The leaves of the trees moved in the wind as if they were dancing, the sun shone on the forest just like every summer. The smell of fresh grass surrounding the meadow filled his lungs. Lying down, he felt his body touch the grass, it was a familiar sensation to his skin, relaxing and comfortable, that's what being home felt like. Clouds adorned the blue sky, he could see different shapes in the sky; a dog, a car, a ball. With his finger, he pointed out the shapes drawn in the sky as they disappeared while the clouds mixed together. After a few minutes, he could hear small steps approaching:
"Noah," a tender child's voice said.
"Luca," he said like a plea.
As he sat up, Noah could see his little brother Luca, a beautiful five-year-old boy, playing with a dandelion. His long eyelashes covered his golden eyes. His blond hair fell over his face like shooting stars crossing the sky. His small hands caressed the little flower, while he murmured something Noah couldn't understand. Suddenly, a feeling of nostalgia washed over his chest. He missed him so much, but why? He saw him every day.
"Luca," Noah whispered as he hugged him tightly.
Hand in hand, they crossed the forest. Luca ran happily, his laughter warming Noah's heart. In the distance, he could see his brother running among the trees. His blue outfit made him look like an angel who had escaped from paradise. With a smile on his lips, Luca looked at Noah from the top of a tiny hill. His thick eyebrows shone as the sun's rays intermittently filtered through the treetops.
Suddenly, everything began to darken. Thunder could be heard, and the rain began to fall on them mercilessly. A feeling of urgency began to grow in Noah's chest. He had to get his brother to safety, but Luca was far away, farther and farther. He didn't stop running, his cute clothes ruined by the rain.
"Luca!" he shouted desperately, but Luca didn't seem to hear him.
"Luca, please stop!" he yelled with all his might as the rain pounded him and blurred his vision. The anxiety in his chest slowly took over his heart.
Noah ran as fast as his legs could carry him, but he seemed to fall every few steps. His hands were hurt, his clothes covered in mud. Hot tears streamed down his face; he ran, fell, ran, and fell again until his brother disappeared from his sight.
Upon leaving the forest, he could see his brother's inert body lying on the ground. With small steps, feeling his legs heavy, Noah approached his brother, who lay still on the ground. His clothes were wet and covered in mud, his wet and tangled hair had lost all its shine, his golden eyes stared lifelessly, his brother was no longer breathing.
"Noah," Luca's voice whispered.
With a jolt, Noah woke up, tears running quickly down his face.
It was the third time that week he had dreamed of Luca. The apartment was completely silent. It was another cold November dawn. The streetlights filtered through the windows, small rays of light entering the room, dimly illuminating his room. He could only hear his own breathing, while tears continued to stream down his face.
"Luca, you don't know how much I miss you," escaped his lips in a whisper.
"I would have given anything to say goodbye to you and tell you I love you one last time."
With those words, Noah curled up in his bed and cried until he fell asleep…
***
The next morning, Noah got up slowly and went to the sink. He saw his face in the mirror and sighed. His eyes were swollen, he had dark circles, and his hair looked like a bird's nest. Resigned, he took a cold shower and applied an internet trick to reduce the swelling of his eyes. He wasn't happy with the results, but there was nothing else he could do.
Later, he drank some tea and ate some toast. While eating reluctantly, he watched an old TV show and got lost in his thoughts. When he was about to bite into the second piece of toast spread with jam, someone knocked on his apartment door.
Hurriedly, he got up from the floor and ran to the door. It was probably the landlord who needed something; no one usually visited him except Kai.
"Hello," Noah said as he opened the door.
"What happened to your face?" was the first thing Kai said after leaving his shoes at the entrance of the apartment. He was carrying several bags.
"Who invited you?" Noah added with a reproachful tone.
"I just wanted to see my best friend. I brought food," Kai said, raising the bags he was holding. "Ugh," Noah groaned, rolling his eyes.
Kai left the bags in the small kitchen of the apartment and lay down on Noah's bed with a smile on his face, making himself comfortable. His brown hair was a mess as always. He was wearing a white t-shirt and black pants. Dressed like that, he looked younger than usual, his rosy cheeks glowing, which irritated Noah even more.
"You only brought junk food and soda. Are we ten years old?" Noah shouted from the kitchen as he took things out of the bags.
"Umm," Kai always did the same thing, buying a bunch of junk food and pretending it was food. "I'm going to the store. We can't eat this, or we'll die."
"I'll go with you," Kai added and jumped up, looking like a dog about to go for a walk.
"You're annoying."
"But you adore me," Kai said as he hugged Noah and laughed.
It was a quiet morning, only a few people walked along the narrow streets near Noah's apartment. The sun shone dimly, the wind making his cheeks feel frozen. There probably wouldn't be any more sunny days that year. Kai walked happily with his arm around Noah while he talked about his latest literary obsession. They both went to the store and bought a lot of ingredients. Kai, as usual, sneaked in a couple of puddings and chocolates. Together, they walked back to Noah's apartment.
"Your stomach will hurt," Noah teased.
"I'll only eat one, I promise," Kai added, giving him puppy-dog eyes.
"Why did you come over?"
"I don't know, I wanted to hang out and also invite you to the festival tomorrow."
"Oh… I don't think I'll go. There will be too many people."
"Please, let's just go for a little while." No one could refuse his beautiful puppy-dog eyes.
"Okay, okay, but you're paying for the food."
"Yessss!" Kai celebrated exaggeratedly. "I want to try those trendy corn dogs; they look delicious." "You have to stop eating so much junk, Kai," Noah added, ruffling his hair.
They both talked the rest of the way about work and a stupid game Kai had become obsessed with. Noah pretended to pay attention, but he didn't understand half of what Kai said. That day, Kai stayed for lunch, dinner, and then suspiciously fell asleep on Noah's couch, so Noah felt bad asking him to leave. The night was cold, and having him at home kept the memories of his horrible nightmares away.