My love is A WHAT ???

It was one o’clock at night when the plane landed at Leonardo da Vinci International Airport. I was so exhausted that I could barely drag myself forward, while my mom and dad were so happy they were practically about to explode. It’s true that I had dreamed all my childhood about coming to Rome, but I was terribly afraid of airplanes, because I had both claustrophobia and a fear of heights. You might ask how I ended up in Rome then. Well, my mom and dad had bought some tickets, and when they scratched them, it turned out they had won three passes to Rome — three months in one of the most prestigious and luxurious hotels in the city. There was no way I could miss that, not even because of my fears. At the airport, a huge limousine was waiting for us. My parents happily got inside, while the only thing that could make me happy at that moment was a bed and some painkillers. My eyes were dark and swollen; my dad joked that I looked as if I had just walked out of a morgue, but I was in no mood for his jokes. Honestly, I felt like I was brought here more to serve as a translator than anything else.The limousine drove through the beautiful streets of Rome and eventually turned into an enormous, breathtaking place. There were trees and lawns all around, and suddenly we were standing in front of a gigantic hotel. It was so huge and magnificent, with endless pools, that I had never seen anything like it, not even on the internet. When we got out of the limousine, we checked in and went up to our rooms. Even though my room was meant for just one person, it was still enormous and beautiful. My parents’ room was even better, but I didn’t care about that. I collapsed onto the bed and instantly fell asleep.It was already morning when a knock on the door woke me up. As soon as I opened it, my mom rushed in with a brochure in her hand. “Let’s go, the hotel is waiting for us!” she said excitedly. I couldn’t help but laugh at her enthusiasm. I slipped on gray sweatpants and a black top, then stepped out of my room. First, we had to eat breakfast, so we went down to the cafeteria. Even though it was just breakfast, waiters still served us. Since I was the only one who spoke English, I placed the order with a waitress who didn’t seem to be in the best mood. My mom and dad kept mentioning how beautiful the place was, and the breakfast itself was delicious. Italian cuisine really did seem to be one of the best in the world. After breakfast, we headed to the pool. We got a bit of a tan and decided that before exploring Rome, we would try out every activity the hotel had to offer.This hotel had countless activities, and we decided to play billiards. In this game, no one could possibly be worse than me — I couldn’t even move the ball properly. I kept trying and trying, but still couldn’t make a single shot. Finally, I decided to go back to my room.It was already morning when a knock woke me. When I opened the door, my mother rushed in with a brochure in her hand. “Let’s go, the hotel is waiting!” she shouted. I laughed at her enthusiasm. I pulled on gray sweatpants and a black top and left the room. First we had to have breakfast, so we went down to the cafeteria. Even though it was just breakfast, waiters still served us. I was the only one who spoke English, so I placed the order for a waitress who didn’t seem to be in the best mood. My mom and dad kept saying how beautiful the place was. The breakfast was delicious — Italian cuisine really might be one of the best. After breakfast we went to the pool. We got a little tan and decided that before exploring Rome we would try all the activities the hotel offered. The hotel had so many activities that we decided to play billiards. In that game, no one was worse than me — I couldn’t even move the ball properly. I tried and tried but still couldn’t make a single shot, so I decided to go back to my room. I decided to just put my things away and rest after that. I’d brought so many things from home that I didn’t even know why I needed so many clothes; still, every day I wore basically the same thing because I preferred to be comfortable. For years I wanted to be someone I wasn’t, so I often stepped out of my comfort zone — but to say I loved myself exactly as I was would be a lie. I only tried. I got comfortable in that thought and lay on the bed scrolling through social media. I saw a lot of my friends’ stories. Then my mother texted me to come downstairs for lunch. I didn’t change — I just went down as I was in the morning. After lunch I thought I’d walk around the garden and went out to the yard. There were many beautiful spots, but in the middle of some bushes I noticed a little hideaway that you wouldn’t see unless you looked closely — you had to push the shrubs aside to get in. Inside it was decorated with blue, pink, yellow and red flowers. There was only one chair and a table. The scent of that place was unimaginable; it felt like a fairy tale. I lingered there for about twenty minutes, enjoying the beauty, but then realized I was cold and returned to my room to take a shower. As a child my hair was straight, but in my teens it turned curly, so I try to take care of it and do many treatments. After drying my hair I put on black sweatpants and a gray hoodie and decided to go back to that place. I grabbed a book and hurried toward the garden of paradise. When I entered, a small blonde child sat on the chair with her arms crossed — maybe four or five years old — wearing a pink dress. She looked at me in surprise, then smiled; two front teeth were missing. She had huge green eyes, big lips and a small straight nose. I put the book on the table and sat beside her. “What’s your name, angel, and what brought you here?” I asked. The child smiled and told me her name was Vivien, but when I asked why she was here she didn’t answer. She was so sweet I wanted to squeeze her. “And what’s your name?” she asked, her big green eyes shining. “My name is Elena, but if you want call me Elle — I prefer that,” I said. “Okay, Elena. I have a lot of toys here. Do you want to play?” She opened her tiny bag and pulled out many toys: Barbies with clothes and shoes, fluffy toys. “When I was your age I had one Barbie I loved the most and I played only with her,” I told her. “Really? What was her name?” “Her name was Aria, and she was the most beautiful Barbie on earth. When I grew up I decided not to play with Barbies anymore and threw the others away, but that Barbie is still on one of the shelves in my room.” “I want a Barbie like that, but these are boring. I need a new one. I’ll tell my brother to buy me a new Barbie.” Vivien packed her things and left, waving her hand. I waved back and smiled — she was really like an angel, so polite and well-mannered. I flipped a few pages of my book, then decided to go back inside because the book didn’t captivate me. On the way up to my room I noticed beautiful stairs near my room. For some reason I wanted to go up them. The stairs led to a corridor and at the very end there was a big golden door. I thought it might be a library. When I tried to go in I froze. Inside the room there were two boys and a girl in armchairs, and another person but their face wasn’t visible. One boy was kneeling on the floor when the girl took out a gun and struck him in the forehead. I jumped in fright and the book slipped from my hands. I ran immediately. I didn’t know if they had seen me and I didn’t know where the hell to run — I just knew I couldn’t stop, because otherwise I’d share that poor boy’s fate. I ran back into the garden and collapsed beside the bushes, tears pouring down my face. I felt my death was near; I was terrified — my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest. I cried out loud but the rotten feeling of fear didn’t fade. Suddenly I heard the crackle of footsteps and rustling bushes — maybe they’d found me. I hid my head between my knees, shaking; I was so scared I couldn’t accept the thought of death approaching. I kept thinking about my parents. I felt someone sit down beside me. “Why are you crying? Is someone coming to kill you?” a voice asked. I was astonished — I’d never heard such a voice before. It was hoarse and low. When I lifted my head I realized the place was no longer the most beautiful thing I’d seen. A boy sat beside me, looking ahead. He had a straight nose, a sharp jawline, long curly hair and an incredibly attractive scent. He wore a classic black shirt and pants; he had a cigarette in his mouth and was smoking. When I came back to myself he was already looking at me. His eyes were green and honey-colored in such a way that you wanted to stay inside them. He was so handsome and beautiful — nothing and no one else mattered to me. He looked at me, squinted, and said, “Will you answer my question? Why are you crying here?” “Just… I had a really bad day and I couldn’t stand it,” I lied. I wasn’t going to tell some boy that people had been shot in that beautiful room and that I probably was next. “Understood.” He looked away and laughed. “Excuse me, what are you laughing at?” I asked, rising to stand and intending to leave. “You have a funny face when you cry,” he said. I wiped my tears and put on my bag. “What do you mean ‘funny face’?” I snapped. “Who do you think you are? You met me two minutes ago and already—” The boy began to laugh. “What’s your name?” he asked. “I don’t introduce myself to strangers,” I said. “Excuse me, but how do strangers become acquaintances then?” he replied, laughing again. My nerves frayed and I said something sarcastic and unnecessary, and then the boy shouted after me: “My name is Valerio. Now you know!” He laughed. I rolled my eyes. Luckily my room had another staircase, so I took the second stairs and avoided those steps. I went into my room and wrapped myself in the blanket. Tears kept falling; I couldn’t forget what had happened, and I had a constant fear that they could kill me any moment.