A Purple Winter by Mel Bossa

Author:Mel Bossa [Bossa, Mel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2017-12-04T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 16

The river bank was frozen, the water fixed in time.

What day was it? Friday? Why wasn’t I at school?

I sat on a park bench by a desolate playground, facing the Saint-Lawrence River. I was numb and shivering under my coat. Where was Nick? He’d tell me he’d be there one day, and then wasn’t. The days and nights passed, but I never was sure of where I stood and what was real or imagined. His kiss on my lips. His words in my ear. He had the bluest eyes in the world.

Blue. Like the Aegean Sea. But I’d never even been to Greece. Never set foot on a beach. Maybe I’d read about it in some book Aunt Fran had given me.

What was happening to me?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a black figure coming closer and closer on the path. Somehow I wasn’t surprised to see David’s pale face watching me over the uplifted collar of his long black coat. His eyes, black and bottomless as a well, looked right at me. His expression was like an apparition in a mirror. “What are you doing here, Lucky?”

Yes, what was I doing here? Suddenly, I was warm and alive again. I smiled and waved at him.

“You’re skipping school, aren’t you?” David stood right above me, the wind lifting his cologne through the air. “Me thinks our little boy is sowing his wild oaths.”

“Wha—at are you d—doing here?”

David looked at the river. There were black circles under his eyes. “Making sure you don’t get lost.”

“What?” I stood and came face to face with him.

He looked away. “I fucked up, Lucky.” His eyes brimmed with tears, but he quickly ran a gloved hand over them and cracked a caustic smile.

With a fingertip, I skimmed the edge of his shoulder. I wanted to hug him. To give him solace or peace. But I was too scared of his reaction.

Then he walked away.

“David!” I called out with such urgency, my own tone surprised me. “Wait!”

He walked on for a few more seconds, but finally stopped and turned around, shooting me a hard glance. “What do you want?”

I hesitated, the confession dancing on my tongue. “T—to be your friend.”

David’s jaw tightened as though I’d shoved him. Slowly, his features changed and a subtle smile appeared on his face. “Am I not your foe, little boy?”

I stepped up to him, never looking away from his face. “No…”

“Ah, so you’re changing the story. All right…We’ll do it your way for a while. I could use a friend right about now.” He frowned and threw his arm around my shoulder. “Okay, Lucky, let’s go then. Let’s take a walk.”

I wanted to ask him where, then realized it didn’t matter to me either way.

* * * *

“You know, people without roots are like leaves in the wind.” David jumped, spreading his thighs in mid-air, and then landed on the tips of his black hard-toe ballet shoes, spinning on himself, once, twice—I lost track. “You and I, we seek.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.