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CHAPTER ONE: what time is it? summertime
FOR SOME, THE SOUND THAT defined their childhood was the joyful shrieks of their siblings playing in the garden. For others, it was the chain rattle of their much-loved bike hobbling along hills and valleys. Some will recall birdsong as they walked to school, or the sound of laughter and footballs being kicked in the playground. For Chiara, it was the waves crashing on the shore of the beach near the summer house in Cousins.
Without a doubt, her favorite thing of the summer (besides her friends) was the beach. They had their stretch of beach all to themselves. There was nothing like the salty but sweet air of June, the feeling of the sand all over your body, and the sun warming your skin. She loved that no matter how pale she got the rest of the year, every summer she could return to that golden tone she loved.
She always thought there was something magical about that little town and about summer. The feeling that no matter how hard life could get, she could go back in there and forget about everything. It was like a little secret that she shared with her loved ones. In her mind, no one else had access to its magic; it was theirs only.
At least it was like that some summers ago.
Chiara dug her feet a little more into the white and thin sand of the beach behind her house. The first thing she did when she stepped foot in the summer house was to go to the beach. Her eyes were entertained by the pair of children playing a few meters from her. She thought they must be the children of some unknown new neighbor. They were two boys and a girl, probably around 7 or 8 years old. Their mother accompanied them, and they seemed so happy that Chiara felt jealous.
She was jealous of their innocence and carefree attitude. She felt jealous that they were not yet grown up.
"Kiki?" she heard a male voice calling her name that she didn't recognize at first.
