Synopsis

Mimì is thirteen and is convinced that the holiday in that small border town overlooking the sea is the most boring of her life. She spends her days reading, sitting on the severed trunk of an olive tree, waiting for something to happen. One afternoon, suddenly, Alfred appears almost out of nowhere, a tuft of hair covering his eyes and bare feet. From that moment, everything around her begins to change. It is he who makes her discover that the town smells of laundry, dried tomatoes, and jasmine. It is he who introduces her to Scatto, Nero, and Scintilla. With them, she spends carefree days along the paths that climb the hill, the square, and the beach. For the first time, she savors the taste of freedom, and as the adult world grows ever more distant, everything seems almost too perfect to be true. But that enchanted moment is brief. In the hills, Mimì and Alfred discover a secret too big for two kids. A secret that, despite everything, they decide not to reveal to anyone. Reality bursts violently into their lives, revealing their darkest nuances. Alfred and Mimì's friendship deepens, but fear, unsaid things, and the pain hidden in the unpredictable twists of events mark the end of their childhood. A debut novel that will leave its mark and resonate with those who read it. Valentina Orengo leads us by the hand to a place where time seems to have stood still, to a moment in all of our lives when we are children in the eyes of others, but not in our own. A book in which a special friendship tastes like freedom and its infinite possibilities.