Gio is in the second grade and has a very clear idea in his head: no one loves him, not even his mom, not even his pseudo-friend Debbi. Much less do Kevin, Zippo and Alex, the bros who think and act like a pack, love him.
And if no one loves him, then the decision is easy to make. Gio disappears, leaving as his only clues a series of videos on his TikTok profile. He hides in a cave in the woods that no one remembers exists, taking refuge in the dark so that he will not be found: or perhaps so that someone will finally notice him. So when Mirko – the very Mirko whom Gio at school has been watching for months, whose every gesture, tic, facial expression Gio knows by heart – accidentally discovers his hiding place, then things change completely: Mirko becomes an accomplice, someone who comes back to visit him in the cave to tell him about the outside world, police searches and TV reports, and update him on his TikTok’s displays. Until the bond between the two tightens, truly revealing what Gio and Mirko are in the dark: two broken souls looking for a glimmer of light.
(Source: ragazzimondadori.co.uk)
Tobia Rossi Class of 1986, is a playwright, screenwriter and story editor.
