Mattia's voice no longer stirred anything in his stomach, but he was aware of the idea of him and always would be, as the only true benchmark for everything that had come afterward.

The scene was set. All that was required was an action, a cold start, instant and brutal as beginnings always are.

In the end it happens, in some way you couldn't imagine before.

Even though he was afraid to admit it, when he was with her it seemed it was worth doing all those normal things that normal people do.

Choices are made in brief seconds and paid for in the time that remains

All opening moves were the same, like in chess. You don't have to come up with anything new, there's no point, because you're both after the same thing anyway. The game soon finds its own way and it's only at that point that you need a strategy.

You'll get used to it. In the end you won't even notice it anymore," he said. "How is that possible? It will always be there, right before my eyes." "Exactly," said Mattia. "Which is precisely why you won't see it anymore.