He was relieved that his cast had been removed before he left the hospital; otherwise, the change would have been tough. His leg was still hurting, but nothing that a little salt water couldn't fix. 
                          
Slowly approaching the water, he felt the change on his toes, revealing his webbed feet. As he progressed, purple scales began to replace more and more of his skin. His tail appeared, bringing much-needed balance. Soon, his entire body was submerged in water, and he felt a little better when he finally immersed his head and his gills began to filter the oxygen. 
                          
Alberto was quickly calmed by the light pressure and the beautiful floating experience. From the time he was a small child, he had a fondness for the surface, but nothing could equal to being entirely submerged. He allowed the stream to elevate his limbs slightly, and his tail flowed from left to right. He went deep enough into the water that the outside light dimmed a little. 
                          
He closed his eyes and surrendered to his sea-person senses. He could hear the quiet, muffled sounds that surrounded him, and he welcomed the little temperature shift that passed over his scales. This was something he had missed. No one could tell him what to do or how to feel now because he was alone. He was alone, ruminating on his seething thoughts. 
                          
First, he needed to relax, but the moment his mind and body started to slow down, he could feel the neurones in his brain start to fire up. His mind looked for a calm memory where he might feel comfortable and at ease.
                          
***
                          
"Figlio, è ora di alzarsi!" Massimo exclaimed as he peered over the corner of the door. Alberto was still dozing off. From behind the sheets, just a semi-irritated grunt could be heard. 
                          
After fifteen minutes, both Marcovaldo men were seated at the kitchen table, sipping coffee and eating cornetti. It appeared to be a typical morning. Above Portorosso, a lovely vanilla sky, warm already at 6 a.m.
                          
Alberto and Massimo's fishing outings where they would merely sit in the boat and wait for fish to get caught in the net were long gone. They were both a little reserved at first, but now they talked about everything: the fish, of course, but also about getting a new truck and how they would almost certainly have to repair it together, about why you should never leave cooked pasta in warm water, and, most recently, about how far away Genova is, how long it takes to get there by train, and how much a two-way train ticket costs.
                          
Massimo had always been a more hands-on guy, and when he spotted Alberto spending more and more time alone in his room, or when Alberto didn't manage to eat a full plate of pasta, he knew something was up. So, he decided to confront him.
                          
"Alberto, do you have a minute?" he asked after a long day of fishing, running the pescheria and delivering the fish to the locals. 
                          
When Alberto got down to the kitchen, he had already changed. Instead of a table with food, he was greeted by Massimo, who was sitting behind the table. Although the pasta was cooking, dinner was not yet ready. Alberto thought the mood was odd, something he wasn't used to in a long time.
                          
Despite this, Alberto sat in his customary spot, with a somewhat anxious expression on his face. Is there something he did incorrectly or something he didn't do that Massimo expected him to do? Massimo intervened just as Alberto was about to enter a full-fledged overthinking frenzy. 
                          
"In a minute, dinner will be ready. Can you tell me what's wrong first?" 
                          
Alberto felt a cooling feeling all throughout his body.
                          
"Nothing's wrong, Dad." he replied. 
                          
"Figlio, you're a good kid, but you've never been a very good liar. I can see you're bothered by something. I've already told you that if anything goes wrong, I'll be there for you." Massimo's tone was soothing. He wanted to avoid putting too much pressure on Alberto. He was aware of how he responded when confronted, and he wanted to offer the boy some leverage if he didn't want to open up straight immediately.