Wandering Spirits

Chapter 28

The living room became a sea of astonishment when Liam and Niko burst through the door. The moment they laid eyes on Storm and Freja, shock crept into every crevice of their faces. "What the hell?!" leaked out from them in perfect unison. The two bodies froze at the doorway, as if someone had paused a movie in the middle of the most exciting scene.

It wasn't every day they found their red-haired friend, known for his absent-minded nature, embraced by a wild unfamiliar face. Not so close that it could be misinterpreted as a friendly hug; this was something more. Storm, usually as easy to read as an open book, now had leaves of secrets fluttering around him.

In the quiet room, one could almost hear the heartbeats of the two intruders as they tried to add two plus two. But the math wouldn't add up this time. What was the story behind the unexpected image they had just stumbled upon?

Freja, with her blonde hair and a hint of something childish in her gaze, was a mystery even to the wildlife of the forest. She sat there, so close to Storm she could be his shadow, or perhaps he was her protector from a world she had fled from.

Niko stood paralyzed and gaping. His usual lively gestures were left outside, forgotten in the encounter with the unknown. And Liam, with his love for the escape routes of literature, seemed as if he desperately wanted to return to the pages of his latest novel, where everything made sense and the world followed a logical structure.

No words were exchanged further, but the air thickened with unanswered questions and chaos of confusion. And in the midst of it all, sat Storm, who had always been there for others, but now found himself at the center of his own little mystery. The truth was just around the corner, but right now there was nothing but silent expressions and a sense that the next chapter in the lives of his friends could be anything but predictable.

Storm's heart pounded in rhythm with the seconds ticking by. Freja clung to the blanket, pulling it closer around her like armor against the incomprehensible looks from Liam and Niko. On the couch, her small frame seemed almost weakened under the weight of their shocked eyes, but the arms that enveloped Storm told a different story - of seeking comfort in his presence.

"Relax! Can't you see that you're scaring her!" His voice was a mix of reprimand and defense as he pointed towards the armchairs on the other side of the room. Like two puppets without their own will, Liam and Niko sank into the chairs, their eyes still fixed on the couple on the sofa.

Niko, whose enthusiasm could normally light up a stadium, had now reduced his energy to a simple, confused gesture. His finger extended, pointing towards Freja as if she were an unknown creature you could only find in the deepest forests or within the pages of a mysterious novel.

"What is that?" came out of him, his voice reflecting a curiosity mixed with a hint of fear. Freja's knuckles turned white as she gripped Storm even harder, as if his presence was the only anchor in a stormy sea.

Storm's eyes flaming like torches in the twilight, send a burning gaze towards Niko. "You don't speak to her like that, as if she were a thing!" he exclaims with a voice so sharp it could cut through the ice on the Norwegian fjords. Freja, now a bird in a cage, creeps closer to him, her trembling body a testament to the fear that had taken hold.

Liam sits there, a shadow of silence, his usually cautious eyes wide open and taken aback. He tilts his head slightly to the side, a quiet question hanging in the air between them. Why hasn't Storm told them about her? Liam, his brain always hungry for the pages of history, couldn't solve this puzzle. And there was something more, an unspoken understanding swirling in the depths of his thoughts. They were more than just friends. "I don't understand why you haven't told us about her?"