Letters to Italy

17. see you soon

"Okay then, stay here! But we don't pay your ticket for the next flight!" my mom said angry, totally not aware that I was going to take that serious. "Fine!" I screamed.

"ALINE!" My parents looked up, that's how I realized there was someone behind me. I immediately turned around to see Gianluca running as fast as possible in my direction.

"GIANLUCA!" I stood up and ran towards him, directly into his arms. He gave me a very long kiss and I was wondering if it would always feel like this when we would meet again after being separated for a while.

"I'm so happy you're still here!" he said relieved, but also very tired from running. "I would never forgive myself if I..." he sighed exhausted, "...had not said goodbye to you."

"I was so afraid you wouldn't come! And now I'm afraid to leave you!"
I cried and smiled at the same time.

"Don't be afraid!" he said while embracing me again. "Everything's gonna be alright. In the end we will be together. Forever! Until the very end!"

"His words made me slightly feel better. Knowing we could be together someday, like forever, was the only thing that counted in my life for now, my only hope.

"Don't cry! I want to see your beautiful smile these last seconds we have together!" Gianluca said, wiping my tears away with his thumbs. He kissed me on my forehead and asked me all of a sudden to close my eyes and put my hands in front of me.

I did what he asked, not knowing what was going to happen.
"The only reason I was too late! Because it had to be perfect!" he said. I felt something cold slowly fall into my hands. Gianluca closed my hands with both his hands. And then he gave a quick kiss on top of my upper hand.

"Take a look!"

I immediately opened my eyes and my hands again. And there it was, the thing I would be wearing night and day until the very end. A small, golden medallion lay in my hands. I stared with open mouth to it. Was this real gold?

"Real gold!" he said, like he really could read my mind."What? How much did you pay for it?" I asked shocked, but he didn't respond.

The medallion was finished with great precision. The details, the gold, the gesture of Gianluca buying this to me...everything was perfect. But the most perfect thing was the fact, the medallion could be opened, what I did as soon as I found out it was possible.

On the inside of it, I discovered a little picture of me and him, our faces close to each other. The best picture we had, and he didn't even ask if I also thought it was the best picture, he just knew it. He did everything so perfect. He knew what I needed. He knew what I thought all the time. "You don't have to wear it as a neckless, but you know,... it has a meaning!" he said proudly. "So I was thinking you would like to wear it this time." It really had a meaning, because on the other half of the medallion were two little words engraved.

"Per sempre!"

"Sei sempre nel mio cuore, forever in my heart!" he added while touching his heart with his fist.

"Aline, now it's really time!" my dad said carefully, approaching me in a nicer way then a few minutes before.

Gianluca and I looked each other deeply in the eyes. "You need to go!" he said against his will. "I'm gonna miss you so much!" I said while we embraced each other one last time.

"I'm gonna miss you more!"

Gianluca and I gave our last kiss. I felt like I was going to cry again, but I tried not to, because I knew he wanted to see me smile. Although, I could see a tear rolling down his own face. He quickly wiped it away. "See you soon!" he said.