e: The Boy W

did when I asked him about

w who that i

ng his side. The colour had returned to his face, but he still looked tired. Outside

photograph o

eve you've never seen

oved to th

his expression. It was small, almos

ld go hom

aying that as if my life isn't falling apart

g to keep

supposedly dead father? Or the myste

d. I almost reached for him befo

mo

he said

't w

t me li

e wh

nk there's somethin

d, neither

se it was sad, but because a par

graph and slipped

discover that you've been lying to me about

ro looke

ed to be ended

calmly that

the wor

ore he could see

s waiting in

lack trousers. Her hair was tied back, and ther

ble," she said

You look s

y natural

myself,

red almost

I said. "What

gers tightened

hy

has a habit of shooting

t shoot Al

who

n't k

hiding things. She did it with the ease of so

was also

ven of what had

fraid of

her name,

stared at

tto

iliar, though I coul

appened

e d

he

years

my father su

om my pocket and placed it

looked at it befo

id you g

x's

ed to leave

ave, but nobody will tell

ina lo

w, you won't be able

er, someone knocked

stood on the

with dark hair, a black coat, and a thin scar running from his left eyebrow towar

e settl

he looked genu

he sm

lla Mo

nt s

called me t

sabella Rossi

widened slightly. "That

kly that her chair scr

t o

n't even gl

to see Don

receiving

Daniel Cro

ished from Va

oti

id D

softly. "You

ber what

member the w

d whatever passed between th

ed betw

are

urned ba

ho knew yo

to know my fat

ery good at making people believe

ed into

towards the knife tucke

oticed t

lded piece of paper and

said. "Tell him the boy in the

e walk

like

ion. No thr

tsteps disappeared bef

ngle sentence

d the wro

o in the library

aking on the phone. When he saw me, he

d him t

ad it

n a

s it?"

thi

ssan

aper and put it

ss shouldn'

not an

nly one I'm

ecognise the boy I had once know

have a b

ence wa

my G

el

your bedroom holding a photograph of him wh

compli

simpli

a hand ove

ied when we w

your brother died when you were children. My father died

ked towards th

you to t

ost l

hing to ask someone you'

a step

kno

y caught m

nreasonable. He just stood there, looking at me as though

econd, I wanted t

, "What was your

es met

tte

with a strange se

eard it

ly. Not in

rs

t, my small hands covered in dirt,

g, Don't tell them wh

pped

ndro n

el

d some

memory could bec

t, the grass still

make sense of everything. My father's photograph. The myst

Ma

remember

ne vib

nown n

er the gar

at the

er ar

r who you h

ds wen

ed a

is t

came almost

een waiting for y

towards t

ooms. Through the window, I could see Alessandr

re appeared

ma

eight. The

same

ndro t

gure s

t, both men looked dire

vibrate

Alessandr

back at t

e man r

watch

which brother

new one

ouse had been dea

had been preten