2

Chapter 2

Huguel

They stare at the young man sitting alone in the corner, he is leaning forward with his elbows resting on the table as he looks out the window and watches people pass by. He appears lost in thought, he is wearing sunglasses and a black mask but they can still see his face clearly. They are familiar with his face because they saw it everywhere, in pictures, on TV, and in the paper.

Everyone wants to get close to the mystery man, especially children, they have never seen him before and have heard rumors about him but nothing concrete. They know his name from all the news reports and tabloids, they know he spends most nights in his room with his laptop, which he rarely uses except to write, they know he lives alone so he cannot be the kind of guy that makes trouble, or maybe he is dangerous? They don't really know but they've heard that he can disappear and reappear whenever the mood strikes him.

There isn't much that they know about him except that he is quiet and mysterious, and they wonder whether they should approach him or wait. Most of them agree with their friends that they shouldn't approach someone like him, they should give him space and observe him carefully; however, there is one person who has been watching the whole time and now stands next to him as he waits. She doesn't speak, only watches the man quietly, she is curious of him as well. His appearance seems normal enough; his hair is dark brown and long but neatly cut with his bangs falling into his face, his face and clothes are plain but clean. She notices him fiddling with something on his neck and she frowns, she feels sorry for him, he seems lonely and sad. She tries to get closer so they will be able to speak in private.

He notices her approaching and turns to see her standing in front of him and smiles, although she sees sadness in his eyes she returns the smile and says hello.

"Hello," he greets with a soft voice, she is surprised at the sound of it; she can hear the accent. She decides not to comment on it and tells him her name. "Nice to meet you."

It occurs to her that he could be homeless, homeless and hurt and she can't imagine someone hurting someone like him, he looks young. She hopes he doesn't mind her talking to him. He gives her a questioning look. She laughs nervously and starts to speak, "Um, I was wondering... if I could ask you..." she stutters trying to find the right words.

"You're wondering if you could touch my necklace, yes?" He finishes and she nods quickly, feeling embarrassed. "Go ahead."

She looks at the necklace and takes it off before handing it to him. The second he grabs it from her hand, he lets out a sigh of relief, he knew it would end up being her and that made him nervous, it was a risk to let her hold it. "Thank you," he whispers and puts the necklace on, it is warm to the touch, he doesn't want to take it off but he needs it on and besides if he doesn't, people might start thinking he has some sort of fetish for jewellery. He looks back over to see a small girl looking at him curiously, he smiles and motions for her to come over. She approaches cautiously and sits next to him, he places an arm around her shoulder while giving her a smile. "You're cute." She blushes and looks away, looking embarrassed. He grins and looks back over at his friend. "This is my daughter, Mireille."

"Mireille," she mumbles shyly and smiles a shy smile.

"How's your day going?" He asks looking at the ground, he wonders if he should start getting to know her, how to act around her. "Have you had fun?" He asks again, she nods, smiling. He continues. "Well, I'm glad, I'm glad you're having fun with me." The two exchange glances; he does seem to like talking to her. She doesn't want to embarrass herself and keep him waiting. "Are you hungry? Did you eat yet?" He looks at her and she nods again. He chuckles and holds his hands out in a gesture for her to follow him and he stands. He grabs her hand and leads her into the center of the community and stops, turning toward Mireille. "Do you wanna go play?" He asks pointing at the children running and jumping around with each other while throwing snowballs.

She nods excitedly and follows him, she loves to play and she knows he's going to let her win so she will be sure to beat him, he can't cheat!

The sun has just finished setting so most of the villagers aren't home yet, they have already begun their celebrations and the sun sets earlier than usual so they need to finish setting up first to save time. They sit together under one of the trees at the edge of the crowd and wait for the night to settle in, the moon hangs high above the horizon, shining bright.

Mireille and Huguel share stories from their childhood and laugh, they enjoy having each other's company. Their laughter fills the silence surrounding the entire community and the wind chimes hanging around the tree branch sway gently in response to their voices.