It was me and Nancy, playing in the mud, chasing little ducks, laughing until we fell to the ground from sheer joy. The village was warm, filled with the smell of fresh bread and the sound of children’s laughter echoing through the fields.

That morning, we saw him… a strange boy walking toward us, dressed in shining clothes that glittered under the sun. His hair was perfectly styled, as if he’d stepped out of a magazine—certainly not from a dusty village road. I waved my hand excitedly and called out, “Hey, handsome! Come play with us!”

He stopped, looked me up and down, and said in a proud, dismissive tone, “Play… with mud? I don’t think that suits me.”

His name was Leonardo Ferrara, the son of Italy’s most famous fashion model—thirteen years old, while I was barely eight. He had come to our little village to shoot a new campaign for rural children’s fashion. He thought it would be just another photoshoot… but it became something far more unforgettable.