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Bea & Gio
Bea & Gio are the very best of friends. Beneath the roots of the legendary Story Tree, they have built their own little hideout. Since then, they have found themselves caught up in one adventure after another, discovering the unknown and solving mysteries. With every journey, their world expands a little further beyond the familiar. What the tree has to do with it all remains a mystery, even to them.
My name is Bea.
I'm nine years old, and I live with my mum and my big sister Thea in an old house. Our house has quite a few tricks up its sleeve. Whenever there's hot water running, you can bet a light somewhere stops working. It's always like that! You just never know in the morning what's going to happen by the evening. And when something doesn't work, there's usually another way. At least, I always find one.
My name is Gio.
I'm nine years old, and I live with my family above our Italian restaurant. My uncle Alfredo and I make the best pizza! We let the dough rest for a really long time, and we get the tomatoes for the sauce from our greenhouse. I love reading, and I can read anywhere. Even when the whole restaurant is packed. When I read, I'm right there inside the story. In my imagination, I can go anywhere.
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The World of Bea & Gio
The two friends have known each other since kindergarten. Bea is a real bundle of energy, sometimes a little cheeky and strong-willed. Her mother is a single parent who works hard and keeps two children and an old house together. She is incredibly loving and warm-hearted. She has a kind word for almost everyone, and her warm nature makes her well-loved in their small town. She can be a little scatterbrained, though, and occasionally loses track of an appointment, a key or even what's going on altogether. And whenever she has a little time to spare, Bea's mother also enjoys working on herself, trying out energy healing, singing bowl workshops and all sorts of other paths to self-discovery.
Every now and then, she also meets a man who seems terribly profound, only to turn out later to be far better at talking about life than actually living it. Bea and her big sister Thea have become quite good at spotting these candidates from a mile away and, over time, have developed an impressive repertoire of strategies for driving them off. It usually doesn't take long before the gentlemen make a hasty retreat. This, however, often leads to some rather lively discussions between Bea, Thea and their mother, who doesn't always find the whole thing quite as amusing as her daughters do.
The old house the three of them live in also has its fair share of surprises, thanks to all its little quirks and signs of age. Bea usually takes it all with a sense of humor. She's quick to think on her feet, take matters into her own hands and come up with a solution using whatever happens to be available.
Gio grows up as an only child amid the hustle and bustle of the only Italian restaurant in their small town. He was born in southern Italy. When he was one year old, his parents moved to the little town with his uncle Alfredo, hoping to build a new life for themselves by opening their own restaurant.
Both of his parents were already over forty when Gio was born, and they had almost given up hope of having a child of their own. That makes their son especially precious to them. And their plans for his future are every bit as big as their love for him. One day, Gio is expected to take over the restaurant and carry on what his parents have worked so hard to build. The possibility that Gio might one day have entirely different ideas about his future does occasionally get a little overlooked.
His uncle Alfredo is a different sort altogether. He helps run the restaurant, loves good food and tends a large garden with a greenhouse behind the house. From him, Gio has learned when a tomato is truly ripe, why good pizza dough can happily spend three days in the fridge and why some things simply need time. Alfredo himself has travelled widely, seen quite a bit of the world and is full of enthusiasm for life. Above all, he keeps reminding Gio that he's still a child and should feel free to let his imagination run wild now and then. When Gio started school, Alfredo gave him a big world atlas so he would never forget just how vast the world beyond the restaurant really is.
Gio absolutely loves reading. Even when every table is occupied, plates are clattering and voices are calling out from all corners of the kitchen, he can lose himself completely in a story. In his imagination, he travels even further, invents new places and dreams up adventures that continue long after the final page. Alfredo not only understands this, but usually makes time for it, too. He always has a sympathetic ear for Gio's joys, worries and the sometimes rather big thoughts swirling around in his head.
Bea is always welcome at Alfredo's, too. She never fails to bring a breath of fresh air into the restaurant and get Gio out into the world.
As different as their lives at home may be, they are both drawn to the same place: their forest. Almost every afternoon, the two friends spend their time there, on the outskirts of their little town.
Beneath the enormous roots of an ancient tree, Bea and Gio have made themselves a cosy hideout. They've filled it with blankets, treasures they've found, books, cups and anything else they consider important enough to bring along.
There, they read, tell each other stories, invent new ones and dream of places and worlds that can't be found on any map.
To them, the hideout is a secret refuge, a meeting place and a little piece of home.
For a long time, Bea and Gio have no idea that this particular tree will one day play a much bigger role in their lives. In their little town, it is known as the Story Tree, and the most wondrous rumors have surrounded it for generations.
Some say that beneath its roots lie all the long-forgotten stories and spirits of this world. Others swear that the tree sometimes calls people to it when a new adventure is waiting for them somewhere. And some are even convinced that the Story Tree creates legends of its own. Which of these tales is true, nobody knows.
Bea and Gio, however, have no intention of letting a few old stories scare them away from their favorite place. They continue spending their afternoons beneath its roots, asking questions, making plans and dreaming up all sorts of adventures. Until one day, something happens that can no longer be quite so easily explained away as mere coincidence.
