Work Text:
Alhaitham had been planning to move to the countryside again where he grew up for some time now. After his grandmother died, he moved out because everything reminded him of her and he couldn't come to terms with the fact that she was gone forever.
He gave the house to a neighbor who was a good friend of hers. Her daughter was expecting a child, so she and her husband moved in, paying a rent to Alhaitham, of course, despite the fact that he didn't want any money. He just wanted that if he ever came back, his room would be untouched and the same as when he moved out.
They agreed to this and locked the room with several locks, giving the keys to Alhaitham as confirmation. There was a time when he wasn't sure if he would ever return there, but fate had other plans.
The couple decided that it would be better to move to the city because everything was far away and the only normal means of transport were trains. However, not the modern ones, but the old ones, powered by coal. The residents did not want to agree to the changes proposed by the nearby town.
This was due to the fact that these villages were inhabited mainly by older people who were very attached to such things. Part of the reason was to commemorate an accident that happened a long time ago, but it was still part of local history.
Alhaitham didn't delve into such things because they didn't interest him much. He wasn't surprised when his neighbor called him, but he didn't expect the couple to want to sell his house. They did not have the documents needed for legal sale. Alhaitham gave them to the old lady when he handed over the house.
It turned out they had argued with her about it because she refused to give it to them. Her daughter was furious and accused her of betraying her family. Only then did she realize her daughter had changed and called the police when her daughter's husband broke her window with a brick.
Alhaitham packed up and came back to the village and assured his neighbour that everything would be fine and he could even pay for the window repair. At first she didn't want to agree to it, but she thanked him for his kindness.
He didn't have much belongings, and most of them were clothes and household items. When he'd left this place, it had been fully furnished, but now some things were missing. While he hoped they had simply moved it to the attic or garage, logically he doubted it, considering how the family had been behaving lately.
He went upstairs to check out his room, but the moment he saw the broken locks, scratched door, and several holes in it, he knew the inside wouldn't look any better. He opened the door and, as he expected, everything was in a terrible state.
Most of the books lay on the floor, colored in with crayons and with pages torn off. The once green walls were now smeared with multicolored paints. The cabinets, shelves, and desk were scratched and damaged, and his old bed was only a frame, with no mattress or pillows. Clothes scattered on the ground and partly as if burned.
In short, this room was a disaster. He could have called the police and reported it, but he didn't want to drag himself through the courts. At most, he'd get his money back, not the lost items, so that was useless.
He was lucky that he gave all the albums and mementos to his neighbor, otherwise he would have nothing to reminisce his grandmother. He looked at it for a moment longer, then went out and closed the door, which was barely hanging on its hinges.
He walked around the rest of the house, and it seemed in good condition. Most of the old furniture was still there, so he didn't have to worry about getting new ones. He sat on the couch in the living room and looked out the large sliding glass door. There used to be only two larger windows through which he and his grandmother looked out onto the garden.
Now instead of a garden there was a patio, that's another change. Nothing reminded him of the old days, and even though he wasn't a nostalgic person, he felt a slight pang in his heart, knowing it would never come back.
He layed there for a while and then he heard his phone ringing so he got up. His boss called him. At first, he wanted to just leave it at that and pretend he was busy, but he never calls on weekends or after hours unless it's important.
"Yes?" He asked, putting the phone to his ear. His voice was a little hoarse, but he cleared his throat and repeated it. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry to call at this hour, but could you come over for a moment today?" He heard the voice of his boss, who was obviously quite desperate. Unfortunately, Alhaitham had to destroy his hope.
"I'm not home right now."
"Really?" He asked, clearly surprised. Anyone who had known Alhaitham for more than five minutes knew he didn't go out often, and when he did, it was with unwillingness.
Before he could ask where he was, Alhaitham replied. "I'm moving, I'm in my home village."
"Moving?" The boss sighed, and then silence fell between them, and when he was about to hang up, he spoke again. "So that means you want to work completely remotely? I can arrange that for you."
"That would be nice, thank you very much." He said, sitting back down on the couch.
They talked for a while longer, and his boss spoke more about the terms of switching to full online work. Alhaitham was already working from home most of the time, so now at least he didn't have to go out at all. The entire conversation lasted about half an hour because he had to hear each sub-point and familiarize himself with it so that there was no chance he would not know something.
Halfway through he simply stopped listening and busied himself with unpacking his things. For now, he couldn't sleep in his old room, so he had to go to the guest room, where the couple slept. He really didn't want to, but it was better than sleeping on the couch.
"Okay, I understand, goodbye." Alhaitham said and hung up, placing the phone on the coffee table in front of the sofa. He was about to relax, but this time he was interrupted by the doorbell.
He opened the door and saw his neighbor with a rather large bag. "Can I come in?" Alhaitham nodded and let her in. She went first to the kitchen and placed the bag on the counter. "You've grown since I last saw you."
"I was young then." He replied, then followed her, looking at what she was pulling out. It was a variety of preserves, canned goods, and some frozen soups.
"You'll come tomorrow for all the documents and albums, just not in the morning, because I like to sleep in late." She chuckled, putting food into the empty fridge and freezer. "And the store nearby is looking for employees. I told them you'd be interested. It's the best way to meet new people."
"Ma'am, I already have a job, I don't need a second one."
"Why don't you call me grandma? You used to have no problem with that." She said, a little disappointed, and looked at him. She still had that nice smile of hers, that characteristic of older people, but she showed that it hurt her.
Silence reigned between them for a moment. It felt strange to be calling that someone else when his real grandmother was dead. True, he used to call her that, but there were still times when he couldn't come to terms with this situation.
However, he could have tried to call her that at least once, at least once to call her grandma.
"You know you don't have to force yourself, you can also call me by my name, you haven't forgotten that, have you?"
"No, of course not." He replied and thought about it for a second. "Isabell."
The woman sighed but smiled and closed the refrigerator, turning to Alhaitham. She wasn't disappointed, but it wasn't what she'd hoped for. She understood, though, why he'd been so reluctant. No one could replace that one person who had cared for him for most of his life.
Although she hoped to hear those words from his lips again someday, she knew it wouldn't happen anytime soon. "At least look into this job, they desperately need workers and it's a small shop, so you won't have much work."
"Okay, I'll go there tomorrow."
"That's a good boy." She said, folding her bag and heading towards the door. "Sorry, but you know, my favorite movie is on tonight, I can't stay long."
Alhaitham nodded and then said goodbye to her, promising that he would definitely come back tomorrow to pick up all the things, but after work, or rather after the job interview. He wanted to go back to the couch, but things wouldn't unpack themselves. He went to the guest room, which was closest to the bathroom, and started arranging his things.
He put most of his clothes in the closet and organized his books on the shelf. He replaced the bedding with new ones and threw the old ones into the laundry basket in the bathroom.
He had lived alone for a long time and liked it very much because no one ever bothered him, but when he came back here he felt that something was different. The silence was deafening and uncomfortable, but he couldn't help it because his noise-canceling headphones would only make it worse.
He could have read a book to himself before bed, but he was too tired to do so. He couldn't quite describe the feeling. He seemed to want to sleep, but something prevented him from doing so. He lay on his back and stared at the ceiling, trying to clear his brain of all thoughts.
He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again when he felt a shiver run through his body. He grabbed his phone and checked the time. It was almost 2 a.m., and he couldn't sleep. He knew the screen would only make it worse, but he started looking through his gallery, where he had some old photos.
He wasn't a sentimental person, but when he thought back to those times, he felt a warmth in his heart. He yawned, then rubbed his eyes with his hand and felt his cheeks getting wet. He wiped them away quickly and turned on his side.
"Goodnight, sleep well," he said to himself, just like his grandmother used to do. He closed his eyes and forced himself to fall asleep. If it was going to be like this every night, then he shouldn't have come back here and just rented the house to someone.
He couldn't say whether what he had dreamed was a dream or a nightmare. He met several people there whom he didn't know at all, but they looked like they obviously knew him very well. He went with them wherever they wanted, but every now and then each of them started to disappear.
There was one person left whose face he couldn't recognise but his silhouette resembled that of a young boy. He was wearing a green school uniform and carrying books. He was saying something to him, but his speech was not at all recognizable.
After a moment, his smile turned into discomfort, or perhaps disgust. Then he saw tears streaming down his face, but he couldn't see his expression. He didn't understand why, but he couldn't do anything about it. The boy ran away from him, throwing his books on the ground.
Alhaitham stood there until his sleep began to fade. He heard a soft melody playing from his phone. It was his alarm clock, meaning he'd slept through the night and he didn't wake up as he had previously assumed. He didn't feel like getting up because he hadn't gotten enough sleep. If he were at home, he probably would have continued sleeping, but it would take him a while to get to the store where he had to talk to the owner.
He ignored all the messages from people at work, who probably just found out he'd moved. He didn't really care what they thought, so he wasn't going to draw attention to it. He got out of bed and went straight to the kitchen to eat something. He would also have to do some shopping while he was there.
He didn't really feel like making anything fancy, so he ate some plain sandwiches and went to the bathroom to get ready. He took a quick shower, then brushed his teeth and fixed his messy hair.
He packed his bag, putting his laptop and headphones in it, along with a few handy things like tissues and a bottle of water. He turned on the location on his phone and found the nearest train station. It wasn't that far, but he'd still get there by car.
He could have driven to the store, but he would have had to drive around because his car was not designed for driving on such terrain. There was a high chance that it would simply not be able to get out of the hole or would get stuck in the mud, because most of the roads were old. These were dirt roads because it was not profitable to build new ones since most of the old people did not have driving licenses anyway.
Besides, he hadn't traveled by train for a long time and this option was cheaper. And he will be able to take care of his main job at the same time.
He locked the door and made sure he hadn't left anything unlocked. He knew that even if the couple returned, they wouldn't hesitate to break a window or break down the door, but he did it out of habit. He got into the car and turned on the radio.
It didn't take him long to get to the station, which didn't have much space to park, so he parked somewhere nearby on the grass and hoped that nothing would happen to the car. Here the good road ended and a dirt road began, which had clearly been unused for a long time.
The thing is that most people have small gardens next to their houses, not hectare-long fields for which it would be best to have some equipment. So over time these roads become more and more overgrown and less visible.
He bought a ticket and sat on a bench, waiting for his train. There was no signal here, so he couldn't do anything on his phone, and his the pendrive that provided him with internet was only suitable for a laptop.
He didn't see many people there, so he hoped the train would also be fairly empty and he wouldn't have to listen to other people shouting or talking.
He entered and was immediately greeted by the conductor, who validated his ticket and wished him a pleasant journey. This train had carriages divided into cabins, which he immediately liked because he would have at least some privacy.
The first three were full, and the fourth had only one person. He wanted to move on to the next carriage, but the train started to move, and then he couldn't get in or out to a different one. He decided that since the last one was the emptiest, he would sit there and put on his noise-cancelling headphones.
He knocked and entered, catching the attention of the man who had been sitting with his nose buried in a newspaper. He smiled and invited him to sit across from him.
"Finally someone came here, I thought I'd be sitting alone again." He said happily, placing his newspaper on the table dividing the seats. "I'm Kaveh."
Alhaitham raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, just sat down in the chair and placed his bag next to him, taking out his laptop.
"Hey, can you hear me?" He asked, slightly surprised that he hadn't spoken to him at all. "Or maybe you're deaf?" He added after a moment, and Alhaitham looked up at him.
"I'm not, I just don't like talking to strangers unless I have to." He replied in a bored voice, but seeing the disappointment on his face, he sighed and introduced himself. "Alhaitham."
"There you go!" Kaveh said and leaned over to pat him on the shoulder. Alhaitham then had some time to look at him. He had noticed his golden blond hair at first, but now he noticed that he had red eyes that complemented each other very nicely.
However, when he saw how he was dressed, he was a little surprised. He looked very young, maybe around his age, but the clothes looked like they were from a bygone era. Kaveh must have noticed his intense gaze on him, so he laughed and sat back down in his seat with a smile.
"They're nice, aren't they? I bought them recently." He declared proudly, shaking off his invisible dust as if to show off his new clothes even more.
Alhaitham wanted to comment on how they looked a bit old-fashioned, but he could find something pleasant about them, something that reminded him of some old memory, but he had no idea which. "Yes, they are." He replied, nodding.
Kaveh smiled even wider, then began to observe what he was doing. He glanced between his laptop and his phone, as if trying to understand what it was but not wanting to ask. He leaned on his elbows, putting his face in his hands.
Alhaitham felt a bit distracted as Kaveh stared at him as if he were some painting in a museum. It was a strange feeling he hadn't yet gotten used to. Sure, people often looked at him, but this time it was different. At first he tried to pretend it didn't bother him, but the longer he saw his glare on him, the more awkward it felt. Mainly because neither of them spoke, even though Kaveh looked like he was about to explode if he didn't.
"What is it?" Alhaitham finally asked, looking up from his laptop but not closing it.
"What are you doing?"
"Working." He replied and sighed, returning to his previous task, but this answer clearly didn't satisfy Kaveh enough to not want to continue the conversation.
"You're working?" Kaveh said, slightly surprised, leaning back in the train seat and folding his arms across his chest. "I'm still studying."
Alhaitham finally turned off his laptop and put it in his bag, since he wouldn't be able to finish the project in peace anyway. "I've already finished collage."
"So how old are you?"
"23." Alhaitham answered, glancing at his phone to see if he had even a single bar of signal, but when he looked out the window, he saw that they were actually in the middle of the fields. "And you?"
"Seriously?" Kaveh asked with wide eyes and disbelief. "I'm 25... so that means you're younger than me."
"Why are you so surprised? Do I look that old?" Alhaitham raised one eyebrow, looking straight into Kaveh's eyes to make him feel awkward but more in a playful way than in a malicious way.
However, he didn't expect Kaveh to laugh and smile. "Well, you may not look like it, but you sure act like an old man with a midlife crisis."
"And you conclude this based on what?"
"Because I have eyes." Kaveh smirked and sighed dramatically. "Look at you, at the beginning you said you don't talk to strangers unless you have to."
This caught Alhaitham off guard because he had actually just said that and he hadn't expected her to use it against him now. He rolled his eyes and looked at his phone again, this time to check the time. He didn't know what time he'd be at his station. He didn't even know where he was now, even though he should have some memories from his childhood.
Kaveh chuckled when Alhaitham did not answer him anymore and moved on to something else, but he said nothing and just watched his actions. They sat in silence for a while and when Kaveh was about to speak again, they heard the train whistle.
Alhaitham looked out the window at the name of the place where they were and then took out a piece of paper from his pocket on which he had written the address of the shop. Unfortunately, this wasn't his stop, so he still had to deal with the not-so-stranger-anymore. Even though Kaveh wasn't annoying, he still preferred to sit in silence.
"Oh, I wanted to ask. Have we met before?" Alhaitham looked back at him, trying to remember if he had ever seen him, but there was a black hole in his mind.
"No, I don't think so." He replied after a short while, putting the paper in his pocket.
"Maybe I confused you with someone else."
"Yeah, maybe."
Alhaitham knew Kaveh was trying to get him talking, but he had had enough of it for today. All he could do was answer questions or listen to him talk, but he preferred not to get involved in complicated conversations.
The train slowly moved off with another whistle. It was strange why no one was getting into that cabin, since they had just seen so many people getting on. He also saw people passing through the doors to further compartments.
He decided they simply didn't want to be a bother and picked up his phone, miraculously getting a single bar of signal and finally replied to several people's messages. Most of them were related to his moving out anyway, so he essentially sent everyone the same message.
"That's that?" He heard Kaveh's voice, who was looking at his phone curiously as if he had never seen one before.
"This?" He asked to be sure, showing him his phone, to which Kaveh nodded. "A phone?" He replied, a little confused.
"Really?"
"I understand you're old and you live here, but seriously, have you never seen a phone?"
"Okay, I'm only two years older!" He grunted in dissatisfaction, folding his arms across his chest, and then fell forward onto the table as the train stopped suddenly and only then whistled for the next stop.
Alhaitham stood up and gathered his things. When he pulled the handle and opened the door, he saw several elderly people looking at him in a judgmental manner.
"Bye! See ya!" Kaveh said goodbye and Alhaitham turned towards him for a moment.
"Yeah, goodbye."
As he turned again and started to exit the train, he heard several people whispering about him and, not so discreetly, staring at him and pointing. He didn't understand what they were talking about so he just ignored them and finally put on his noise-canceling headphones.
However, before that happened, he accidentally heard the words "madman", "freak" and "lunatic" thrown at him, and these people didn't even hide it. He sighed and moved towards the more residential part where the shop where he was supposed to work was located.
He remembered going here often with his grandmother, but now it looked completely different. Everything seemed more forgotten, even though there were still some people living here. This village was once a town, which is why it is so vast, but Alhaitham did not know why it suddenly became depopulated.
Recently, it is clearly visible that people are increasingly returning to the countryside or suburbs to escape the hustle and bustle of the city. In this case, even people of working age are leaving, leaving older people to fend for themselves.
But he didn't recognize anyone here, and every new face he saw was unfamiliar. He thought he'd see a few of his grandmother's friends, but maybe they, too, had moved away or were dead. Or he just hasn't met them yet.
He also saw many children running on the roads and streets as traffic was almost non-existent. He entered a small promenade and immediately spotted the shop he was looking for. He slowly walked in that direction and noticed an elderly man sitting in front of the entrance.
He took off his headphones and stepped closer. "Good morning, sir, Mrs. Isabelle sent me here."
"Oh, so you must be Alhaitham." He said in a hoarse voice, then stood up and offered him his hand, which Alhaitham immediately grabbed and shook. "I'll show you what you'll do."
Alhaitham nodded and followed him. The man showed him the back office and how to operate the cash register. He also showed him when deliveries were due and how much his salary would be. He wasn't particularly keen on the money, but he took it.
He stood behind the cash register, occasionally checking his phone to make sure he hadn't received any new projects or orders. The only messages he received were those from his friends from work, which he left on read anyway. He didn't understand why they wrote to him since he always said he had no intention of deepening his relationship with them. At least now he won't have to deal with them since he won't be seeing them anytime soon anyway.
Some time passed and only a few people showed up, but since it was the middle of the week, he wasn't surprised. He bought some food and supplies himself. The man let him out early so he could look around for things he needed.
He finished with two bags and headed back to the station. He bought another ticket and sat down to wait for his train to arrive. He looked at the ticket and then at his phone to find out how long the wait would be.
There was no signal at all here, so he couldn't even watch anything. He put on his noise-cancelling headphones and when he saw that it had finally arrived, he grabbed both bags and with a faster step he moved inside.
He looked through the small window in the door to see if the cabin was empty and again the first ones were occupied and the last one was empty, so he sat there again. This time he didn't meet Kaveh, so he pulled out his laptop and occupied himself with moving forward with one of the projects.
The return home was peaceful, although not as quick as he had hoped. Luckily, his car was still there, so he packed his stuff into the backseat and pulled out onto the road. He met one or two cars along the way without really paying attention to them.
He parked at the garage and closed the entrance gate. He went inside and unpacked everything from the cabinets. He lay on the couch for a while and pondered again until he fell asleep. He still had to wash up, but it was too late, he was already deep in his sleep.
He dreamed again of the same boy who had been running away earlier, now with a smile on his face. He still had no idea who it was, but he could see a few more details. He had blond hair and was a little shorter than him. For a moment, he thought it was Kaveh, but maybe that was just his mind playing tricks on him.
Maybe it's just that he remembered him now and that's why he's adding random details. Besides, he dreamed about him yesterday, before he met Kaveh, so there's no way it was him. This time he was smiling and standing next to him, walking beside him and saying something, but Alhaitham did not understand the language.
After a while, they entered a room and the boy pushed him, then sat on him and kissed him. But Alhaitham felt nothing, not even his weight on him. They stayed like that for a while until the door opened and a woman walked in. The boy immediately moved away from him and stood up.
The woman shouted at them and grabbed the boy by the hand, leading him away and leaving Alhaitham alone. He sat like that for a while until he finally felt himself waking up. He was still on the couch and the sun was already starting to rise outside the window.
He rubbed his eyes and sat up. He picked up his phone and tried to check the time, but it turned out his phone was dead, having not plugged it in yesterday. He got up from the couch and went straight to the bathroom to wash up. He undressed and stepped into the shower. Then he remembered the dream and felt something strange in his lower body.
He looked down and didn't expect it to give him a hard-on. He coughed, then turned the water to cold and grabbed his cock, slowly moving his hand. He closed his eyes, and a moment later Kaveh's face appeared before his eyes. He was surprised by his own actions and opened his eyes, pulling his hand away.
He pushed his hair back and took a deep breath. He swallowed and cursed, then leaned against the wall and thought for a moment about what had just happened. He'd only seen Kaveh once in his life, so why did he even think of him while jerking off when it wasn't even him who was in his dream?
He composed himself and stepped out of the shower, looking in the mirror. He felt a little embarrassed by what he had done, or rather, was about to do. He quickly dried himself off and went to the kitchen for something to eat. He still had plenty of time before he had to leave, so he made himself a meat salad. He ate some and packed it into a lunch box, and put the rest in the fridge.
He unplugged his phone, which had been charging, and put it in his pocket, then went out and closed the door. He went to the station, bought his ticket, and waited for the train. This time, it was almost on time, so he didn't have to wait long.
He went inside and actually went straight to the fourth cabin, because, as he expected, the previous ones were full again. He opened the door and saw Kaveh sitting on one side, reading a newspaper.
"Oh, Alhaitham!" Kaveh greeted him with a wave and invited him to sit down, even though he was already placing his bag on the seat.
"Mhm." He muttered, then looked into his bag and noticed he hadn't brought his noise-canceling headphones or even his laptop. he earlier had a feeling his bag was too light, but ignored it. "Shit."
"What happened?" Kaveh asked, raising one eyebrow when he heard him curse.
"I forgot everything." He replied and put the bag back down. He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back, sighing heavily. "I left it at home.”
Alhaitham looked at Kaveh, straight in the eyes, then felt his ears getting red, so he turned his head and coughed. How could he even think of relieving himself by imagining Kaveh doing it with him? He felt strange and couldn't make eye contact with him.
Kaveh tilted his head slightly confused by his behavior, he didn't understand why he was acting like that and at first he wanted to ignore it, but when he started talking about some random things, it started to bother him. Alhaitham acted as if he was not listening to him at all and was thinking about something else.
Kaveh puffed out his cheeks and leaned forward over the table and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at him. "What's up with you?" He asked, a little annoyed and noticed the slightly noticeable blush on his face. "Are you embarrassed or sick?"
Alhaitham swallowed, not expecting such a gesture from him, and froze for a moment. "It's hot in here."
"Really? It's mid-September, the mornings aren't that warm." He said suspiciously, not taking his eyes off him, but moved away from him a little.
"Is this some kind of interrogation?"
"That might be if you don't tell me why you're not listening to me."
"I was listening to you the whole time."
Kaveh finally moved away and sat down normally, giving Alhaitham a moment.
"So?"
"You told me about the times when you went to primary school." Alhaitham replied, this time looking at him. He still couldn't get the image out of his mind. He didn't understand what was happening to him.
"Oh, you really did." Kaveh was slightly taken back by the fact that Alhaitham actually saw what he was talking about, but he was happy about it and smiled. "So now it's your turn."
Alhaitham thought for a moment, then sighed and finally broke down. "It's nothing interesting anyway. I went to school and finished it. High school and college. I studied physics and geophysics."
"That's it?" Kaveh muttered, dissatisfied with his short statement. He had expected something more, something more complicated, but he had only gotten three sentences. "You're boring."
"I warned you. I don't like sharing personal information."
"You're lucky I like doing that." He said boldly and sat more comfortably in his seat. "I hope you've heard about our beautiful school, Akademiya, right?
Alhaitham shook his head, not quite understanding what he was talking about. Even though he hadn't been here for a while, he doubted they would be able to build a new school so quickly. Especially in an aging place like that.
"What!? Seriously!?" He asked in shock, then shook his head in disbelief. "Then I'd be happy to tell you. We have a school where if you go there after primary school, you already have a place in college, but you have to choose the right profile."
Kaveh paused for a moment and waited to see if Alhaitham wanted to ask him any questions or say anything, and when he was sure that he did not, he continued.
"There were six departments, Amuta, they dealt with biology, evolution and so on, Rtawahist was mainly astronomy, those from Spantamad were dealing with chemistry and physics, they didn't really get along with those from Amuta." He explained, but that wasn't the end of it.
"Which one did you go to?" Alhaitham asked, cutting him off.
"I'll get to that in a moment." He replied with a smile. "Haravatat, or nerds, are monuments and linguistics, mainly extinct languages, then there's Vahumana, ugh I don't like them, they are too nosy. They deal with history and social sciences." He paused for a moment and smiled proudly. "And finally, we have my beloved Kshahrewar, where we deal with architecture and technology."
"And how is this supposed to work?" Alhaitham asked, a little confused.
"Are you stupid or are you pretending?" Kaveh sighed in frustration and dramatically placed his hand on his forehead. "A grown man doesn't know how faculties work."
Kaveh was about to continue talking, but the train whistled, indicating a stop, and it happened to be the one where Alhaitham was getting off.
Alhaitham stood up and grabbed his empty bag, then headed for the door. "See ya!" He heard Kaveh's voice and quietly muttered goodbye. Once again, the older people's gazes on him were unavoidable.
He went in the same direction as last time and then remembered that he was supposed to go to the neighbor to get his albums and other things. He completely forgot about it, so he'll have to come over today. He'll buy her some cookies as an apology.
He went to work and again sat doing nothing most of the time because there were so few customers. Now that he thought about it, maybe the man didn't need help at all. Maybe it was just Isabelle who asked if he could take him there and he simply didn't want to refuse. However, he preferred to simply keep silent about it. He didn't want to upset her since she was so excited about it.
When his shift ended, he asked where the nearest bakery was and went over to buy something sweet. He studied the place for a moment and recognized it. He remembered that a good friend of his grandmother's worked there and often gave him candy. He didn't know if she remembered him because some time had passed.
He went inside and his entrance was announced by small bells on top of the door. An elderly woman came out from behind the counter and greeted him with a smile. "Hello, how can I help you?"
"I need some homemade cookies." He replied, standing in front of the counter, looking at the baked goods on display, but nothing caught his attention.
"Cookies? Shortbread, sponge cake, gingerbread? I have a lot of them." She replied, looking him over carefully, scanning him from top to bottom, but she didn't comment.
Alhaitham thought for a moment. "Maybe a little of each." He replied, to which the woman laughed.
“For a girlfriend?” She asked, pulling out a small box and began to carefully place cookies inside.
"I don't have a girlfriend, it's for the neighbor."
"Oh? Do you like her?"
There was a slightly awkward silence between them as the question was asked. Alhaitham wasn't sure how to respond. "She's a friend of my late grandmother."
The woman froze for a moment, then looked at him again, examining him carefully. She looked like she was trying to remember something and it seemed she had succeeded. "Haitham?" She asked, and he nodded. "You've grown so much! I didn't recognize you!"
"Yes, because I'm an adult now." He replied, looking at his phone to check the time and not to miss the train, because then he would have to wait at least an hour, if not more.
The woman looked at him for a moment, then wrapped the cookies and handed them to him. He paid and thanked her, and just as he was about to leave, he heard her voice. "I hope you'll come over sometime to chat."
"Of course." He promised and left the store. He put the box in his empty bag. He slightly missed not being able to buy a ticket online, but there was nothing he could do about it.
His return journey was the same as before. He returned home, cleaned up a bit, and went to the neighbor. He rang the bell and didn't have to wait long, because a moment later an elderly woman appeared before his eyes. She wasn't surprised to see him. "What brings you here?"
"I forgot to come yesterday." He admitted and handed her a box of cookies, which she accepted with a smile.
She invited him in and went to look for the things he wanted. It didn't take her long, because a moment later she came back with an old box in her hands and placed it on the table in front of the sofa where Alhaitham was sitting. She didn't take anything out because she didn't know if he wanted to look through them now or later.
"Where is Akademiya?" He asked this completely out of context because he remembered it and it interested him a bit.
"Akademiya?" She asked to make sure and when Alhaitham nodded in confirmation, she thought for a moment. "Where did you hear about this?"
"From a friend." He replied, but he didn't quite recognize Kaveh as a friend. He was still more like a stranger to him, but something was drawing him towards him. "He said goes to school there."
"Really? This school has long been... decommissioned."
"What do you mean?" He asked, frowning. How could that be possible, since Kaveh said he is attending that school?
"It was destroyed about twenty years ago. The situation was still unstable at that time and hostile people smuggled bombs inside and blew up the entire building." Isabella sighed heavily and then reached for two cookies, ate one herself and gave the other to Alhaitham. "There was no money for reconstruction back then, so to this day this school remains a ruin and is becoming more and more forgotten."
"And my parents... studied there?"
"Of course, your father wanted you to go to Haravatat like him." She laughed and helped herself to another cookie.
"How do you know that?"
"Your grandmother told me everything, she was my best friend after all."
They chatted a bit longer, but Alhaitham didn't ask any more about the Akademiya. Kaveh seemed increasingly suspicious to him. Perhaps he was just joking with him? But then he sounded too sincere for someone who would lie.
Alhaitham took the box and thanked her for his hospitality. It wasn't that late yet, so he decided to look through the things. He couldn't remember what was there when he put it all together. He sat down in the living room and opened it, then pulled out some old drawings and albums.
So much time has passed, and Alhaitham still thinks about his grandmother, with whom he grew up his entire life. He didn't remember his parents and only saw them in old black and white photographs. He opened one of the albums and looked at photos of his mother when she was not yet together with his father.
He was wearing his school uniform. The green and white dress that everyone who went there wore. On her head was a cap that looked more like a beret. She was in the foreground with a warm smile on her face and behind her stood a boy in the same outfit but he didn't look like he was having fun. This was his father when he lost in a school competition to her.
The further he turned the pages, the closer they seemed until he finally found a picture of them kissing. He smiled involuntarily, and felt his eyes sting. Even though he'd long since come to terms with it, whenever he saw photos of his family like this, he wanted to cry like a little baby. Maybe that's what he was and he was just pretending to be an adult.
People often said that he was emotionless. Which wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't a lie. He didn't like opening up to people. His grandmother always told him to keep a low profile and stay in the shadows. He was just quiet and didn't really want to start new relationships because he preferred to be alone.
But at a time like this, when he saw that his parents loved going out together and making new friends, he wanted to have that too. And then, in the evening, when he went to bed, he decided that this life was better and he didn't need anyone. Maybe he just told himself that all his life and the reality is different.
Maybe he will also find such a person someday or maybe he will just die alone.
Next came his drawings. His grandmother studied architecture, so she was at Kshahrewar, just like Kaveh. She once showed him how to design houses and he tried to make some himself, but they didn't quite work out. He read many books about it and learned all the basics, but he could not apply it in practice.
He was not an artist after all.
He also found two rings there, both set with beautiful green crystals. They were the same ones as Alhaitham's, which he received from his grandmother, only his was much bigger. He took them in his hand and looked at them for a moment before putting them back, closing the little box.
He won't have anyone to give it to anyway.
At the very bottom was his mother's diary, which he never opened. He didn't know if it was because he wasn't ready or because he wanted to respect her property. She started writing it from her first day at Akademiya. There she described how her days passed, about her friends and about one boy she liked. The later the date, the less she wrote, and when he got to the very end, he found a photo of her lying on a hospital bed with a baby in her arms.
The photo also included a man who had his hand outstretched and his wedding ring visible. There was one more sentence under the photo.
"This may be the end of my story, but the start of our journey, my little Alhaitham."
There was still a caption underneath, but it had been blurred, probably by his mother's tears, and now his own had flown to the same places.
He closed the diary and put it back in the box. He didn't feel like reminiscing anymore, so he went to get ready for work tomorrow, and this time he packed his laptop and noise-cancelling into his bag. He did his daily routine and went to bed so that he could wake up refreshed in the morning.
Luckily, today he managed to fall asleep without any problem and woke up well rested. So far, today looked like it was going to be a good day. He got ready and headed to the train station. He bought a ticket and headed for the fourth cabin. As he expected, Kaveh was already there reading a newspaper.
"Hello! Did you pack everything this time?"
"Yes, I did." He replied, sitting down on the seat. He pulled out his laptop and was about to put on his headphones as well, but when he saw Kaveh's excited smile, he sighed quietly and left them in his bag.
"Since it seems you're new here and don't know many things, I'd like to tell you some interesting facts." He announced, then leaned back comfortably as the train finally moved.
Alhaitham wanted to tell him that he grew up here, but decided to stay quiet and let him talk.
"Have you heard of the old legend about this train?" Kaveh asked to which Alhaitham shook his head and connected his internet pendrive to get to work. "Well, about a century ago this place was bustling with life and many people came here on vacation to take a break from the big cities. No pollution, no cars, just a nice and pleasant atmosphere."
Kaveh paused for a moment to make sure Alhaitham was still listening, then continued again. "This whole network of trains was the main mode of transportation in those days, unless you had a horse, which wasn't practical for long distances anyway, especially in bad weather. One day, when there was a large influx of passengers, there was an accident in which almost everyone on board died. Many talented people died in this cabin, that's why it's called the 'Dead Art'."
"I've never heard of that." Alhaitham said, looking at him for a moment. He raised one eyebrow, a little curious, but most of it was probably made up by older people who believe in superstitions.
"Yeah, because you're deaf." Kaveh rolled his eyes but continued his story. "Apparently, this cabin is haunted by these people and they want to bring about another disaster, but in the end, these are just ordinary souls without a physical form."
"And in the end, these are just stories without any evidence, people like such things and others fall for them."
"Maybe you're right, I told you it was just a legend." Kaveh shrugged and thought for a moment, trying to remember something. "And they say that the number four brings death, just a curiosity."
"I don't believe in such things, most of them are just stupid beliefs with no logic." Despite what he said, the concept of fate was still somewhere in his mind, but he wasn't going to tell him about it.
"You're so boring that there's actually something interesting about it."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Alhaitham replied and went back to working on the project, ignoring all the messages from people at work.
Kaveh began telling another story, which Alhaitham couldn't quite listen to. However, he saw the excited look on his face, which was, in a way, very satisfying. Before he knew it, he had to get off at his stop. He said goodbye to Kaveh and headed for the exit.
He had to admit, he could get used to this kind of life. Everything was in perfect routine and without any complications. This was the life he wanted, but something was nagging at him. He just didn't know what it was yet, and no matter how much he thought about it, nothing came to mind.
Everything went the same way, and he managed to get home early. He didn't have to come home tomorrow because he had Saturdays off, so he could turn off his alarm and sleep in.
Once he was home, his thoughts turned to Kaveh, who still seemed strange to him, and that might have been because of the dreams. He was sure he'd have more detailed dreams about this boy today. Maybe he'll be able to recognize the face this time, or maybe he'll discover he's never met or even seen anyone like that before.
He didn't bring back the box from yesterday, but he didn't want to look through it today, even though he might find some more interesting things. He lay down on the couch and started reading a book that he hadn't had time to read while he was in his previous house. He got so caught up in the plot that he didn't notice how late it was.
He washed up and changed into his pajamas, then lay down on his bed. He closed his eyes and cleared his thoughts to help him fall asleep, which helped him a lot. He saw that boy from the previous dreams again. He could see him a little more clearly now, his eyes were red and he had the familiar smile he had seen before.
He had a blue feather tucked behind his ear, which somehow stayed on. Now he knew what kind of uniform it was, it was from the Akademiya and now he could say it was definitely Kaveh. He looked almost exactly like him, only a little younger. Maybe it was because he'd recently told him about his childhood.
The boy had books in his hands and was saying something to him, but again, he didn't understand any of the words. It looked like the first dream, but this time he saw everything clearly. He saw the moment his smile began to falter even though he tried to pretend everything was fine.
After a moment, tears appeared in his eyes, slowly rolling down his cheeks, and then his face turned into an angry one. He dropped his books to the ground and looked Alhaitham straight in the eyes. He could have sworn he wasn't looking at his dream form, but at his real one, as if he knew that they were in a dream. Then he understood one sentence.
"I wish we had never met, Alhaitham."
And immediately after that he woke up with his heart beating faster than ever. He didn't understand anything about what had actually happened, none of it made sense. He sat on the bed for a while, then went to drink some water to clear his mind and think it over calmly.
It seemed more real than just a dream, as if these were memories he couldn't remember. But he didn't even go to school there, because after all, it had been destroyed for over two decades. He tried to convince himself that these were just dreams and nothing more, but at the back of his mind he had a strange feeling that there was something more.
He wanted to go back to sleep, but he doubted he would be able to sleep after what had happened. He picked up the same book as before to keep himself occupied, but he kept coming back to the same thing over and over again.
The next day he busied himself cleaning the house and trying to repair some broken things. He was so absorbed in it that he didn't think about the dream, although he caught himself doing it a few times. The evening passed just like yesterday, and then Sunday came. He pulled out his laptop and did some work on the project. When he had had enough, he turned on a documentary and focused on it.
Even though this was how his days passed when he lived in the city, now it did not give him enough satisfaction to sit at home and do nothing. In his apartment he always heard some conversations of neighbors who were too loud, some children crying and sometimes even a dog barking. That's why he bought himself noise-cancelling headphones.
Now, however, he can't bring himself to put them on, even though there's no need. It's as quiet as he once wanted, but that's exactly what he didn't like now. This was a different kind of silence than what he wanted. He was already thinking about buying himself a loudspeaker to play some sounds, just to hear something.
When Monday came, he had to get up early again and go to his second job. Kaveh wasn't behaving like before, he was more nervous as if he was worried about something and he was talking less than in the last few days. Something was wrong and he knew it for sure. He remembered that dream with the boy, which he hadn't had even once since then.
For now, he didn't want to tell Kaveh about it and just listened to what he had to say and sometimes replied. He had a strange feeling that something had changed, but he had no idea what.
The next few days passed similarly and he became increasingly concerned about Kaveh's behavior, as if he wanted to distance himself further and further from him. Alhaitham didn't even know why or what he had done wrong, but he decided to remain silent.
More than two weeks passed like this until Kaveh finally almost stopped speaking and lost his smile. The more Alhaitham thought about it, the more it infuriated him. As much as he wanted to deny that he had any feelings for him, he knew he was lying to himself. Then he realized that if he didn't act now, he would probably lose Kaveh completely.
Even though tomorrow was Saturday, he knew that Kaveh went to the graveyard every week to visit his deceased father's grave. So he will definitely take the train tomorrow too. He finally decided to take that one step he had been holding back from.
Alhaitham boarded the train and immediately went to the fourth cabin. He opened the door, but didn't see the blond boy he'd been hoping for. He was a little surprised that he wasn't there, because he had never missed a train before.
He sat down in the armchair and waited for a while, because maybe he had gone somewhere else and would be back soon, but the longer he waited, the less he believed it. The only thing inside was a newspaper, the same one Kaveh always read.
He picked it up and began reading. The first thing that caught his eye was the news about the centenary of the train crash that claimed the lives of so many people. There were several old black-and-white photos from the scene. Most of the bodies were censored, and one could see the derailed train and medics and firefighters trying to control the situation.
"On this day we commemorate the 100th anniversary of the accident that led to such irreversible material losses and, above all, human lives. In the promenade in **** we will pay our respects to the victims of this tragedy."
Alhaitham narrowed his eyebrows and continued reading, looking every now and then to see if Kaveh was standing behind the door and just playing with him.
"Besides many residents, a lot of talented students also lost their lives. The Kshahrewar faculty lost the most members, they found 10 students in one crushed cabin, who were going to celebrate the successful completion of the school year."
Alhaitham's heart stopped for a moment when he read this part and he began to anticipate what the ending would be like, even though he didn't want to think about it.
"Six of them managed to get out, but their critical condition sealed their fate and they died in the arms of their loved ones or rescuers. Three of them died inside and it was too late to even try to save them. The last one was found under the overturned train while it was being removed from the tracks. It was one of the most tragic deaths that *** had ever seen. Kaveh had his heart pierced by the rod that held up the compartment for a moment before it collapsed on him, crushing his body."
Alhaitham did not even notice when tears started to form in his eyes and only realized it when they fell onto the newspaper and slightly wet it. He wanted to stop, not read any further, but he couldn't, as if something was forcing him to do so. He wanted to believe that everything he had just read was a lie, or even better, a nightmare from which he would soon wake up. That Kaveh would soon come in through that door and sit across from him and start talking about something or asking him questions again.
Unfortunately, all of this was reality, what he feared most, but he had seen Kaveh with his own eyes, felt his warmth, talked to him, so how on earth was he dead? How could he have seen someone who was dead?
"Among the most talented students of the academy, Kaveh, the Light of Kshahrewar, who loved architecture like no other, was given his own monument this year over his grave, located next to his friends. We want to prove that their deaths were not in vain and we want to encourage everyone, regardless of age, as Kaveh once did, to discover the beauty of art."
These words struck a chord with Alhaitham and he put down the newspaper and leaned over it, crying silently. It was a familiar feeling, he had been in this situation before, when he had to learn about the death of loved ones from strangers. Again, the same terrible feeling in his heart, that he knows will never go away and will be there even many years later.
He had just lost the fourth person he would have given his life for if he could. Maybe that legend was true, and that cabin and the number four only lead to death.
He heard the train stop, but he didn't look up, for now, he didn't really care if he was late for work. Even when he heard footsteps and the door opening. Many people often stared at him, but at that moment he just wanted Kaveh to look at him again and ask the same question he asked when he first met him.
"Hey, can you hear me? Or maybe you're deaf?" He heard a familiar voice and immediately looked across at himself. His eyes opened wide as if he had seen a ghost... and that was exactly what he did. He saw a living soul. "There you go!"
Silence fell as Alhaitham couldn't utter a single word. It was difficult to bring him to this state, yet Kaveh truly could work miracles.
"Why are you so surprised? I'm that late?" He laughed nervously, then looked down at the tear-stained newspaper and his smile faded. He felt visibly uncomfortable and looked away when he saw the article's headline. "So you already know."
"How?" Alhaitham finally asked, and there was regret and a hint of anger in his voice, but it wasn't directed at Kaveh, but rather at himself.
"What how?" Kaveh replied, then sighed and looked Alhaitham straight in the eyes. "How can you see me? That's what you want to know, right?"
Alhaitham nodded.
"Only people who have already experienced death once are able to see sorrowful souls." Kaveh said in a sad voice, trying to be as composed as possible. Seeing the confusion on Alhaitham's face, he continued. "This isn't your first life here. We... were never supposed to meet again."
"What do you mean again? Please, just tell me." Alhaitham said in a desperate, pleading tone. He understood nothing of what Kaveh was saying, but he had a feeling he wouldn't like the truth. "Everything."
Kaveh looked at him for a moment, as if waiting for him to take it back and forget about it. Unfortunately, it was only a false hope. "Since you've read this, I assume you know about this accident. However... you died in it too."
Alhaitham's face showed incomprehension at the whole situation and was exactly what Kaveh expected from him. But before he could ask another question, Kaveh interrupted him.
"You don't believe me, do you?"
"No, I do, it's just..." Alhaitham paused, unable to find the words. His mind was spinning from all this, and he knew this was only the beginning.
"It's okay, give me a moment." Kaveh reached into his pocket on his shirt and pulled out a green crystal that glinted in the light. "You have the same one, right? You got it from your grandmother."
Alhaitham nodded again and took the crystal from him, examining it closely. He pulled his own out of his wallet and compared it. They were indeed identical. He stared at them for a moment longer, then handed one back to Kaveh.
"See?" He laughed, putting it back in his pocket. "You're probably full of questions, we still have some time, so I'll answer them all."
"I want to know everything from the beginning, without hiding anything. Just the pure truth."
"Straightforward as always." Kaveh smiled and leaned back in his chair to at least pretend he wasn't nervous. "We used to be almost inseparable, we went everywhere together, wherever I was you were too and vice versa. However, at the end of the year we had a fight, and this time it was serious one." He sighed, then paused for a moment, as if trying to remember what happened next.
"I said a few things in anger and... I ran away like a coward. But if I had only known that this would be our last conversation, I would have never done it." He finished and looked down at his hands, which he had been nervously playing with.
"Because then we both died in a train accident."
"Yes." He agreed curtly and sighed, steeling himself to continue. "I was still conscious for a second when that metal pierced my heart. I have never felt more regret than at that moment. And that's what didn't let me find peace."
Another silence fell and they only heard the whistle of the train, signaling the arrival at the station, but they both ignored it. "That's why you've been sitting here for so many years, waiting for someone to finally help you."
"Something like that." Kaveh nodded. "A few years later, I met a woman who was able to see me and help me. I still don't know who she was, but I am eternally grateful to her. She allowed you to be born again, on the condition that we never meet again, but..."
"But we met, why?"
"Because she was just pulling the wool over death's eyes. The existence of beings like me is a disrespect and your rebirth was like laughing in its face."
"So what's going to happen now?" Alhaitham's heart was beating fast and he had no idea if it was from stress and nervousness or from the excitement. He had mixed feelings about all this, but it gave him some confidence to at least fight for someone he cared about this time. "But is there a way out? All is not lost yet, is it?"
"For you no, for me yes." He replied and laughed bitterly, closing his eyes for a moment, but he could not keep them closed for long because he wanted to see Alhaitham when he still had time. He shifted in his seat and then sat up straight. "If you get off at the next stop, you'll survive."
"Why? Kaveh, tell me."
Silence, again. Kaveh was clearly holding back. He didn't want to lie to Alhaitham, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Then tears began to flow from his eyes and his cheeks turned red. "Please, I don't want you to die again." He said through tears, sniffling.
Alhaitham felt sick seeing him like this. He wanted to get up and go to him, tell him everything would be alright and hug him, but there was no time for that now. "Kaveh." He said in a sharp tone, scolding himself for it.
This surprised Kaveh because he had never spoken to him like that before, but he understood his frustration, so he just wiped his tears and swallowed loudly, preparing himself mentally.
"Since you've reached the age and you're in the same place where you died before, so..."
"So, since I didn't really die that time, it will happen again to even the odds."
"You were always my smart little junior." Kaveh laughed through his tears and then stood up. His whole body was shaking as he moved from his seat to Alhaitham to hug him. He buried his face in the crook of his neck and tried even out his breathing.
They sat there for a good while, then Kaveh pulled away from him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. This sent a wave of heat through Alhaitham, whose cheeks now turned a rosy color.
When Kaveh wanted to kiss him on the lips, he gave up at the last moment and moved away embarrassed. After a while he quickly stood up and when Alhaitham tried to grab his hand, it passed right through it. They both stopped for a moment and Alhaitham looked slightly surprised.
"What the hell...?" Alhaitham muttered softly and took his hand away from him. "What's going on?"
Kaveh pursed his lips and looked away, clearly uncomfortable as he played with the fingers of his other hand, which was trembling slightly. Alhaitham didn't understand what was happening, he only knew that they didn't have much time left.
Alhaitham stared at him, waiting for some explanation. They stood in silence for a moment, but Kaveh clearly decided there was no point in hiding it anymore. "I'm disappearing. Remember when I told you that my only regret was that I couldn't talk to you one last time?"
Alhaitham nodded uncertainly.
"Now that my dream has come true, I can no longer stay here, so I will slowly lose my physical shape."
"Kav-"
"Please get out, you'll be able to live once again. You'll forget me when I'm gone." He said, turning to him with tears in his eyes, not even trying to hold them back now. Alhaitham felt bad seeing him like that. This was the second time in just a few minutes. "I'm trying to save you, but you don't want to listen to me!"
"But I don't want that! I will die sooner or later, there is no point in running away from death." He explained, then stood up and stood next to him. He placed his hand on his cheek and this time he actually touched him and his touch simply didn't pass through him. "Listen to me."
Alhaitham wiped the tears from his cheeks and kissed him straight on the lips, not closing his eyes but looking straight at him. After a moment he pulled away and chuckled as Kaveh was dumfounded.
"I'm not going to play with fate. If this is what it has in store for me, I'm not going to argue."
"Stupid idiot." Kaveh laughed, but there was a bitter aftertaste in his voice. He wrapped his arms around his neck, but they immediately penetrated him, something he had forgotten about. "So what, you want to die here?"
"I should have been, for a long time."
"You're right, but... what if we won't see each other again?" He asked and Alhaitham only then realized that he didn't know what it was like to be dead and didn't know what awaited them.
They might never meet, they might hate each other, they might be late and start their own lives and not remember anything they went through. This sowed the seed of uncertainty within him and he began to ask himself more and more questions he preferred not to know the answers to.
Then Kaveh kissed Alhaitham once more, which dispelled his doubts. "Even if we're not soulmates, even if we're not meant to be, I'll find you anywhere and anytime. I'll make sure our fates intertwine even if I have to die thousands of times again."
"Stupid, stupid, stupid man." Kaveh laughed and was about to say something, but the train started shaking and they both knew what that meant. "If fate wrote us as tragedy here, it owes us a love story next time."
"How poetic." Alhaitham chuckled, then he felt that the turbulence was getting worse. He noticed that Kaveh was becoming less and less visible, so much so that he could no longer touch him at all.
They smiled at each other, and then, despite Kaveh no longer having a physical, Alhaitham moved closer to him and hugged him, but he flew through him and landed on the ground, where a car overturned behind him. He closed his eyes and simply prepared himself for it.
"See ya." He heard Kaveh's soft voice, then felt something warm on him. He couldn't move, but he didn't really care. He was getting warmer and warmer and he realized that he had broken the window and was now lying covered in blood. He felt no pain because the adrenaline had kicked in on its own, so at least he would die without suffering.
He felt his heartbeat slowing down, and his eyes flashed to his loved ones and his fondest memories. He also remembered the ones he had with Kaveh, where they went to the same school and were friends. Only now did he remember all this and never wanted to forget them again.
He heard the screams of other people on the train, but he couldn't understand anything else. Then he realized they were shouting at him, but unfortunately it was too late.
When they found him, he looked like he was trying to grab someone, but there was only a newspaper and a green crystal underneath him. It turned out that no one else was hurt because the front and rear carriages had separated before this one skidded on a sharp curve.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Hey, hey! Can you hear me?" He heard the boy's voice, but he couldn't open his eyes. He was too comfortable leaning against a tree in the shade. "Or are you deaf?"
Then he opened his eyes and saw a young blond boy in front of him, looking at him with interest. He crouched in front of him with his head slightly tilted. "There you go!" He said and smiled, then stood up and offered him his hand.
"Who are you?" he asked, closing the book that was lying on top of him. He hadn't even noticed when he fell asleep while reading. If the boy hadn't woken him up, he probably would have continued sleeping there though the night.
"Your previous tragedy." He replied with a broad smile and then everything came back to him. He grabbed his hand and stood up, and when he was on his feet, he immediately hugged him.
"So is this my love story, Kaveh?"
"What do you think?" He asked, then kissed him on the cheek before quickly pulling away. "Come on, let's go back, it's getting dark!" He said and walked with him towards the path to the village.
"Dark? I only see Light.”