いとしいこと

Previous   TOC   Next Outside the church, the sunlight was blinding. Warren furrowed his brows and raised a hand to shield his eyes as he slowly descended the stone steps. The wind was dusty and cold, and as he squinted into it, the tie holding back his hair came undone, letting black strands fall across his face. He bent to pick up the tie, a faint sense of melancholy lingering as he retied his now too-long hair. It was always the same after going to church... a lingering feeling of guilt. He didn’t go there out of piety. In truth, he bore a grudge against God. And yet, come Sunday, he never failed to attend services. One reason was that he felt he shouldn’t stay at home. But the real reason why of all places it had to be the church was because, despite his resentment toward God, he still held on to the faintest sliver of hope. “Good day, Warren.” A voice like tinkling bells called out to him. It was Eva, the butcher’s daughter from the main street, with her brunette hair and...

Content warning:   This novel contains descriptions of sexual content. I will not be adding a trigger warning to each chapter with graphic content, so please consider this a general warning. TOC   Next The branches stretched overhead like a canopy, their overlapping leaves blocking out the sunlight midway. Even at midday, the forest of Oliva was dim, as though caught in a perpetual twilight. Snair ran, trampling over the overgrown weeds, weaving between the thick tree trunks. Fallen leaves and tangled undergrowth covered the ground, hiding the gnarled roots that jutted out from the earth. The uneven terrain caught at his feet, and his small, slender body would sometimes pitch forward. One stumble too many, and this time he couldn’t catch himself. He faltered, lurching toward the nearest tree and clutching its trunk for support. With his head bowed, he gasped for breath. The moment he stopped moving, the argument with his grandmother came flooding back. Snair kicked the tree tr...