Soft trees trembled on the quiet field, the wind roared through their fragile branches. A large poplar blocked the gusts, its crown keeping calm and giving shelter to Lucy, who sat leaning against the trunk of the mighty tree.
— "Hey, Lucy…," a boy called uncertainly.
She raised her head to find where the voice was coming from.
— "Um… sorry…," he began, "sorry for that day… when I offended you. You know… if you remember… ? I wasn't thinking about what I was saying," he continued, "really…" he added, and when he finished, he turned his attention to his bicycle, which he had just gotten off. He gripped the handlebars with his hands and stretched one foot toward the pedal.
— "Wait!" Lucy suddenly shouted.
The surprised boy stopped. Lucy stepped toward him.
— "I want to apologize too… I shouldn't have thrown a stone at you," she said, moving closer to him step by step.
After a short while she broke the awkward silence: "Do you have time? If you're not in a hurry…" she added.
— "Oh… uh… well, sure!" He left the bicycle on the path, and they walked together under the tree.
Even though Lucy had no idea what people usually talked about with friends, with Adrian she didn't have to search for words. They spoke endlessly, about serious and unimportant things alike.
— "I never knew having a friend could be so easy… You're my friend… right?" she said uncertainly.
— "I don't know… maybe… if you want," he felt confused, but he didn't resist.
Lucy felt relieved by his answer. She wanted to trust him. She began telling Adrian about her troubles, she hoped to find comfort in him.
— "Poor Nicholas, though…," Adrian noted after Lucy finished speaking.
She fell silent.
— "He holds himself so bravely. Sometimes I think a person like that shows no feelings."
Before her eyes suddenly flashed images of passionate kisses, tenderness, and the carefulness he had shown her.
— "Um… yes," she broke off his words, "exactly."
— "I feel sorry for the little boy everyone abandoned. He was so weak and fragile," he said sadly, "and then even the last person who cared for him… But his grandmother wouldn't have lasted long anyway. She tried as best she could," he added.
— "What??" Lucy stood up in surprise.
— "Well, so much time has passed… of course she wouldn't last that long."
Lucy's face froze, her cheeks turned pale.
— "What do you mean?"
— "He was six when his parents died. On the night of their death, he was staying at his grandmother's. His younger brother died with their parents. He was only three."
— "How… what happened?" Her voice trembled, her hands grew cold with a chilling breath.
— "A fire. According to the investigation, the shed next to the house caught fire, then the house itself. The parents and brother burned alive."
After those heavy words, the air thickened, and silence followed. She couldn't speak a word, her throat tightened.
— "Of his relatives, only his grandmother and his aunt remained. First he lived with his grandmother, but soon she was diagnosed with bronchial cancer, so his aunt took over caring for the boy. That time was very hard for him. The illness slowly consumed his grandmother. Eventually, he left to wander, because he couldn't bear to watch her condition worsen," he got in thinking for a moment, "I don't think I could stand not being with my grandmother in her final moments… He didn't manage to say goodbye," he added quietly.
Adrian exhaled.
— "But… he never told me anything," she said to herself. For a while she stared into the distance, thinking. "I was so awful…" she scolded herself.
— "Lucy? What are you talking about?" Adrian asked.
— "Adrian. Adrian!" she burst out. "I must… I must go to the church!" she added quickly, without knowing exactly what she wanted to say.
— "Why?"
— "Goodbye, Adrian! Thank you so much," she called out to him before running off, leaving him sitting where he was.
Adrian didn't even realize at first that he had been left alone. He looked into the horizon, where the girl immediately vanished, and wondered at her spontaneity.
When Lucy entered the church, she headed straight for the icon she often passed by. She stopped beside it. There was a moment of silence before she began to speak quietly.
— "Really… I really didn't mean to offend him," she whispered. "I made a mistake and I was wrong, I admit… and…" she closed her eyes and made a long pause. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have been so selfish…" she tried to arrange her thoughts. "I'm afraid you don't want me… forgive me," tears streamed down her face. "I can't lose you…" A deep silence fell. "Why is it so hard to love…?" she said aloud. Urgent pain tore out with every word she spoke.
Disappointed, she bowed over the image of the icon and asked through her tears, not truly expecting an answer.
As she was walking home, suddenly man's voice interrupted her.
— "Here! I'm here! Help me!" someone cried desperately, trying to shout to her.
She turned toward the direction from which the shouting came, but saw no one.
— "Lucy! Help me! Please…" the voice called out to her again.
— "Dad?…" she recognized him in that unbearable voice.
— "I'm here…" it slowly faded.
It's really him!, she thought, and without hesitation she rushed toward the water.
— "Wait, Dad! I'm coming!"
— "Help…" and then silence fell again.
— "I'm here! Do you hear me?… Say something! Dad!!!" Her stubbornness only grew stronger.
Slowly she stepped into the water that did hinder her movements.
— "Dad!!! Where are you???" she cried desperately. Lucy didn't hesitate long and immediately dived under.
Before long she surfaced again and looked around, hoping to find him above the water. She hadn't even caught her breath properly, and though her lungs swelled faster and faster, she dove again. She swam with all her strength, never looking back. The darkness that swallowed her completely seemed nothing compared to her fear of loss.
Girl swam endlessly for ten long minutes. In that time her limbs had long since stiffened, her fingers turned to stone in the freezing water. When she repeatedly lifted her head from the depths, she realized she was in the middle of the lake. Only water around her, and beneath her an impenetrable darkness.
Her tired heart began to pound wildly. Sudden panic paralyzed her. The fear of the water surrounding her overcame. Suddenly she forgot how to swim. Her arms and legs became a heavy burden dragging her down. She could no longer normally move, only splashed around and cried desperately for help.
— "AAAA…," her scream was broken by loud splashing, "…hel…lp…," choking on the water, gulping for air in gasps.