After all his effort, he managed to catch only a tiny fish, barely the size of his palm.
I had a strong suspicion that the poor thing had swum into his net by mistake.
As night fell, we built a small fire by the river and grilled Noah’s hard–earned catch.
+15 BONUS
His hair was still damp, and the sight of him, drenched and sulking, made me laugh.
Noah, feeling embarrassed, pretended to be annoyed and ignored me.
However, to be fair, the fresh–caught fish actually tasted pretty good.
After dinner, we walked hand in hand back home.
Seizing the moment, I jumped onto Noah’s back and whined playfully. “I’ve been walking all day, and my feet hurt. Carry me.‘
Noah didn’t just carry me–he took off running.
The mountain path was uneven, and each jolt had me gripping his neck tighter, squealing as I nearly slipped off.
The empty valley echoed with our laughter, as if, in this moment, the whole world belonged to just the two of us
It felt like we had traveled back in time to that night we sneaked into the hills to catch fireflies and ended up lost.
Noah carried me on his back then too, stumbling through the dark, step by step, until moming when the locals finally found us.
That was the only time my grandmother ever truly lost her temper.
She chased us around the yard with a broom, fuming.
“You two have some nerve! Weren’t you afraid of wolves or wild animals out there? Just wait until I catch you!”
Noah and I ran circles around her, laughing the whole time, knowing she could never catch us.
At three in the morning, the towering buildings in the distance stood silent, their windows dark except for a few scattered lights
still glowing.
Coming back from Hilltown used to make the journey feel endless.
But tonight, it felt unusually short.
The miles flew by, the car moving so fast that I barely had time to take in the passing streetlights before we were already home.
The motion–sensor light at the entrance was broken.
The hallway was pitch black.
During this time, having Noah by my side made the darkness feel less intimidating.
“This is far enough, Noah.”
When I turned to look at him, my throat tightened, and tears threatened to spill over.
“You knew, didn’t you? That night… you already knew your mother came to see me. That’s why you sat in your car for so long, smoking one cigarette after another. You didn’t know how to face me, did you?”
2/3
That night, I stood by the living room window, watching as his car remained parked outside.
