Chapter One — I Didn't Want to Come Here
I Didn't Want to Come Here
The first thing Nerisa noticed when she got out of the car was the smell.
Grass.
Not perfume. Not food. Not the familiar smell of hot roads and petrol that she had gotten used to.
Grass.
She stood beside the car with her small bag hanging from her shoulder and looked at the long stretch of land in front of her.
“So this is it?” she asked.
Her aunt laughed from the other side of the car. “You say it like I brought you to prison.”
Nerisa didn't answer.
She wasn't trying to be rude. She just didn't know what to say.
That was one of the things people never understood about her.
When she didn't talk, they thought she was proud.
When she did talk, they sometimes laughed at the way she spoke.
So most times, she simply kept quiet.
Her aunt walked towards the house, carrying two of Nerisa's bags.
“Nerisa, are you coming?”
“Yeah.”
She followed.
The house wasn't bad. Actually, it was beautiful in its own way. There was a small porch in front, flowers growing along the walkway, and fields stretching behind the house as far as she could see.
Somewhere in the distance, she could hear chickens making enough noise to make her wonder if they were arguing.
She almost smiled.
Almost.
Then she remembered why she was here.
She looked down at herself.
Loose black trousers.
An oversized shirt.
Her favourite way of dressing.
If her clothes could make her body disappear, she would probably wear a bedsheet outside.
She knew she was too skinny.
She had known for years.
People had made sure of that.
“You're so thin.”
“Do you even eat?”
“Are you sick?”
“Look at her legs.”
“She's shaped like a broom.”
Sometimes people laughed when they said those things.
Sometimes they didn't even bother hiding their laughter.
The worst part was that after hearing something enough times, you stopped needing other people to say it.
Your own mind started doing it for them.
Nerisa pulled her shirt down slightly.
Her aunt noticed.
“You're still doing that?”
Nerisa looked up. “Doing what?”
“Pulling your clothes down every five seconds.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
Nerisa looked away.
Her aunt sighed but didn't say anything else.
That was probably for the best.
She didn't want another speech about how she was beautiful.
She knew people meant well.
But being told she was beautiful had never magically made her feel beautiful.
Sometimes it only made her feel like they were trying to convince her.
Inside the house, her aunt showed her the room she would be staying in.
It wasn't big, but it had a window overlooking the farm.
Nerisa put her bag on the bed and immediately went to the window.
For the first time since arriving, she felt a little calmer.
There was something peaceful about the place.
No cars honking.
No neighbours shouting.
No people staring.
Maybe she could survive a few weeks here.
Her aunt appeared at the door.
“Your uncle is outside. He wants you to see the farm.”
Nerisa turned around.
“Now?”
“Yes, now.”
She stared at her aunt.
Her aunt stared back.
Nerisa sighed.
“Fine.”
Outside, the sun was already beginning to get hotter.
Her uncle was standing near a wooden fence, talking to someone.
Nerisa didn't pay much attention at first.
Then the person turned.
And she stopped walking.
He was tall.
Not normal tall.
Ridiculously tall.
Nerisa actually had to tilt her head slightly to see his face properly.
He wore a faded dark shirt with the sleeves pushed up and a pair of worn jeans. His hands were dirty, probably from whatever work he had been doing, and there was a small cut across one of his knuckles.
He looked like he belonged here.
Unlike her.
Her uncle noticed her.
“Ah, Nerisa. Come.”
She walked over.
The tall boy looked at her.
Then at her uncle.
Then back at her.
Nerisa immediately became uncomfortable.
She looked down.
“This is Gabriel,” her uncle said. “He helps me around the farm.”
Gabriel nodded.
“Hi.”
Nerisa nodded back.
“Hi.”
There was silence.
Her uncle looked between them.
Gabriel's mouth twitched.
“What?”
Nerisa looked up.
“I didn't say anything.”
“You're staring.”
“I wasn't.”
“You were.”
“I was looking at you.”
“That is literally staring.”
She frowned.
Gabriel smiled.
Her uncle laughed.
Nerisa didn't.
She already didn't like him.
“Gabriel,” her uncle said, “show her around while I finish up here.”
Nerisa's eyes widened.
“It's okay. I can find my way.”
“You'll get lost.”
“I won't.”
“You don't even know where the kitchen is.”
“It's inside the house.”
Gabriel laughed.
Nerisa turned to him.
“What?”
“Nothing.”
“You're laughing.”
“I know.”
She stared at him.
He stared back.
Then he pointed towards the farm.
“Come on, city girl.”
Nerisa's eyebrows pulled together.
“I'm not a city girl.”
“You are.”
“You don't know me.”
Gabriel shrugged.
“Didn't say I did.”
He started walking.
Nerisa stood there for a second, wondering if she could simply go back inside.
Her uncle gave her a look.
She sighed and followed.
They walked in silence for almost a minute.
Then Gabriel looked over his shoulder.
“You're always this quiet?”
Nerisa shrugged.
“Sometimes.”
“Interesting.”
“What?”
“Nothing.”
She narrowed her eyes.
He was doing it again.
That annoying little smile.
“You're annoying,” she muttered.
Gabriel stopped walking.
Nerisa almost walked into him.
He looked down at her.
“What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
“No, no. I heard you.”
“I said nothing.”
“You called me annoying.”
“I didn't.”
“You definitely did.”
Nerisa looked away.
Gabriel laughed.
For some reason, hearing him laugh made her want to laugh too.
She didn't.
They continued walking.
A few minutes later, they reached a small wooden barn.
Gabriel opened the door.
“Careful.”
“Why?”
Before he could answer, a chicken flew past her.
Nerisa screamed.
Gabriel burst out laughing.
“Don't laugh!”
“I warned you.”
“You said careful!”
“I meant careful of the chicken.”
“How was I supposed to know that?”
He was laughing so hard now that he had to lean against the door.
Nerisa crossed her arms.
“I hate this place.”
Gabriel looked at her.
“No, you don't.”
“Yes, I do.”
“You've been here for less than an hour.”
“Exactly.”
He smiled.
“You'll get used to it.”
Nerisa rolled her eyes and walked away.
She didn't notice Gabriel watching her.
She didn't notice the way his smile disappeared for a second.
And she definitely didn't notice the small photograph sticking out of the notebook she had left on the bench.
Gabriel noticed it.
He picked it up.
His expression changed.
He stared at the photograph for several seconds.
Then he looked towards the direction Nerisa had gone.
“...Nerisa?”
His voice was barely above a whisper.
He turned the photograph over.
There was a date written on the back.
And underneath it were four words.
Words Gabriel had seen before.
Words he had spent years trying to forget.
His fingers tightened around the photograph.
“She really came back.”
