Disappeared once or twice

11. Let's continue

"Goodbye father! Adios mama!" Luca yelled as his parents swam away, back to porto rosso, they volunteered the pull the boat for a bit and now they really came far. Luca's parents swam at an incredible speed. 

Days and days passed by and they were starting to run out of food. Giulia had no idea where they were at the moment, all she could see was water and sea. If it weren't for the sun and moon they wouldn't even know what day it was. Alberto mostly swam at nighttime and Luca did so at daytime. This way they could keep going. 

There was one downside to this plan. Alberto and Luca didn't see each other anymore and if they did it would be for a brief moment to tell the other he could would take over. The other would then nod and almost pass out of exhaustion, especially Luca wasn't used to be putting such strain on his frail body. Alberto was used to working, he'd do deliveries back in Porto Rosso, then he'd swim for a bit and then it was time for his midnight workout. 

Needless to say Alberto started to take more shifts, lifting a little bit of the pressure off Luca's shoulders and putting it on his own. On the other hand the younger boy felt useless and sorry that he made his friend take over his job. The longer the journey lasted, the more he wanted to find comfort in Alberto's arms. To tell him that it is really fine and that he could handle it just fine. 

However Luca wasn't so sure if Alberto could handle it just fine. Whenever they switched and looked at each other the bags under Alberto's eyes seemed bigger than the day before. His muscles felt tenser when they helped each other up on the boat again and worst of all: He hadn't said a word to Luca since the declaration that he would take more shifts.

In return Luca sought comfort in Giulia, as of lately the nightly routine started with bawling his eyes out and laying his vulnerabilities open for the eye. Giulia knew how to comfort him, but the thoughts that Alberto started to hate him never stopped nagging him at night. 

The same could be said about Alberto, who was too afraid to lose himself in this quest that he noticed he started to lose his friends. Whenever sunrise occurred, when his shift was over and it was time for him to sleep, he would make smalltalk with Giulia too. Just to have a little bit of human interaction. Usually it would be shallow and simplistic, since he was feeling a little tired. 

As of lately, also because Luca told her stuff about him, Giulia's feelings began to change towards the taller boy. He wouldn't notice though, when he wasn't deep in thought of the revealings and journey ahead of him, he would be fast asleep. The stress and pressure seemed to grow everyday. Will they ever find what they're looking for.

This night was no different. Alberto had started swimming a little earlier today, he noticed that they were going significantly slower and he decided that Luca needed a break. Alberto was swimming deep in thought, unhappy thought and worst case scenarios. Luca was once again fast asleep on Giulia's lap, after telling her how the switch went. Awful. At least, according to Luca. 

He didn't even LOOK at me Giulia. Luca had said. Alberto had just woken up from a nightmare, one in which Bruno kidnapped them and killed Luca in front of him. It had unconsciously hurt him so much that he had tears in his eyes when he woke up. Giulia was figuring something out on the maps she brought, scribbling it down in a book. 

Alberto decided to not show that he had cried and averted his red eyes from the younger male, who took it as a rejection. He didn't mean it that way, but it did came across like that. Alberto had noticed that Luca was visibly upset, so he added that to the list of thing he should feel guilty about. 

Then, while thinking about the incident, he noticed something. The seabed raised higher. Alberto looked forward and yes, there was a beach. They reached land! He climbed with great difficulty back on the boat, his muscles sore from overworking and bad sleep habits. Jealousy hit him when he saw Luca and Giulia all cuddly, but he managed to overcome the selfish feeling. 

He gently shook them awake. "You guys, we've reached the shore." He whispered, his voice was raspy from not using it for a long period of time. Slowly but surely the two opened their eyes and sat up. Alberto had already dropped the anchor to make sure they wouldn't drift away with the wind or the waves. 

"We have?" Luca rubbed his eyes sleepily, Alberto nodded with enthusiasm. "We're one step closer amigos!" "The most clever thing to do is to wait until it's morning, people usually are wary at night and we don't want to startle anyone. It is a memorable moment to say the least." Giulia softly smiled. She was immediately pulled in a group hug. 

"I'm so grateful for you guys." Alberto stated, "without you this would never have happened, by the best means." He looked at Luca specifically. The said boy caught him staring and slightly blushed, he was wrong after all. Alberto didn't hate him for one bit. He was just tired and unsure like himself. 

"Just one issue, we've only got two mattresses down here. And it's way too hot to share." Giulia sighed as the disconnected herself from the embrace. The boys soon followed. "I don't mind sharing, do you?" Alberto asked Luca with a grin. He shook his head in response, "Not at all." 

When that was set in motion they could finally have their first peaceful sleep of this trip. And they gladly took this opportunity to finally rest and de-stress.