Manu's room was silent.
In front of him, action figures stood guard on a crowded shelf, and a pair of headphones rested around his neck even when there was no music.
He sat on the bed with the last volume of his favorite manga open across his knees. Ame, the main character, smiled from the page like she had never done before. It was the final chapter. The confession. The kiss.
The panel everyone had been waiting for.
A small tear fell from his right eye. Not because the scene was dramatic, but because it was perfect. Like the world had finally given them what they deserved.
He stared at their faces for a bit, realizing this would be the last page of his favorite series.
"Me l'aspettavo, questo finale, sincero." (I expected this ending, honestly.)
He murmured, half-smiling.
Then he lay back, holding the volume close to his chest.
"My pretty, pretty Ame... I hope I'll see you again," he whispered.
"No one could ever take your place as an icon of beauty."
His eyelids slowly closed, leaving only a narrow space to see through, and his hands loosened around the manga.
Nothing moved except for a chill breeze getting through the open window.
Then, he fell asleep suddenly.
The next morning, Manu woke up with a strange feeling, though he didn't care much about it.
Yawning, he took off the headphones around his neck and stepped onto the floor to put the volume back on the shelf with the others.
"Fourteen, fifteen, sixteen... and this is supposed to be the last one. Ottimo." (Great.)
Still sleepy, he moved to close the window — but something strange caught his eye.
"Huh... what a colorful morning," he said, staring at the sky. "It's been an eternity since the last time I saw such a blue sky," he added, quietly admiring the view.
After taking a shower and getting ready for school, he went into the kitchen, where his sister Irene was waiting for him.
"Manu, buongiorno! I just made some hot coffee for ya — here you go!"
Her sweet voice made him smile.
"Buongiorno, Iry. Thank you..." he replied.
Manu slightly frowned as he took a sip from the cup.
"Brother, is everything okay? I can infer from your face you look a bit... distraught," she asked, staring at his strange expression.
"I'm fine... it's just, you know..."
"You had the same dream again, didn't you?"
Manu hesitated for a moment, while enjoying the taste of the coffee.
Then quietly replied,
"No."
"Oh, it's getting late. Don't you have to go now?" Irene asked, chewing on some fruit.
He checked the time on his phone.
"I gotta go, yeah. I just need to grab my school bag."
"Take care, bro. Love you!"
"Love you too, sis. Grazie per la colazione." (Thanks for breakfast.)
After grabbing his school bag, house keys, and of course his headphones, Irene reached him before leaving.
"Wait!!" she said. "Your tie."
Manu turned his sight back, puzzled.
"What?"
"Your tie, let me fix it."
He smiled, and with a quiet voice said "Cutie... you didn't have to."
Irene smiled back, stood on her toes to give him a quick kiss on his cheek before waving goodbye.
Manu took the elevator down.
Walking through the streets, everything looked colorful and shiny — almost too much.It all seemed real, and yet not real at all.He usually waited for his best friend Ayaka, so he stood near her house, next to the bus stop.
However, five minutes passed, and no one came out.
"That's weird... she would've told me if she wasn't coming to school."He sighed and muttered,"Anyway... lemme light up this cigarette."
He left the place, heading toward his private school.
"Same shit, another day. Ayaka didn't show up, and I haven't received any messages,"he thought while walking through the school gate.
After taking off his headphones, he went straight to his classroom. Everything seemed normal: the usual voices, the familiar buzz, except for this faint tint of color that made the day feel almost too vivid.
He took his seat among the chatter of his classmates.
"Oh mio dio, che fastidio quando parlano tutti insieme..." (Oh my god, it's so annoying when they all talk at once...)he whispered, trying to ignore the noise.
After a while, the teacher came in, and everyone sat down.
"Good morning, everybody. Today I'll be collecting your homework."
Manu looked into his bag and pulled out a bunch of sheets filled with a detailed history report titled "WWII in Italy."
The teacher started walking around the classroom, collecting assignments one by one.
When he reached Manu's desk, the boy handed his job with a touch of nervousness.
"Teacher, this is what I've got."
After a quick glance, the teacher smiled.
"Nice job, Emanuele[1]. You really put a lot of effort in this one. I can't wait to read it."
Manu exhaled softly — relieved, though already guessing what kind of grade he would get.
The lesson went on as usual, nothing special.
Manu tried to focus — or at least to look like he was doing so — but his mind kept drifting elsewhere.
He rested his chin on his hand, eyes half-closed, while his other hand scrolled through a quiet playlist under the desk.
The teacher's voice seemed fading away; in fact, every word coming out of his mouth sounded meaningless.
"I want to sleep… who cares about history anymore? They're all dead anyway," he mumbled under his breath.
He fell asleep during class — no one noticed. The lesson went on as if nothing had happened.
DING-DONG. DING-DONG.
The sound of the bell woke him up.
"Alright, everyone. That's all for today. I'm leaving," the teacher said, standing up from his desk.
Manu yawned and reached for his headphones, but something strange happened: the volume didn't work properly.
"Uhm… what's going on? Why aren't they working…?"
Even with the volume turned all the way up, the sound was still low.
And that was when a girl in front of him turned around.
He didn't notice her at first, too focused on his headphones. Then, a wave of laughter swept through the class.
"Why is everyone… laughing?"
he thought, confused.
"Hey… nice song."
Manu froze for a moment. Seemed like he heard a soft voice, delicate, almost melodic.
"Is it possible that i heard a voice even with them on...?" He thought.
He looked up slowly, taking off his headphones from his head.
"I'm here," she said, smiling faintly. "I think your headphones ran out of battery."
Manu immediately tried to turn them off, but soon he realized his phone speaker instead had exploded with sound at full volume.
His face flushed bright red as he rushed to turn the music off, although the room after a while fell quiet again.
"Che figura di merda…[2]" he whispered in Italian, with a trembling voice.
And then he saw her.
Wavy silver hair, eyes the color of the sea, a face so delicate it almost didn't seem real. She looked divine — or maybe that was just how his mind decided to fill the blanks.
He had never seen anyone so beautiful in his life. Everyone soon went back to their own business, but Manu couldn't move. His heart pounded faster than his thoughts. His hands were shaking.
"She— She— Wh–WHO IS SHE?!?!" he panicked silently, his brain melted. The girl leaned slightly toward him, her kind expression.
"Are you okay?" she asked gently.
"I-I'm fine. It's just, I n-need to go to the bathroom-" His shaky voice cut off midway.
Inside the bathroom, Manu locked himself in a stall and sat on the floor, with his back against the cold wall.
He ran his hands through his hair, taking deep breaths.
"No, no, no, no… non è assolutamente possibile[3]," he muttered.
"That girl… what the heck?! ...Ahahahah, come on guys, I'm still dreaming, right?" added while scratching his neck.
He stood up and splashed cold water on his face and stared at his reflection.
The mirror stared back, unhelpful as always.
Suddenly his phone buzzed.
Ayaka: Ohayo!! How's class without me, lonely wolf?
Manu blinked at the screen.
"She has just texted me... I can't reply now, my hands shake...".
He didn't reply. He just leaned on the sink, listening to the faint hum of the school outside the bathroom door.
Altough everything felt real, like the sound of footsteps in the hall, the smell of chalk...environment yet carried that strange, an unreal tint.
And while staring at his reflection in the mirror, he spoke softly to himself.
"I don't think I'm awake," he muttered "I mean, I saw her yesterday night smiling on that page...perònon l'ho mai vista in classe prima d'ora." (I've never seen her in class before)
With a shaky breath, he pressed his palms against the sink.
"I need to relax, even though she really looked like her, it cannot be."
His voice trembled, but slowly getting better.
Then he closed his eyes, trying to silence the storm in his head... but every time he did, he could still see her face: that same smile, frozen between paper and dream.
"There's no way…
Ame doesn't exist. She can't."
Eventually the bell rang again for the second lesson.
[1] Manu is an abbreviation of Emanuele, a non common italian name.
[2] An italian expression, it means "what a sh* impression"
[3] literally means "this is not absolutely possible".