already more than fifteen meters away and was quickly drawing further away into the darkness. Marco felt defenseless; he silently cursed the merciless laws of physics. A blind rage re-figured his face and took control of his limbs. He clenched his fists so tightly that they almost burst, he bent his knees, and he leapt with all his strength toward the enormous raptor…And the impossible happened. His body bolted forward at an unheard of speed, as if an uncontainable invisible force were moving him from within. In the blink of an eye, he found himself clutching the powerful animal and suspended above the abyss. But he was no longer afraid: with one hand, he grasped the eagle's neck tightly, and his other hand was almost on that of his brother, who was looking up at him and smiling….

At that very moment, Marco opened his eyes, got up with a start, and pulling back the sheets, nervously sat up on the edge of his bed. He was tired, and a confused sense of anguish filled him from head to toe. It was not the first time that that dream and that eagle had visited him at night. But the strangest thing was that, looking back on it this way—being awake—the