"What is love in this temporal life, if not just a distraction from the pain that doesn't seem to end."
After losing his best friend to an unexplained suicide, Mateu finds himself left to pick up the pieces with his best friend's younger brother, Fe...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I knew there was something strange about Ferran a few weeks after the start of my second year at Carcassonne. From the very first day he stepped onto the grounds, he rarely left Rafel's side.
Rafel had grown to be well-liked in the first year and naturally we had many friends who would hover around our little core group. Why wouldn't he? He was friendly, witty and his charisma could draw inalmost anyone. He was truly the most charming person I have ever met. Everyone wanted to talk to him, and he talked to everyone. Boys, girls, teachers, cleaning staff, even the custodian. Everyone knew Rafel Dubreuilh - no one could resist someone as magnificent as him.
But that all changed with Ferran's entry. There was just something about the boy's demeanour that seemed to put people off. Perhaps it was how he barely spoke a word, or the way he barely looked at anyone, or the way he always seemed so lost in his own world. Whatever it was, the number of people that fluttered around Rafel like moths to a flame dwindled as the months went by, leaving only the four of us remaining.
I never really knew too much about Ferran, especially since we were in different years, but I did hear things about him occasionally from my teammates who were in his cohort. They were never explicitly rude or mean, but it was mostly about how strange he was. I heard how in class he basically ignores his classmates, never really speaking more than necessary, and even then, only doing so with great difficulty. I noticed that too when he sat with us, but at the very least he acknowledged Amélie and I. I just thought that Ferran was close to his brother, and never took any more notice to it.
It was roughly a few weeks into my second year when I woke up in the middle of the night to a raspy knock on the door. I hesitated, not knowing whether I should bother getting out of bed and answering it. The clock on my desk announced that it was two in the morning, and I honestly couldn't fathom who it could be at this hour.
But I didn't need to. The door opened anyway, its creaks breaking the silence. I lay there unmoving, my heart thumping in my chest.
In the pale moonlight I spotted the familiar blond curls. He was dressed in a thin white shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. It was no other than Ferran.
He was shivering, and I could hear the faint traces of sobs. Before I could get up to ask if he needed anything, I saw Rafel stir, turning around to face his brother.
He quickly sat up, shuffling to the side. He was in nothing but his boxers, and in the pale moonlight I noticed the beads of sweat down his chest. Patting the space beside him, he beckoned his younger brother to sit.
"What's wrong?" he said in a hushed tone, but still loud enough for me to hear.
Ferran leaned in and said something, but it was too soft for me to catch. But what I saw in the pale moonlight was Rafel holding his brother tightly, as the younger boy buried his face in his brother's shoulder as he trembled. Rafel hushed him as he stroked Ferran's golden curls, cradling him in his arms.
