A young woman calls out to her son from the steps of their family home. The sound of seagulls and the sea crashing against the beach filling the atmosphere of their small Italian neighborhood. Her hand arching above the brow as she searches for her son in the distance. A warm smile spreading across her face as a young Luca dressed in a dinosaur hoodie and jeans comes bounding up from the street.
"Mamma!" His childish voice squeaks out as he runs up to her and hugs her leg. His happy eyes staring up at her as she runs her fingers through his brown curls. He pulls away and stands close to his mother as she kneels down to his height. Curious eyes watching her as she takes a moment to look him over for any scrapes he might have gotten at the playground down the street.
"Com'è stato il parco giochi? Ti sei divertito?" She asks while looking him over, then placing a kiss on his forehead content over his safety.
"Si!" The boy nods in response, before finally brushing past her side to run into the home. Ready to have dinner. Then he hesitates in the foyer. Wide blue eyes blinking at the home before him. It looked different. This wasn't the same home. Looking to his left Luca has changed as well. He looked older. Sad. That light in his eyes from just moments ago merely a whisper. His eyes were swollen and red, and he could still see the tear stains on his cheeks. Sudden shouting from the kitchen nearly startled him to death.
"It's not right Catalina!"
"Sh! Stop it, He'll hear you Ben!"
A sharp pain blooms across his temple. A headache that caused his head to pound. A shattering radiates through the house, and all Luca could hear was two voices muffled in the space around him. Hidden behind a ringing in the ears
. No, no this wasn't right. Luca told himself. A light catches his attention, and the brunette looks down at the palm of his hand. An old, but familiar, smart phone glaring up at him. A message? The name was blurry, but Luca feels a momentary relief. Gripping the phone he pockets it into his now black hoodie and pulls up the hood. Turning on his heels he leaves behind the voices of his parents and walks out the front door. The door closing behind him. He starts to walk, but he doesn't know where he is going. The world around him is shapeless, so he keeps his eyes trained on the sidewalk below his feet.
"Luca. . ." A voice calls to him. It sounds familiar.
Whipping his head up Luca's pale blue eyes sees a children's play ground just ahead. The swings gently swaying in the night breeze. Jogging up to the set, the young boy takes a seat and begins to lightly sway back and forth. His feet dragging against the wood chips while he waits. His muscles felt tense, but he couldn't place why. Was it the voice? His chest felt tight. Then he felt a presence behind him that made him freeze. Two hands, larger than his own grip the chain link of the swing and a figure leans in beside him.
"There you are. " The voice from earlier whispers in his ear, but it was harsh. Cold. In seconds a chill envelops Luca's body. With out thinking he bolts from the swing and takes off running. That was voice dangerous. It was his voice. He could never forget it. He had to get away. The sound of heavy foot steps stomping against the pavement followed behind him.
"You can't escape from me Luca!" The rough voice erupts behind Luca as he sprints through the streets. Whizzing past illuminated street lamps, and quiet houses. Luca's eyes frantically search for a place to hide or go.
"H-help me!" Luca shouts at the top of his lungs. Tears beginning to stream down his face knowing no one will come. He nearly stumbles, but manages to catch himself and keep running. Tuning out the screaming from behind him as he ran. The shapeless world around him suddenly merging into tall sky-scrappers. Large neon signs written in Japanese hang above him as he sprints past. The only sound filling his ears was his own heartbeat. Nothing else. Turning down a nameless street, He notices a dimly lit alley and darts inside to hide. Finding a restaurant's dumpster in the back alley, he crouches down behind it and makes himself as small as possible. Curling up into a ball in the hopes he won't be found. The thunderous stomping shakes the street as the voice, now a roar, continues to call out for him. Covering his ears and closing his eyes Luca sits as still as possible,
Then something strange happens. The voice begins to grow quieter and quieter, as if very far away. The sound of the ocean filling his dreamscape once more. Blinking, Luca opens his eyes in awe. The tall skyscrapers have all but faded away, and were replaced by a swirling misty fog of bright colors. A sun set sky reflected against clear waters beneath his feet, and standing before him was a young girl he had never seen before. Realizing that his cry for help had been answered, Luca's shoulder's relaxed. A warm sensation filled his chest and spread through his limbs to the tips of his digits. He felt at peace. At least for the moment.
"H-hey, wh-" Luca starts to ask who she was when the girl suddenly speaks up.
"H-Hello?... Um... Hi, uh, is this thing even on? I've never contacted this many people before... Oh! Ahem... Greetings young human boy! M-My name is Sonia... I'm from a far away land, which has been overtaken by an evil entity... Hate now rules my world... So that's why I am contacting you. Because we can't take her on alone! We need you! But also, your world needs you too. She will not rest until the universe is consumed by Hate. But there is still Hope. I need to meet you all as soon as I can, so please! I've already contacted the girls, and they should be there soon! Meet me at Senturu Park right now, as soon as you can! Huh! I need to go so please, Wake U-!"
W-what? Slow down, you're going to fast. Luca thought to himself as she began to explain everything. All this information was causing his head to spin. Hate? A far away land? The world needed him? This sounded crazy.
"Sentaru Park? What do you mean!? Hey, wait!" Luca begins to talk back to her, but it seemed something was happening. The moment he takes a step forward everything goes dark.
"Wake Up!"
Luca inhales sharply as he bolts up from his mattress. His breathing shallow in panic as his blue orbs dart around the room. Clutching his shirt he could feel his heart racing in his chest as he throws his legs over the side of his bed and leans over. It takes him a few minutes, but he is able to calm himself down from the night terror he just had by using the breathing techniques his therapist had given him a couple of months ago. When he was more stable, he gulps down the remaining half glass of water at his bedside. Gasping for air as he finishes, and setting the cup down.
What was that? He asks himself as his gaze looks to his window. The image of the girl worming its way into his mind. He had never seen her before, but he remembered her words.
"Sentaru Park . . " he mutters softly to himself as his eyes dart to the alarm clock beside his bed. Big red numbers indicating that it was still early morning. Though that made sense. It was still dark out after all. Getting up from his bed, he quietly sneaks to the hallway bathroom.
"This is crazy . . . there's no way. It was just a dream." He tries to reassure himself as he shuts the door behind him. Turning on the faucet, Luca cups his hands and uses them to splash water on his face. Rinsing away all the sweat and retroactively cleaning himself up a little.
"Well, there really is only one way to find out. I go and make sure. If not, no harm done. If so . . ., well . . ." He trails off unsure of himself. Shaking it off, he returns to his room and gets dressed for the trip. After packing a bag he quietly leaves the house and makes his way to the near by park on bike.
The bike ride was a realitvely short one, but Luca was feeling fairly relaxed having left the house for a night ride. While it was true that the city never slept at night, Luca found it very peaceful. At least compared to how crowded it got during the day. The night breeze billowing through his blonde hair felt really nice too. Maybe he should leave his window open at night. Luca pondered as he approached the front entrance to the park. Coming to a stop, he hops off the bike and locks it onto the bike rack before casually walking into the park. He hesitates and stops just past the gate though. There were already other people here. They looked like teenagers, some of them he swear he had seen before but couldn't quite place. Did he know the boys from school? Who were the girls though? He wasn't actually expecting to find other people here. Luca could feel his chest growing tighter. His Japanese still wasn't very good. What if he embarrassed himself? Even worse, what if they weren't even who he was supposed to meet up with? He didn't even see the girl from the dream either.
"S-shit. I should have texted Hotaru first. Damn, I-I can't do this." The boy wheezes to himself. Already regretting leaving home in the first place. He clearly didn't think any of this through before hand.
Looking over the other teenagers from a far he pauses on what appears to be two other blondes loitering around near by. Were they also foreigners? Maybe one of them knew English. That would make this a whole lot easier for him. There was also a swing set, which he liked, but would it be alarming for the girl if he just suddenly sat down next to her? Shaking his head Luca decided to shuffle his way over to the vending machine and just wait there from a far. It was best to chest wait for now and not get involved with anyone. Putting in some yen, he punches in the code for a bottled water. The machine clangs loudly as the bottle falls to the catcher at the bottom, and Luca leans over and reaches in side. Once he grabs the bottle he opens it up and takes a swig. Glancing at the others once more as he takes a seat on the bench beside the vending machine.
"This is for the best. Just sit and observe. If nothing happens. Go home." He nods to himself.
