I heard a furious scream tearing through the air outside. Trembling, I opened the gate to my garden and there, in the shadowed corner, I saw Raphael standing beside his father, who shouted with furious indignation. The villagers sought to cast them out, deeming them unworthy of this place—mere merchants, without the rank or standing of the rest—and perhaps for other reasons too, unspoken and dark.
I, a frightened adolescent, dared not ask a single question. A week passed, and I saw Raphael and his family departing the village, their figures swallowed by the road, while every gaze in the settlement followed them with cold, judgmental scrutiny.
My mind reeled with silent anguish. Raphael… I do not wish for you to leave.
When his eyes met mine, there was a strange, inscrutable expression upon his face—I could not tell if it was anger or sorrow. And I wondered, with a pang in my chest, had his father been the cause of it all?
I knew well that my father had never held Raphael nor his family in any favor, much like the rest of the villagers, who prided themselves upon their lofty standing. Raphael and his kin possessed no such rank among them. Yet I could not help but wonder—did they truly deserve such cruelty?
That night, I retreated to my chamber and collapsed upon my bed, tears falling freely until sleep at last claimed me. I had always loved to play with Raphael, more than with any other soul in that cold village.
But was it merely the joy of childish games that bound my heart to his… or was it something deeper—something unspoken, a tender feeling I scarcely dared to name?
As the years passed, I grew into a young woman attending university. Fate had altered the course of all our lives—most of the villagers had abandoned the cold settlement, fleeing to the cities, while my father clung stubbornly to the old village. Only a few residents remained, and my father's financial standing had dwindled so severely that we could scarcely afford our own necessities.
Raphael, meanwhile, had risen to fame as a celebrated actor, his visage adorning every advertisement, beloved by the public and adored by all who glimpsed him.
I, however, left my father behind and moved to the city, drawn by the promise of my university. I rented a modest home alone and labored tirelessly to provide for both my personal needs and my tuition, striving to carve a life of independence amidst the bustling streets far from the frost-bound village of my youth.