“This compendium on rare species is incredible!” Jane said excitedly. “Especially this chapter on deep sea creatures.”

Leo stood next to her as she quickly browsed over the pages of the book she was holding while cheerily commenting every small detail she deemed interesting. As a descendant of a noble family, he was allowed to visit the great library whenever he wanted, but his friend had more humble origins and was not as lucky, even if she had managed to obtain a scholarship and was currently top of her class at the kingdom’s academy.

That is why, several days ago, he had decided to surprise her by acquiring a special permission that would allow her to visit the great library. After pulling some strings, he finally achieved his goal and dragged her along really early in the morning. Needless to say Jane was incredibly excited and surprised when she …

Do you remember? Someone proposed organizing a group trip, like those we used to do when we were younger. Some of us didn’t hesitate to join in, but many others were not available, be it for personal or professional reasons. Then someone told me that you would be coming as well, and you cannot begin to imagine how happy I was at that moment, knowing that I would get to spend time with you.

The first couple of days we explored the city, visiting its museums, its parks dyed white by the snow and its streets full of people on a market day. Although there were many chances, I never tried to get closer to you, to talk, to laugh about something silly, to spend some time together. I guess I didn’t dare.

But one day, while we were walking around the city, we ended separating from the …

The sun was rising. The faint ray of sun that came through the courtains meant that it was a clear day and Logan rubbed his eyes while he yawned. After a few moments, he got up from bed and went to open the window in order to air his room. Even though the would have preferred to keep sleeping, he knew that his best friend, Valt, would burst into his home any second and would pull him along to the river.

They grew together in the village, after all they had the same age, and a long time ago they had established a tradition they strictly respected: once a week, if the weather allowed it, they would go to the river in the morning to fish. Although when they were younger they would often spend most of that time bathing in the cold water that flowed from the mountain, now …

I found myself in a large house with a big garden that extended towards the near forest. It was a dark and cold day, and it seemed like it had been raining not too long ago.

There was no one else in the house. After strolling around the rooms, also darkened due to the dim light that came in through the windows, I decided to access the garden through the backdoor in the kitchen.

I slowly approached a wide wooden table located under some trees several meters away from the house. As I had suspected, it had rained recently and the mud that had formed in some areas hindered my advance. Once I reached my destination, I observed the table, completely soaked and, for some reason, covered in dirt and mud. After some seconds, I exclaimed out loud:

“Damn it, I can’t take my notebooks out here to work …