3
Chapter 3
At the end of the evening Huguel and Mireille bid their friends goodnight and head home, they walk through the square and turn right onto the path that leads to their house. It's late already, they both know that their parents will be asleep so they decide not to disturb them. They enter the house quietly, their dad is sitting on his chair reading, the light is still on in their living room but they can barely make out his silhouette. They both sneak into their bedroom to get ready for bed, Huguel undresses and goes to wash his face before brushing his teeth. Mireille gets dressed slowly taking her time, sometimes she likes doing things more leisurely, she knows that she will be tired in the morning. After brushing her teeth, she climbs onto her bed and pulls the covers over her head. In seconds she is fast asleep, her breathing sounds peaceful.
Huguel slips into bed beside his sister and lies there silently watching her sleep, admiring her beauty, even though she is not aware of what is happening around her. He reaches out for her hand, she smiles slightly and turns her body so her side faces him. Huguel rests his hand softly against her forehead and checks her temperature, she is warm, she must have eaten something before they left for the festival, he thinks to himself. She has a slight fever, he is relieved and happy about that, at least she won't suffer any further sicknesses tonight. She doesn't seem sick and he worries, but when he thinks about the danger she may encounter and what will happen if she falls ill he calms down. There is no need to worry anymore; nothing will happen to her. She sleeps peacefully as always and Huguel closes his eyes, hoping that everything will be fine in the end.
After an hour, Huguel wakes suddenly and opens his eyes to see his sister shaking, crying. Huguel jumps out of bed and helps her climb out of bed. "Oh, my God, Mireille," he calls as he rushes to her side and holds her hand while helping her stand, "what happened?" Her legs wobble but she manages to stay upright. She shakes her head and wipes away the tears streaming down her face. Huguel hugs her tightly while stroking her hair, comforting her and asking her why she is crying, why couldn't she just rest? "Don't cry, I am here," he whispers into her ear as they stand in the middle of the hallway, she nods slightly and wraps her arms tighter around him; they stand that way until they hear the front door open and slam shut. Mireille lets go of Huguel and moves away from him slightly so he can see his mom standing in the doorway.
"Did you have a good time?" She asks softly as she walks towards them and gives both of them reassuring smiles. Mireille nods and smiles weakly. "Good, good, I hope we didn't wake anyone up." She replies before walking past both of them, leaving them behind. She heads to her own room, humming lightly to herself. The two siblings stay outside the hall, staring after her worriedly as soon as they hear her doors shut.
They continue to stare at the closed door for several minutes as they try to figure out how everything happened. Huguel sighs and looks at Mireille; she is still wearing his old necklace and he frowns, confused because he has given it to her ages ago, it wasn't even hers when they started dating. "What do you think?" He asks his little sister, she smiles sadly and shrugs her shoulders. "I guess we'll never know," she murmurs.
"Yeah… we never will."
The next few days pass uneventfully, Mireille continues to attend the festival and spend time with her friends, although she wishes it wasn't so cold, it's nice to feel warm and protected when she isn't outside, especially in winter.