Chapter Text
“ Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Make her the cutest that I've ever seen
Give her two lips like roses and clover
And tell her that her lonely nights are over
Sandman, I'm so alone
Don't have nobody to call my own
Please turn on your magic beam
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream”
Exactly at the stroke of midnight, every night, a faint haunting melody could be heard from the Neapolitan countryside. The poignant charming song would fly away with the gentle breeze of the night, looking for someone that would collect the message conveyed in its words. Every word was sung with such meekness and docility that it almost seemed a lullaby. So sweet and enchanting it was, that hearing it seemed almost to be a dream. There were people who couldn’t hear it since it was so faint, while others could swore on everything they ever held dear, that they really had listened to it. Nobody knew anything about the mysterious person who would harmonize such a melancholic tune in the pitch black night, but sometimes it could be heard if you paid enough attention. What was evident to everybody who had the chance to hear it was, was certainly the longing that melody carried in the wind. Whoever sang it, was so alone and looking for somebody that allay the solitude they felt.
Would the bitterness of the voice ever stop? Would their need of company ever sated? What was certain was that the night would fade into day soon and that of the sweet melody nothing would have remained, if not its nostalgic tune stirring into the wind.
But the lonesome of the mysterious voice remained. They hadn’t anybody to call their own.
-
Your cousin was indeed right when he had said that Italy held so much beauty in its landscapes. You used to visit him when you were a teenager and you had fallen in love with this beautiful country, full of art, history and delicious food. The first time he had taken you to taste the famous pizza, you had been hit by so many flavor that you couldn’t never forget about the savory aroma of such a tasteful dish. It had become your favorite and when you had the chance to pay a visit to your cousin’s home, he would greet you with a steaming hot pizza just for you. He had suggested for you to come live near Naples, where he had a beautiful little cottage: the mild climate was perfect, the people were welcoming and you would get to enjoy your adored pizza even more often that you had ever in your life. You found his advice to be really tempting because Italy was the country that you had fell in love with and so many times you had thought about leaving your old home and moving there that, in the end, that temptation won over you. Your cousin had gleefully received the news and he couldn’t wait to greet you when you would finally move over the country you grew to know and love.
In fact, after hours and hours and hours of browsing the net, you had found a lovely cottage in the countryside near the area of Naples. It was a cozy cottage that displayed a rustic yet elegant look. While you checked the pictures of said cottage, you couldn’t help but fall in love with the little house, decorated in such a dainty way that you could already picture yourself enjoying a warm chocolate while the rain poured outside. You were really impressed by this little cottage and you wanted to live there, because it almost looked like a little enchanted house and would be perfect for you since you lived alone. It was even near the area you cousin lived in, so you guessed that you’d be paying him a visit when time and work would allow it. There was even a lovely pond near it and as you read, it was an annexed part of the private property you would be buying. This didn’t deter you from buying it, if anything, it propelled you even more to finally have your dream house. It was still available and so you were quick to make an appointment with the real estate agency that was selling the little cottage. And so it was settled, you would live in the Neapolitan countryside and you’d get to finally enjoy a quite life, relishing in the beauty and peace that the countryside provided.
The day you had finally the keys of your new home was quite a fantastic day. You had arrived in the morning, thrilled to finally begin your new life into your little cottage. It was just as you had seen in the pictures if not even more beautiful! The overall look of the house was so soft and delicate: the climbing vines were perfect ornaments for the creamy colored walls and you found the presence of the little well to be such a fitting feature, it really gave the feel of such a comfortable and gracious place where to spend your days from there on. The truck that had all your belonging would come soon, so you took your time in exploring the inside of the home and as if you weren’t already in love with the general look of it, the cozy looking fireplace really gave you the coup de grace. You couldn’t wait to spend your winters enjoying its warmth, maybe with a wine chalice and a good book to keep you company in the cold nights. In total the outline of the cottage offered you a little kitchen and a dining room, a bedroom, a living room and a bathroom. It was quite minimalistic but it held everything that would come of use. Only the furniture was missing and then, it would be your little slice of Heaven.
In your exploring, you couldn’t pass up the opportunity to browse the garden and finally, the little pond you were so curious to see. It seemed such a lovely place in the pictures you had seen and by far, your expectations hadn’t been let down. You exited though the wooden door on the back of the house and your mouth totally gaped in front of such beauty. You were almost sure you were living in a dream, because the flower scents, the colors and the natural beauty your garden contained had you totally overwhelmed. There were so many majestic plants and flowers featuring such sweet aromas and bright colors with bees flying over them. The buzzing of life kept remembering you you weren’t living a dream. This was indeed your new house that looked almost as if it came directly from a Disney movie. Then your focus shifted from the fragrance of the flowers to the beautiful placid mirror of water that was the little pond. The sunshine hit the veil of somber water in such a pacific way, displaying such a flat surface, with no blatant waves to wrinkle it. The lake had really a mellow look and you marveled in seeing how expanded its body of water was. It really a big pond! You wondered about which fishes swam in its dark waters, it would be really interesting to discover the inhabitants that roamed under the calm waters of your pond. Still, the water looked clean enough, even if it was still murky. Maybe some times you could even take a stroll on the little shore of the lake, since the water seemed to not be too cold. There was even a little swing attached to one of the three’s breeches that were close to the shore. You thought of how beautiful it would be at night, sitting there and just enjoying the beautiful peace the night could gift you, eventually lulled by the sound of the wind moving the trees and the chirping of the crickets.
From that day forth, you started to live in the little cottage and after the truck had arrived, you were invested in a little rearrangement of the indoors and of the garden , since you noticed that some threes that needed maintenance and that some flowers needed to be watered. You had even began to grow a little vegetable garden so you could plant some herbs, tubers and seedlings and you were in the midst of tilling said little garden, when you thought you had heard the sound of a splash coming from the pond, adjacent to where you were working. You paid no mind to it, probably it was just a fish that had surfaced just for a second while he was trying to catch a possible prey. You continued with you task of busying yourself with some tomato seedlings when you heard that sound again. It kept repeating itself for a second a third time, as if somebody was in the water splashing around. The frequency of this repeated sound was indeed suspicious, to the point it caught your attention and made you turn in the direction of the lake. You approached the little shore trying to discover if said noise was just a fish trying to capture its prey or if it was caused by something else... or better, somebody. Those sounds seemed to hint someone’s presence and well, it could be since it was almost summer and you couldn’t exclude that somebody who want to take a refreshing bath on the lake, not knowing it was under your private property. You searched for any sign of an intruder, but the splashing sounds couldn’t be heard anymore. You waited for a while and when nobody came out nor any sounds were emitted, you dismissed the whole situation as some fishes just playing around in the water, blaming your suspects to the fatigue. You had been working under the sun for quite some time and maybe you were just being too paranoid. The lake was big so not everyone could have known that it was in your property and besides that, you wouldn’t mind somebody wanting to swim there for a while, but if was your right to know if somebody was trespassing, since you lived there after all. Needless to say you continued with your task at hand, not noticing a pair of curious eyes that seemed to be focused on your working form. You couldn’t sense it, but you were being observed and studied this whole time but you couldn’t know this since the curious stare didn’t came from somebody that was staying on earthy ground. It was coming from somebody that lurked inside the water and that had been intrigued by you, finding your actions to be quite endearing to follow. Besides, it wasn’t as if he, the one watching you from the murky waters, had much better to do. He had been so alone in the pond, hoping that somebody, anybody, would ever pass by there and keep him some company and when you had showed up, he couldn’t be happier. He was going to study you, really, really close.
Some nights after that event, you had finished a delicious dinner and you were now resting on the lake’s little shore, while seated on the swing. There was an artificial light in the back of the house and you had lightened it just to see a little in the dark Neapolitan night. You were face to face with the dark waters of the lake, close to the shoreline and hypnotized by the lulling moving of the serene waves that kept crushing on the wet sand. Your head was resting on one of the ropes that kept the swing tied to the branch, while you were lost in the sound of the night, enjoying the cooling effect of the nocturnal breeze on your skin. Everything was so peaceful and so still and you felt so comfortable in that pacific dream. You exhaled with a big sig and opened your eyes, looking at the moon that was being reflected by the still body of water of the lake. It was almost midnight and soon you’ll go to bed to rest your tired eyes, now closed. But in that moment of bliss, your peaceful dream of quietude was broken by a melody, that had your eyes flying open again and widening, looking for the source of said song.
“Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream
Make her the cutest that I've ever seen”
You heard faintly, as if somebody was singing from far away. You dismounted the swing and searched anywhere for a trace, but you couldn’t see anything besides that little that the artificial light allowed you to focus on.
“Give her two lips like roses and clover
And tell her that her lonely nights are over”
You squeezed your eyes trying to see if the song came from somebody near you, but you couldn’t distinguish anything. The melody seemed to be so far away and yet he seemed to be so close. You were getting scared, so scared that you started retreating towards your house, looking for the torch to investigate further.
“Sandman, I'm so alone
Don't have nobody to call my own”
You had put the torch near the door, so you barged in, grasping it. You took your phone, in case you needed to call somebody to help you. You went out again, pointing the torch towards the banks of the lake.
“Please turn on your magic beam
Mr. Sandman, bring me a dream”
As it had begun, the melody had stopped. You frantically pointed the torch in any possible direction, even in the water, but nothing. There was nothing, no more singing, no noises.
“Hey is there someone there? If yes, please, come out!” You yelled, trying to not let the fear betray your voice. You were both curious and afraid to see who the culprit was. After all who wouldn’t be scared if they heard a mysterious haunting song in the middle of the night?!
“I’m not angry with you but if it’s a prank, please, stop it and come out” You continued, trying to coax who was behind this whole ordeal, yet every direction that was illuminated by your torch revealed no hint of who could it be. It preoccupied you to even think that there could be somebody here, on the countryside, that was so rarely roamed by people, that could came up with something like this just to scare you. It was not funny at all.
“Please, if you are here come out” You repeated. The breeze was betting much cooler now and you started to shiver. Great. Not only were you being targeted by some punk who found their fun in scaring you, but now you were cold too. Should you call the police?
“Maybe they are just a bunch of kids that are having fun” you thought, trying to reassure yourself there was not an ill intent behind this whole situation.
“Yes, that must be it. Kids can be silly at times…” you tried to calm your nerves while you kept walking beside the river banks. If someone was out there, you could have seen them but there was nobody if not the occasional frog that sat peacefully on some rock. You shouldn’t have wandered alone, but what else could you do? Your could have called your cousin, but he’d be probably sleeping at this point and disturbing him for something that was nothing more than a prank was not something you wished to you. If anything, you had to sort out this whole situation alone, hoping it would no become a risk for your safety. In the end your research went on for almost two hours, yet nothing came out. At the end, you retreated, shivering and frightened to your home, locking all the doors. When the early hours of the morning came, you were fast to call your cousin since he usually woke up really early and he told you to not mind that, it was something very usual that would happen. The people that lived on the countryside were used by now to hear the song and they had searched over and over of the person who would start to sing such a melody so light at night, yet no once had they found anything. They even alerted the police, but after researches and researched nothing came out. The general opinion was that a prankster found their fun into scaring people at night while singing that song, while others even believed it could be a ghost. You shivered, but your cousin told you to not pay any mind to this event since it had been occurring for so much time that it was, almost, something natural for the people that inhabited that rural area. He also excused himself since he should have mentioned it to you sooner but now the event had occurred and you had lost so many hours of sleep just to find somebody that even police’s forces hadn’t found still.
You cousin had assured it was nothing to worry about since it kept happening but since the time you had ventured into the dark in search of the prankster, the chanting melody had stopped. Two weeks had passed and while in the past the song could be heard three/four times at week, now no sound came from the countryside. Could it be that, finally, the culprit had stopped his antics and left you in peace? You were really curious about this whole situation. You had just started your staying in the Neapolitan life and you had already quite some interesting situations going on. First the mysterious splashing, then the song and then the stopping of it all. What really was hiding inside the big trees and the cultivated fields of the countryside?
It was a hot evening and for that reason you had decided to stroll on the little shore where the quiet waves of the lake came crashing in. you were feeling quite hot that day, mainly because summer had arrived and the climate of South Italy could be quite hot sometimes. You had decided enter till your knees touched the water as if to look for a relief from the hot climate. You had closed your eyes, the fresh water serving as a temporary remedy for the sultriness of the Summer. Yet when you opened your eyes, something caught your attention. You felt as if something had just brushed your knee, probably a fish. You didn’t see anything wrong with it since it could occur for fished to brush up on your legs and you kept your eyes closed. Yet when he continued happening again and again, you opened your eyes to see why those fishes kept pestering your poor legs while you tried to relax a little. The water was shallow so you could see almost well what was brushing against you. And when you say it, you froze instantly. There was a man near your legs that kept staring at you, his whole body submerged in the shallow water while he was visible only till his shoulder. Wait a minute. Why was a man into your pond?! And why was he staring at you with such a sympathetic expression? You paled.
“OH MY GOD” You screamed, jumping at least one meter far from the man, frightening the mysterious man too, in the process. Your heart was beating so much you believed it would burst out of your chest. You were terrified by the sudden intrusion. Who was he? What did he want from you? And when had he even approached you? You hadn’t heard him enter the water. What was happening?
“Who are you?! What do you want?! Why are you here?! Why are you naked and in my pond?!” Ok, that came out weirdly. He probably wore a bath suit so that would explain why he was shirtless in the first place. But you were exasperated by his presence to the point you screamed to him, bombarding him of so many questions . He just stared at you, looking so lost. It was as if you had scared him with your previous outburst. Then he seemed to understand what you wanted to know from him.
He pointed to himself, speaking in a broken way.
“Name Bru-no” He told you, signaling to you as if he wanted to know your name. He talked in such a weird way, he didn’t seem to articulate really well. He just kept staring at you, not addressing the other things you had asked him in your fury. Now more calm but yet suspicious about the presence of a complete stranger, you introduced yourself. What a surreal situation it was. But yet there you were, talking with a naked intruder in your lake.
“(Y/N)” you told him, eyeing the strange person that was Bruno as he had introduced yourself. Then you took your time into studying who really was the person you were talking to. . He had sharp yet delicate and graceful features framed by his long silky raven hair, that shine in the deem light of the almost setting sun, with two beautiful embroidered claps that prevented some of his hair from falling into his face. He seemed to have some pearls into some of his black tresses and his skin glowed under the sunlight, surprising you in how translucent it was. His eyes were by far the feature that had you totally bewitched, they were a soft blue that kept being locked on you in such a soothing and sweet way. He wore a golden choker and matching gold earrings too. You had even spotted some… scales? Sitting on his strong shoulders. You couldn’t see much of him thanks to the murky waters, but he seemed to be of strong yet lean build and he had his glow to him, he seemed almost to be a creature from the Heavens. His soothing aura was indeed something that fascinated you, you didn’t know a thing about him and yet, he seemed to be so celestial that you kept asking yourself how a person could be so ethereal. And top of all he was the embodiment of beauty and his kind gaze was not helping in the slightest.
“Bellissima” He told you in his kind tone. You knew he said “Beautiful” in Italian but you didn’t know why. Was he trying to compliment you?
“(Y/N), bellissima” He said again, pointing at you and smiling again. You couldn’t even understand what was going on. Why was he complimenting you? Why was he here even to begin with?!
“Thank you mr. Bruno... but I’d really like to know who are you and what do you want from me” You asked again.
“Live here” he told you “Watch you every day”
What? He lived… here? But there weren’t any houses aside yours here. Was he implying that he lived in the lake? It would be impossible, maybe he referred to the countryside of Naples in general.
“But why are you here? You’re in my private property” you told him “If you wanted to swim so badly on the lake, you should have just told me, I wouldn't have minded that... I guess that no so many people know that the lake is part of the land I bought, but it would be nice to ask me first since it's still, techincally, part of the land I own”
Yet he didn’t seem to understand you fully, because he said again that that was his home.
“I'm afraid you're mistaken, Mr.Bruno. This part of the land belongs to me, I bought it regularly…” you responded, stealing another glance to his overall beautiful appearance “ And you really scared me, please, don't do it again! I could have-“
You sentence died into your throat when you saw something moving into the water near your legs. The murky waters prevented you from seeing exactly what it was, yet to you he seemed as if it was a snake was making itself known in the waters adjacent to you and this made you jump again.
“What was that?!” you inquired. That day couldn’t get more crazy than that. You had already your hands full with Bruno’s unannounced presence and now there was something even more terrifying that roamed the waters you were in. But was Bruno to, again, capture your distraught gaze and surprise you for the second time that day.
“My tail” he said.
“Your tail…?” He nodded. You couldn’t be more incredulous. What was he trying to imply now? You, then, shifted your unblinking eyes from his smiling and soft façade to his body. Now that you had focused more on it, you almost seemed to make out a silhouette of something that kept moving into the water. You had guessed that the movement you kept noticing would be his legs, as any other person would assume. But the more you stared, the more you could see that his body wasn’t very ordinary. You couldn’t see where his foots were, you could only see a giant shadow attached to the human torso that was visible to you. You started to ask yourself if what you were seeing was just something your mind was making you see in your shocked state or there is no way you could ever explain what your eyes were witnessing. Were your eyes deceiving you? You couldn’t seem to locate his lower half. You just kept asking yourself:
“Why can’t I see the silhouette of his legs?”
“My tail” He had repeated as trying to reassure you that what you were assuming from the view of his lower half was indeed a tail. "Oh, he must wear a fake tail" You thought, since that was the only obvious thing he would ever refer to. You chose you would no question why a stranger could ever come to swim in your lake wearing a fake mermaid tail, that day was already too crazy to even bare to discover his motives. At this point you just wanted to return inside your house, you had already had too much scares for that day. Yet the thought of him swimming in your lake with a fake tail believing he was a merman was indeed funny.
“So you’re a merman?” You asked, of course jokingly. He nodded and seemed happy to hear you say that, as if you had finally acknowledge his nature. You didn’t believe Bruno was a threat at this point. Of course, how he had manifested in front of you was something he shouldn’t have done yet he didn’t seem to hold a threat in his soft looks and now that you discovered he wore a fake tail, you thought he was just a guy who was enjoying his evening swimming. The thought of it was funny but if he had fun like that, you weren’t going to berate him for it, even if the next time he decided to pull something like that, he was better if he warned you he would swim in your lake.
“Alright” you said at that point, deciding that you would let go of the matter of Bruno and his tail.
“I will let you swim while I enjoy my remaining moments of relax here. But please, the next time you come, warn me, please”
“Live here” he retorted, now upset you had recanted his nature as you didn’t quite seemed to grasp the fact that he was indeed a REAL merman. He seemed to think for a moment, before he muttered something.
“Don’t understand” you heard him say “Must show you”
The little smile you had been sending him had faltered when you say him moving through the water. He shifted and bestirred himself and the more he stirred, the more you could see that the shadow that should be his lower half moved (or the fake tail, as you had guessed) seemed to be too long. Just how long was the tail he was wearing? You wore a really perplexed expression and you started to withdraw back to the shore where you had came from, to see exactly what he was doing and were he had intention to go. And then you saw how he stopped and he raised part of his fake tail… but it was really fake? It seemed to be endless. Part of it was submerged yet half of it was in front of your eyes, while Bruno kept at looking at you waiting for recognition. Would you finally understand that he was, indeed, a real merman? You didn’t seem to be taking him seriously till that moment and he had wanted to approach you for so long, that he really was adamant in presenting himself to you fully. That what he was. A eel merman. His tail was pure muscle, strong and mighty. It was clad in white like snow flesh dotted with black spots and blackish on the end of the tail. His tail coat was so different from the ones of his kind, yet he truly liked the contrast of the colors provided by the beautiful pattern Mother Nature had provided for him.
Yes, he was real.
You paled. There was a man in your pond. Correction: there was a merman in your pond. Other correction: there was a creature that was supposed to be only a product of fantasy and mythology on your pound.
You paled even more. You tentatively reached out to touch his tail. It was shiny, humid and very much real. If was as if touching a slithering snake and you couldn’t bring yourself to even understand what was happening. The moment you had touched the side of his tail, Bruno had let out of purr of satisfaction, indulging himself in the feel of your hot skin on his tail
He even purred now. It was the most adorable thing you had ever heard and yet, he still seemed to be part of a dream. Just how was this possible? He shouldn’t exist… how could this be happening? You really couldn’t explain his existence in your mind. The more you observed him the more you could see that his tail moved with him and he commanded it, even if you wanted to justify what you were seeing in the most reasonable way possible.. you just couldn’t. He kept showing you his tail and it was very much real. He wasn’t a mirage, he really was there with you, in your placid pond, as the Sun went down.
But how?
While you were questioning the sense of the situation you were experimenting, Bruno couldn’t help but being pleased by your reaction. Finally you seemed to understand that he was there with you and yes, he was so happy to have, finally, after years of solitude, somebody to notice his presence. And not only did you seemed to accept his nature, but you had even touched him willingly, on your own. You didn’t know this but he craved some physical contact more than anything. He had spent so many years wallowing in the viscous ground of his pond, with only his desire to have a friend as his only and constant companion. So much time he had passed in the shadowy and grim waters that he had forget even how humans spoke the one to another. He had learned their language when he was a small merman, taken from his family when he was too little to even remember he had a family. He couldn’t remember it because he was too young, but he had been kidnapped by covetous hunters who had sold him to the black market since his own kind was a rare breed of merfolk.
Most people, like you, didn’t know about it, but there were secret trafficking about incredible exotic creatures and mermen and mermaid, being more than a legend than a reality, were quickly classified as the top of this disgusting trafficking. He had been travelling from place to place since his first day of life in this world and had had the luck to being rescued by a kind lady, that had put him in a lake near her little cottage, the same little cottage you now inhabited. The lady never spoke about his existence to protect him from the chance of being kidnapped again. An d so as he grew strong and handsome, the lady grew old and as she was just in the verge of telling to her daughter, in her deathbed, of the existence of Bruno, the secret she had held for so much time, she had passed over this mortal life. The kind lady’s daughter never knew about him and so when her mother died, she decided to sell the house and move into another country. And when he did, Bruno was left there, in that pond, with nobody to speak to, with nobody to stay with. He was alone, forgotten from the world. After so many years of no speaking with nobody, he almost couldn’t believe his eyes when he had seen you walking out of your car and bringing inside some boxes inside the house. Finally, after years of lonesome, somebody would be there with him again. He had wishing for this moment for so long. He had sang to Mr.Sandman, like the old kind lady had taught to him, hoping he would bring him somebody to extinguish the incessant lonesome he felt inside his heart, soul and bones. He could still sang it as she sang it, because he had committed to memory the kind way she would harmonize that song for him when he was still a young merman. It was the only thing that he had of her and he used it, at the best of his possibilities, to keep himself company in the lonely nights in the countryside.
So yes, all the mysteries you had encountered till that moment, all flowed into him. The splashing sound? It had been him studying you from afar, waiting for the right moment to approach you. The song at night? It was him singing to console himself. The stopping of said song? It was him again, but it had stopped because now, he had you to keep him focused on not soak into desperation. You were there with him there and maybe, that would be the beginning of a good friendship.
Bur returning to you: after shifting your attention to his kind smile, you felt your senses coming less to you and you passed out that moment because the sole cognition of such a mythical being to be real was just too much after everything that had happened that day. You had shifted from enjoying a nice warm evening to the notion you had a real merman on the pond near the cottage. It was really a hit.
Bruno was quick to take you in between his arms, cushioning you from falling you face first into the shallow water. It was as if you fitted just right into his learn arms and he couldn’t help but gaze at you curiously. He had been watching you from afar, hoping you could be an acquaintance to him, but never from this up close. He had never seen such a beautiful human as you and he had tried to tell you, even if his broken language could be an hassle. He decided he would practice more now that you were with him so he could enjoy a conversation with you. You had really kept him intrigued and now he couldn’t help but observe you with his curious blue gaze, holding you in such a soft way. He kept observing any minimal detail of your features, laying your head in his chest as he listened to your faint breath. You almost seemed to snuggle into his embrace and this put his mind at ease. You weren’t scared of him in the end, just very shocked to discover he existed. He understood that. Humans were always like this, what went over their rational mind, they would find impossible to exist. But not him. He was real and he had been in that pond for so long he almost had forget what he felt to really exist. But with you there, maybe he could start to feel like he existed again, like he belonged again. His heart was beating so loudly and the more he stared at you, the more he felt as if you were sent to him for a reason. He had wished for somebody to arrive to quench his lonesome and finally, somebody seemed to have responded to his calls. You were, indeed, that somebody because you had showed up when his hope had started to quiver, accepting the reality of his existence and making him feel welcomed back inside a world that seemed to have forgotten him. Your had brought back the light in the grim reality in which this merman's heart resided and maybe, his lonely night were really over, just like yours. You were special to Bruno just like you had been from the very moment your presence had graced his tired eyes. As his eyes had meet your form, he knew that his wish had been, finally, granted. But this didn’t suffice to him, there was so much more to you that he wished to uncover and he would, someday. But for now, it was better if he let you go, because the more he kept staring at you, the more he could feel his heart beating wildly.
After that embrace, he had carried you on the shore, where you would wake up, still in trance about the incredible meeting it had just occurred between you and Bruno. You saw him wave at you from the pond and you understood that it was him that had brought you there and you nodded to him as if to thank him for catching you. He, then, dived into the pond and didn't surface again, still blushing from your previous encounter.
The haunting song was never heard again into the Neapolitan countryside...
Because the lonesome of the mysterious voice had been finally sated.
They had, finally, somebody to call their own.