They Always Went There

Nino De Vita & Giovanni Emilio Cingolani

It is summer, and by the sea an unruly gang of kids runs, chases one another, quarrels, and then makes peace again. Today, Antonio and Gaspare have cast their fishing line into the waters of the lagoon, without much hope. But then a greedy scorpionfish takes the bait.The two boys are almost frightened by the life floundering before their eyes. Watching it writhe and gasp for air awakens them from the innocence they had only a moment before.

What to do with the dying fish must be decided quickly. Should they shut it in a bag and wait for its breathing to stop? Or free its mouth from the hook and return it to the water, so that it may swim once more along the seabed?

The versions of what happens next do not agree. Did one boy decide for the other, or was it the winner of a game of odds and evens who held the fish’s fate in his hands?

A poetic and deeply affecting story about empathy, responsibility, and first encounters with moral choice, in which every child will recognize a part of themselves.