Part 3 of 19 (Path A)/Part 3 of 21 (Path B)

Friendship is … 3

Luca eventually reached a stretch where the pasture opened up into a vast, completely unobstructed plain. The sheer freedom of the space drew him in almost instinctively; without thinking, he adjusted his route and headed straight toward the center of the wide field.

As he continued forward, however, he began to notice an increasingly irritating sensation in his clothing. His pants started to feel uncomfortably tight in several places, as if the fabric had somehow shrunk overnight. Especially in the back, a strong, unfamiliar pressure began to build, creating a noticeable bulge in the denim. Luca adjusted his waistband and tried to ignore the tension as he quickened his pace.

At that moment, the sun broke through the cloud cover with full force, shining directly onto his head. As he blinked and raised a hand to shield his eyes, he noticed something strange: the sunlight seemed to refract through his hair in such a way that it glowed in a vivid, almost artificial pink. He paused briefly, examining a strand that had fallen across his forehead, then shook his head with an amused smile. “Must be the extreme light conditions up here,” he muttered to himself, dismissing it as a bizarre optical illusion.

Undeterred and focused on reaching the center of the open plateau, he continued onward. He could feel his steps growing heavier and the tension in his pants increasing with every movement, yet the euphoria of his newfound freedom kept driving him forward across the grass, deeper into the open field.