Chapter 3: The story begins
The days stretched out in a gentle monotony. Over time, the children also bonded with Aria, a very shy girl with whom they had developed the habit of exploring the other world.
Now, only one week separated them from Angel's departure. Indeed, the school year was soon to begin, and both his parents planned to move to another town. They wanted to settle in a small, sparsely populated town in the country to have more tranquility. Moreover, Angel's little sister, Gems, was 4 years old; it was the right time to send her to school as well. Furthermore, that evening, Rhéa was due to leave the country. In fact, her father had demanded to see his daughter again now that she had discovered that people who were not part of her social class existed.
Together, the three friends shared the same passions. They had just finished building a flying surfboard, a marvel they only dared to use in the other world. They convinced themselves that, if this invention were ever discovered, ruthless secret agents would not hesitate to conduct dark experiments on them. This paranoia was due to the influence of animated cartoons.
On that day, a serious incident occurred in Angel's presence. This event changed his life forever.
EIGHT YEARS LATER
In a small town forgotten by the world, Angel was now 16 years old and continued his schooling.
But time had changed the boy. His long, luminous, silky hair was gone, replaced by a short, dull cut. His childlike features, which once fascinated all who looked at him, had lost their brilliance. Angel's face now bore acne blemishes, the relentless vestiges of adolescence, and a more withdrawn air.
For a few weeks, his heart had been troubled by dark premonitions, like the murmur of another life he once knew.
A name, mysterious and haunting, plagued his thoughts: Yabal.
He didn't know where this memory came from, but the name resonated relentlessly in his soul.
While his classmates laughed and played carelessly after school, Angel remained alone, sitting on a bench, his eyes lost in the distance, searching for the origin of this name that kept persisting in his mind.
As he bent down to pick up a piece of chalk that had fallen near the wall, a tall boy sprang up, pinned him against the surface, and covered his eyes with his hands.
The scene caught all the students' attention. Their two faces were so close it seemed like the start of something intimate.
The boy murmured in a soft, deep voice:
— Do you recognize my voice, little brother?
At those words, tears welled up in Angel's eyes, and in a broken whisper, he replied:
— Ya... Yabal... Is that you?
— Yes, little brother… I finally found you.
Angel, distraught, stammered:
— Yabal... It was you all along... It's you I felt in my memories... Why did you take so long to come back? Why did you abandon me alone? Why weren't you there when, every moment, through every ordeal, I needed you! Why!
The other students heard these words, and no one dared to speak. All watched the scene.
Yabal looked down, and with a guilty expression, he said:
— Are you ready to follow me? Yabal asked softly.
— That's not the question!!! You...
Without letting Angel finish, Yabal grabbed his hand, and they both darted out of the room.
Angel ran behind him, his eyes fixed on Yabal's lean back. With every stride, the past resurfaced in painful flashes:
(You will always be alone... Everyone will reject you... Those you love will flee from you... Why me? Why always me?! You will pay for all the harm you have inflicted on me, I swear!)
As his tears flowed silently, they reached a deserted place, far from the world's commotion.
Angel then looked up: standing before him was a young man of supernatural beauty. When Yabal had walked through the classroom door, girls had fainted, so unreal was his grace.
Faced with this dazzling vision, Angel, aware of his own misery, lowered his head, ashamed to appear so tainted next to such splendor.
But Yabal stepped forward, without a word, and pulled Angel into his arms, embracing him with infinite warmth.
He whispered in his ear, in a voice soft as a vow:
— It doesn't matter what you've been through. It doesn't matter the wounds of the past.
From now on, we will live our present to the fullest.
We have so much road to travel together... so many secrets to share... You, Me, and Rhéa. We are going to find out who that man with your looks is, who is in that white castle above the clouds...
Angel, utterly astonished, replied to what Yabal had just said:
— But what are you talking about?