“I swear I will.”
At the time, they believed that promise would only last a few months.
But life had other plans.
Five Years Later
Five years passed.
When Matteo returned, he was no longer the small boy who had left.
He was thirteen now—taller, confident, neatly dressed as if he had stepped out of an important event.
He had just arrived from the airport with his mother and stopped in their old neighborhood to visit relatives.
But the moment he stepped out of the car, something unexpected caught his attention.
Near a small roadside shop sat a boy about his age.
His clothes were faded and worn.
His sandals were covered in dried mud.
Continue on the next page:
