grabbed one of his smaller suitcases and opened it. As soon as he opened it, a pile of neatly folded up letters came pouring out of the suitcase. They were all of the letters Alberto had written him. Luca had written Alberto tons of letters too, and the two would often call on Giulia's telephone as well. Alberto's writing skills weren't very good if Luca was being honest, but honestly it didn't matter to Luca. Just the thought of hearing from Alberto made Luca excited to read Alberto's letter every time it was delivered. Luca looked through the huge pile of letters and pulled out one, unfolding it with excitement. He started to read the letter:
Dear Luca,
Hi Luca, I miss u so much! How r u doing back in Ginoova? Me and Massimo hav ben baking a lot! I wish u could taste som of the things we hav made! They taste really good and yumy!
I cant wait too see u when u come back to us in the summer. I am getting better at riting every day so I hope u noticed that. Can't wait to see u again
Alberto :) ❤️
Luca felt all warm and fuzzy inside just like he felt during the train ride. He couldn't fully understand what it was, but it just made him feel funny. Luca ignored it and put the letter back in his suitcase. Giulia had always questioned why Luca was always so neat about collecting his letters, yet his room wasn't neat at all. She always joked about that, but Luca didn't mind. Those letters were something that Giulia couldn't understand; they were so important to him. The letters...
The letter!
Luca remembered the letter Giulia had given Luca on the train ride. She said it was a last minute letter from Alberto, but she had forgotten to give it to Luca until then. Luca's curiosity led him to ripping open the envelope and pulling out the letter.
"Hey Giulia," Luca exclaimed.
"What is it?"
"That letter you gave me from earlier," Luca said as he smiled. "I'll read it now, if that's okay."
Giulia nodded, "Of course! You can read it whenever you want to!"
Luca turned back to focus on opening the letter. He started to unfold the piece of paper.
Before it happened
Before Luca could even react, a huge gust of wind came rushing into the train station, startling everyone there.
He didn't have a good enough grip on the letter...
Luca watched as the piece of paper was dropped onto the ground and overpowered by the wind. It was quickly swept into the air and swiftly moved towards the ocean.
"NO!!" Luca screamed.
"Luca, what's wr- Oh no your letter!!" Giulia screamed.
But it was too late for the duo to do anything. The letter was already over the ocean, guarded by a set of sharp rocks. If it had been a more normal spot, Luca could have maybe jumped into the water. But this spot was different. The sharp rocks prevented from doing anything but watching his letter float away. It was hopeless; Luca had lost the letter. The last glimpse he had of it was the letter floating towards his island. It was sinking further and further towards the ocean, which gave Luca the thought that there was no chance of Luca retrieving the letter. It was gone...
Giulia approached Luca and put an arm around his shoulder. "Oh, I'm so sorry Luca. That was just such bad luck.."
Luca felt a single tear down his face, making a few blueish-greenish scales appear on his face. He quickly wiped it away before Giulia noticed.
"It's okay Giulia, it's not your fault."
Giulia looked down at the floor before looking back at Luca. "But hey, you'll see the real Alberto soon. No need for the letters anymore, right?"
Luca smiled slightly. Giulia had always managed to cheer him up.
"Yeah, I will, yeah yeah!"
Luca grabbed Giulia's arm and pulled her towards the waiting area, hoping that Alberto and Massimo would be there waiting for them. Still no Alberto yet, Luca thought. The two sat down on a bench as they waited for Alberto and Massimo to come greet them. They hoped that the wait wouldn't be too much longer. As they waited, Luca's mind raced about the letter. What was it about? I hope it wasn't too important..
Luca quickly erased the thought from his mind. He would see the real Alberto soon, so it didn't matter! When they'll see him again is the main question.
Only time will tell..