No newspaper had ever published a picture of the house.
No poster mentioned it.
« What else? » Alessandro asked quietly.
Emma shifted her weight from one foot to the other.
« He cries sometimes. »
« When? »
« At night. »
« Loud? »
She shook her head.
« No. »
« Very quietly. »
Then she leaned closer, lowering her voice as though sharing an important secret.
« He says a word when he’s sleeping. »
« What word? »
« I don’t know. »
« My mama says it’s Italian. »
Alessandro swallowed hard.
« What does it sound like? »
She whispered it carefully.
« Papa. »
He closed his eyes for a brief moment.
Only Elena and Mateo had ever called him that.
« What else do you remember? »
Emma smiled faintly.
« He sleeps with an elephant. »
« A gray one. »
She pointed again at the poster.
« Just like that. »
Then she touched the area behind her own right ear.
« And he has a little moon right here. »
Alessandro stopped breathing.
