A close person (EN)

2

We finally reached the water source. Nobody comes to this shore, so it's the perfect place for people like me and Cole. I'm getting down on my knees and taking a clear liquid in my hands. I lean forward eagerly and suck a small sip into my body. A pleasant lukewarm change will pass through my throat. I close my eyes in an effort to retain that great sense of freshness. This is how I repeat it about six times. Then I get up and look around for my entourage. Cole sits on a rock by the shore, his legs submerged in the faint current of the river. I focus on his face. It is narrow, dirty, and withered eyes are proof of his devotion and protective instinct towards me. I remember two years ago when we met. I have a vivid memory of every word that has been said between us. Every feeling.

***

It's August night. Everything suggests autumn is coming. The rain permeates my body, searching hungrily for how much more it can hurt me. I'm so insufferable cold. I have one of my seizures again, where I just cry softly in a narrow, dark alley between the garbage. I myself am trash. A fired, needless thing. I'm wearing a black, finely torn T-shirt, dirty sweatpants and sneakers. I'm covered in a leaky sheet that I dug out of the garbage can. My hands shake uncontrollably, but I don't know whether by the cold or the stress I'm experiencing. I wish so badly that this would end. I wish fate would stop playing with me and just end it. I don't have the strength for another day. I'm afraid of another day.

„Are you all right?" when I hear that voice, it makes me cry even more. My tears mix with the cold rain. Fear engulfs me, and I can't move. I hear footsteps heading towards me. Shoes kick up gravel on the tarmac. Suddenly a figure appears in front of me. He's standing over me, and I'm crouching here like a scared puppy. The unsub squats down, „Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you," I still don't move, and my soft sobs don't want to stop. Yet for some special reason, I trust him. After a long time, he's the first person who doesn't look at me with that look.

„Who-who are you?" I whisper between sobs. My look is etched into the garbage, dumped next to a container standing nearby.

„Cole. My name is Cole. And you are?" no one has asked me my name for that long. With that awareness comes another burst of tears.

„S- sam-" sobs want to be heard. I can't even speak intelligibly. Fortunately, he will answer his own question. 

„Samantha?"

I nod slightly and finally make up my mind. My eyes meet his gaze, in which I find concern and love. Two things that are missing from my pathetic life.

„Are you hungry?" after a question has been asked, he pulls a slice of bread out of his pocket. He hands it to me and I gratefully take it in my little hands. The bread was hardened. It was the best bread in the world. 

„Thank you," I say. Cole is sitting next to me. His eyes still hang on my shaking body. It makes me uncomfortable. I turn to him, uncomprehending, „Don't stare," I bark. I'm not crying anymore. I just feel a slight uncertainty.

„How old are you?" he ignores my order. His eyes still burn through me with interest.

„Seventeen. Why do you want to know?" my suspicion hangs in the air like apples in a tree. 

„Hey. I don't want to hurt you. I'll help you," he smiles. The smile is so real. If I hadn't been dry, I would have burst into tears again, but luckily I didn't.

***

Since then, I've never felt the salty drops coming from my eyes on my face again. At night I fell asleep knowing that I had a person beside me who cared about me as much as I cared about him. Knowing that I'm not trash and that I don't have to face another day alone. He's my brother and I'm his sister. We are family.

***

I sneak up to him and sit close to him. His eyes are still locked on the other side of the river. They're filled with emptiness. I'd like something more for him. I'd like him to be able to dine at a table with his sister and parents. I often see him just sitting there staring into the void. And he always has that look. The sight makes my heart tighten as if someone were going to crush it. I once asked him how he got on the street. I'll never erase that look. The pain and regret that flickered in his eyes.. I never asked that again, and he acted as if I hadn't asked the first time.

I lay my head on his shoulder and close my eyes. I'm relishing the moment when it's just the two of us. No dirt streets, no people's looks, no time. It's just the two of us and the water. I feel the gentle weight of his head on my hair. He grabs my hand and then intertwines his fingers with me. I don't object.

„Let's go rinse, shall we?" after 10 minutes, I break the silence. He sighs softly.

„All right," we get up. I take off the pieces of cloth until I end up just standing in my underwear. Cole is the same. I walk slowly into lukewarm water. When my body gets used to the temperature change, I step into places where the river is calm and deep enough to swim in. When I reach that spot, I dive under without hesitation. The feeling of my exhausted body being surrendered to the river is comforting. The moment the lungs need oxygen, I emerge quickly. I take a deep breath of warm air. Cole stands close to the shore and the water only steals him up to his knees. He washes his whole body and face carefully. When he's done, he looks exactly like a normal adult boy who's gone out to the river with his friends. Unfortunately, the opposite is true. Our looks collide. I smile broadly and wave to him. The gesture returns and follows me.

„Will you wash my back, Cole?" I smirk sweetly. He just chuckles, but doesn't object. I turn away and enjoy his friendly touch. In between, I scrub my whole body. I wipe the dirt off my face and gently rub my eyelids. I feel so perfect.

„Done. Hey, what's this bruise from?" he's always noticed things that others have overlooked.

I turn to him in surprise, „Where?"

„Above the ass," he gently touches the place.

I miss a little hiss, „I don't know. I guess I hit a wall or something," I say, uninterested. I turn around. There's pain anchored in his eyes again. I sigh and hug his strong arms, „Don't worry about it. It's just a bruise. How many do you have, huh?" I whisper in his chest. 

„I'm a 23-year-old boy, though. You're a 19-year-old innocent girl who's supposed to be at home with her family- " my hand shoots to his mouth in an attempt to silence his thoughts.

„Don't spoil this lovely noon, please," he nods in agreement, „Thank you," I stroking his face. My face expands into a wide smile. I step away from him and float my hands into the water. Cold drops fly above the surface and hit Cole's body. But he doesn't hesitate a minute and he runs towards me. It bounces off the bottom of the river with its feet and jumps into the air. When he goes under, he drags me down with him. And that's how we play for about an hour. Just like little kids who forgot about family problems.

„I'm going to dry, okay?" I'm walking quickly to shore so he doesn't have a chance to drag me back into the water again. When I'm on dusty soil, I take my shirt and shake the excess dust out of it that's stuck on it. I repeat the same with my sweatshirt and pants. Then I reach out to myself, „Move it, Cole!" I'm yelling at him. It won't move him. He's still swimming there like I don't exist.  I lean toward the clear liquid and drink my last sips of water. After a moment's thought, I sit in the shade of trees. I lean against one of the tree trunks and close my eyes so I can take a nap for a while.

All of a sudden, I'm caught by someone's hand. I open my eyes sharply.

„Hi," an unknown face greets me.

***

New chapter is finally out. What do you think? Hope you liked it and see you soon, guys! Have a great day, whereever you are in the world and stay safe. Love you, peeps🥰

Your Czechgirl03