His voice dropped even lower, echoing tragically through the silence of the night:
"Damn that day...
If I hadn't refused the box of chocolates...
If I hadn't slipped...
If I hadn't lost consciousness...
If I hadn't fallen into that coma... my brother wouldn't have suffered all this."
He raised his head, tears still streaming, but his eyes were no longer broken... they blazed with a fierce intensity, a fiery look dripping with blame and anger.
He turned his gaze towards his father, and in a low voice that was like a poisoned sword, he said:
"You are not my parents...
You are monsters."
His eyes widened in pain as he screamed from the depths of his heart:
"How could you have abandoned him like that?
How could you have burdened him with a crime he didn't commit?
A child...!
A child who didn't yet understand the meaning of guilt, and you...!
If my mother hadn't recognized him at that cursed conference... if she hadn't seen his face on the TV screen... we would have never known him..."
Then he took a step back, as if the ground had become suffocating, as if everything around him was collapsing.
He whispered in a broken voice, barely escaping his trembling mouth:
"How...
How can I fix this mistake?
How... can I get my brother back?"
That night passed with fleeting glances and unspoken whispers, as if the air was filled with secrets waiting to be decoded. In the darkness, everything whispered, every movement was watched, and every feeling was stored in memory.
As morning broke, the soft sunlight mixed with the aroma of fresh coffee rising from the cup "Reena" held in her hands. She sat in the kitchen next to her mother, watching the rising steam as if trying to read the thoughts of the past night in it.
She said in a neutral tone that concealed a great deal:
"Mom, I think I heard the door open late last night..."
Her mother couldn't suppress a smile, but she hid it behind a small sip from her cup, then gently placed the cup on the table. She gave "Sera" a quick, almost casual glance, and said as if throwing a stone into still water:
"Sera, my daughter... when did you get home? And... did you find the cat?"
"Eileen's" sharp gaze met Sera's face, and she said in a slightly scolding tone:
"Don't do that again, are you looking for cats in the middle of the night?"
"Reena" intervened in a warm tone, her eyes gleaming with compassion:
"Did you find her? The poor cat..."
Sera faltered for a moment, as if the words were stuck in her throat. She placed her cup down gently, as if she needed to feel the ground of the conversation before stepping into it, then she mumbled:
"About... Black."
Her mother raised her eyebrows and asked:
"You named her Black?"
Both "Eileen" and "Reena" looked at their mother in astonishment, as if they hadn't expected her to know the name, then they spoke at the same moment, in a single tone filled with question marks:
"Who named her?"
The mother laughed softly and raised her hands as if apologizing, and said:
"It was a sl... I mean, did you name her Black?"
"Sera" nodded slightly, trying to gather her composure:
"Oh... yes. I... I decided to name her Black on my own."
"Reena" said with enthusiasm:
"Then, let's get her some water and food today. I'm sure she's still in the garden, waiting for us."
But as soon as she looked at "Sera's" face, she felt that there was something unsettling in her sister's tone.
"Sera" whispered, her eyes avoiding meeting anyone's gaze:
"Black... is gone."
"Eileen" said with a slight edge:
"Gone? By himself?"
"Sera" answered hesitantly, trying to make her voice sound natural:
"You know... our neighbor, I don't know, but he... decided to take care of Black."
"Eileen" raised her eyebrows in feigned surprise, tapped the table lightly and said with a childish mischief:
"Oh, our neighbor? Our neighbor... what was his name, Reena?"
Before "Reena" could answer, "Sera's" phone rang, cutting the moment like an arrow. She looked at it quickly, then grabbed her bag as if she was escaping an interrogation.
Her mother asked casually, but her eyes were watching every detail on her daughter's face:
"Are you going to look for a job?"
"Sera" answered, holding her bag and turning her body toward the door, without thinking about what she was saying:
"Aidan..."
Her feet stopped for a moment, as if the ground had frozen beneath her. Her mother and "Reena" turned at the same time and repeated the word with great astonishment:
"What?"
"Sera" tried to salvage the situation, stammering and saying quickly:
"I mean... Ai... Ai... I mean yes, I'm going to look for a job. See you later!"
Then she rushed out the door, as if she was running away from a confession, or from a name that had slipped out without her realizing it.
After the door closed behind Sera, silence reigned for a moment, then it was broken by the mother's soft laugh as she raised her coffee cup to her lips and muttered with quiet cunning:
"So... his name is Aidan."
"Eileen" and "Reena" spoke at the same time, with wide eyes and clear astonishment:
"What do you mean?"
The mother gently placed her cup on the table, smiled that smile that showed she knew more than she was letting on, and then said in a calm but meaningful tone:
"I saw them yesterday... they were walking slowly, as if the whole world had disappeared around them. Aidan is the one who took the cat."
"Eileen" screamed and clapped her hands excitedly:
"I was sure it was Aidan! I knew it!"
"Reena" added in amazement, pointing at her mother:
"Mom!"
The mother blinked in genuine surprise this time, and stared at them and said slowly:
"You two... are hiding a lot from me. But I hear you, even when you think I'm not paying attention."
At that moment, "Aidan" was waiting beside his shiny black Lamborghini Huracán Evo, fiddling with the key between his fingers and staring at the reflection of the sky on the hood as if trying to read his future in it.
From a distance, he saw Sera approaching. Her steps were quick, excited, but her features retained that gentleness that distinguished her. She waved to him, and when she got closer, she said in a playful tone:
"Good morning! Have you been waiting long?"
"Aidan" gave a warm smile, his eyes fixed on her every detail: from the strands of her hair that swayed in the wind, to her slight nervousness.
"No, I just got here."
Then he held out his hand and gave her the car key.
"Sera" laughed as she took it, and said:
"Not again! Last time, you were injured..."
He interrupted her with a look, and a low but deep voice:
"I still am. Did you forget? I only got out of the hospital yesterday morning."
Her eyes widened in slight surprise, then she sighed as if something heavier than air was weighing on her chest:
"Oh... I'm sorry. It's just... a lot of things happened."
"Aidan" lowered his head, and the shadow of his face fell with a passing cloud that blocked the sunlight. His dark eyes, which were mixed with a slight blueness as if they had caught the color of the sky, held a deep sadness in that moment, as if he were a man torn into a thousand pieces from the inside.
"Right... a lot."
"Sera" reached her hand out toward him lightly, hesitated for a moment, then put it back down by her side in a fragile silence, as if she was afraid to touch him and break him. Then she said, trying to revive the conversation:
"Good things, right? Like Black! Should we go buy him some things?"
"Aidan" nodded lightly, and smiled as if he was holding on to something beautiful amidst the chaos:
"Also... I want to show you my cafe. I won't be able to show you the whole chain of cafes in one day, but... we will, someday."
She laughed and playfully threw the key toward him, and he caught it with skill. Then her laughter slowly faded, and he said in a low voice, as if the words were heavy on his lips:
"You changed your mind... you're not..."
But he didn't finish.
Then she looked at him and took a half-step forward, then said in a warm tone:
"Then you have to drive, don't you? You're the one who knows the way..."
Sera got into the car quietly and closed the door behind her. A brief moment of silence separated her and Aidan, then she took a deep breath, as if inhaling something deeper than air, something that awakened her memory and filled her heart.
"The scent..." she muttered, closing her eyes for a moment.
Aidan became flustered, and signs of tension appeared on his face. He turned to her quickly, and his voice came out low and hesitant:
"I... I mean... should I open the window?"
But she didn't answer him immediately. Instead, she tilted her head slightly toward him, and a warm smile appeared on her lips. Her look at him was different... a look where words weren't spoken, but felt. And in those seconds, their eyes met in silence, as if time had stopped to play a special tune that only they could hear.
She said in a soft tone that carried everything she hadn't been able to express before:
"I meant... your scent."
She blinked her eyes lightly, then continued, her whisper dissolving into the air of the car:
"The place... is filled with your scent. That scent that... captivated me."
Aidan's gaze froze, then the corners of his lips curved into a small smile, but his eyes remained mesmerized. He didn't say anything, he just looked at her, as if he was storing her features inside his heart, one by one.
After a few minutes of driving in a comfortable silence, Aidan stopped in front of a store specializing in pet supplies. The two got out of the car, and he quickly found himself among colorful shelves filled with toys, collars, and food bowls.
While he was flipping through the decorative collars, he stopped at one that caught his attention.
"What do you think of this?" he said, holding up a butterfly-shaped collar.
Sera burst out laughing, then said in a playful tone:
"Aidan! Look closely... Black is completely black, the red will be enchanting on her, don't you see?"
Aidan shook his head lightly, examining the collar with a critical eye:
"Hmm... I don't think so. Blue would be prettier, it's more peaceful."
Sera sighed theatrically, and he gave in:
"Alright, alright, don't be sad... I'll take the red one."
She smiled lightly, then clapped her hands with childish excitement:
"Really?! Wonderful!"
Aidan nodded:
"Yes, and now let's choose her toys and a food and water bowl. I think she's still small, what do you think? Let's buy her some cat milk and a small bottle."
Sera raised her eyebrows in a gentle surprise:
"A bottle? Why?"
Aidan had bent down slightly to examine one of the toys, then he answered in a low tone, still looking away:
"Yesterday... I saw her suckling on the blanket and making small kneading movements... I looked up the reason for that, and it turns out that small kittens who... were separated from their mothers early, either by abandonment or loss, often do that."
His voice suddenly changed, carrying something of sadness, of fear:
"I'm afraid this will leave a wound inside her... so I thought, I'll make it up to her. I'll fill that void."
Sera's eyes widened, and her gaze toward him was filled with tenderness. She didn't interrupt his speech, she just looked at him with a new, deeper feeling.
He suddenly smiled and continued in a light, playful tone:
"And I decided... I'll buy her all the toys I like, even if they fill the house."
Sera chuckled with her gentle voice, then said:
"Really? You... have a kind heart, Aidan."
In the pet store, the sound of shoes tapping on the wooden floor echoed... tap... tap... tap. The rhythm was steady, but it seemed to him as if it was hitting directly on his skull.
Sera was talking to him, in her usual calm voice, but she stopped suddenly when she noticed the change in his expression. Strands of his hair fell over his eyes, but they no longer saw anything.
He suddenly raised his hand to his head, as if a thunderbolt had struck him. His body trembled, and he leaned on a nearby shelf so he wouldn't fall.
Sera (with rising concern):
"Are you alright?! What happened?"
But he didn't answer. His gaze was scattered, lost in a distant place... very distant.
Tap... tap... tap...
The same sound, echoing in his head. He was no longer in the store, but in a place shrouded in fog. Then the memories began to seep in slowly, blurry as if they were an old dream... a small child. A body lying down. Small hands stained with blood. The ground swallowing his screams, and the sky watching in silence.
Aidan sat on one of the elegant wooden benches lined up along the sidewalk. He sat hunched forward, as if his soul was burdened with more than his body, and his eyes were lost in the void. His hands were trembling on his knees, gripping each other as if trying to hold onto something lost.
Sera sat beside him in silence, her gaze never leaving him, filled with a quiet concern, and with many questions that she had not yet dared to ask. Finally, she slowly raised her hand, her movement light and hesitant, then said in a calm voice that resembled a morning breeze:
"Aidan... I just wish I knew what happened to you in there."
He remained silent for a moment, then looked at his trembling hands as if they held indelible traces, and said in a soft voice, but with a hidden brokenness in his tone:
"I can't stand certain sounds... the tapping of shoes... chains being dragged... iron doors closing violently... these sounds aren't normal for me. They're like thunderbolts... they hit my head... no, they don't hit it, they devour it."
He slowly passed his hand over his temple, speaking like someone describing a deep-rooted pain that cannot be seen with the eye:
"Every tap... every clang... opens a hole here, a black hole in my head. And inside it... there are images..."
Aidan suddenly stopped talking, as if an image had frozen in his mind, then he took a long, hesitant breath, and the words came out in a low voice, almost a whisper:
"I... I see a child, very small. But... his face is disfigured, or maybe... erased. I can't make out his features. Under him is a pool of blood, red, wide, spreading as if it's swallowing the ground."
He lowered his gaze to his trembling hands, and continued, his voice growing more fragile:
"And in the corner... two small hands of another child, covered in blood. They were trembling, just like my hands are now."
A heavy silence fell, broken by his own pale smile, as if they were memories that scratched his heart as he smiled at them:
"And the sound of the shoes... they were circling the body as if they were screaming. Crazy, scared, or angry steps... I don't know. But their sound... it doesn't leave me."
He raised his gaze to Sera, his eyes carrying a misery muddied with sorrow:
"The chains?... they were my chains one day.
And the iron door? It was a prison, it haunts me, even after I got out of it."
Sera was watching him with tearful eyes, trying to hold herself together, but her glances were silently bleeding. She whispered in a choked voice:
"Aidan... you shouldn't have to face this alone."
He shook his head, then said with a deadly calm:
"I didn't face it alone, Sera... I was alone in it."
She couldn't take it anymore. She lowered her head, and her hair fell over her face, but she said with a feigned courage:
"Don't move... just wait for me, I'll be right back."
She turned quickly and walked a few steps before stopping under a small tree. She leaned her back against it and let her tears fall freely. She wasn't sobbing, but crying silently, an honest pain that had been suppressed for a long time.
Then, as if she had made an internal promise, she wiped her tears with her hand, and looked forward with a solid determination:
"I won't let their darkness swallow you again. I will light the way... even if I have to stand alone."
She went to the ice cream vendor, bought a strawberry flavor and a bottle of water, then came back to him. Her steps were now quieter, but stronger.
When she reached him, she bent down slightly and handed him the ice cream, smiling gently, sincerely:
"This... is the best medicine now. No prescription, no words... just a cold, sweet taste that takes you to another place. Try it... trust me."
He looked at her in surprise, as if she had come from a different world... then, slowly, he surrendered to the warmth of her smile. He took the ice cream, looked at it, and this time, his smile wasn't pale, but alive, even if it was small.
Sera stood up and quickly wiped the rest of her tears before turning away, then said in a low but firm voice:
"I'll go get what we bought from the pet store... I won't be long."
Aidan nodded in silence, he didn't speak, he just looked at the ground.
But before she could turn and walk away, she stopped and asked him without turning around:
"Aidan... just, how did you deal with this all this time? I mean... what you went through today?"
He said in a broken but composed voice:
"I... I just learned how to hold myself. I close the door... I put the lock on myself, every time. But..."
He was silent for a moment, then whispered:
"Some days, the door opens by itself... like today."
He looked at her for a long time, then smiled, a faint but warm smile, and said:
"But I'm happy... that you were here. This is the first time... I didn't have to face it alone."
Sera froze in place for a moment, then looked at him over her shoulder, her eyes trying to hold back a new tear, and said in a low voice:
"And you won't have to again."