Morning Glory

Once upon a time, somewhere around the end of the 1980s, in an imaginary land, it was a peaceful late summer morning. There were many peaceful summer mornings in the 80s, but this one was particular. The familiar streets were warmed by the sun; they were busy with people passing, and the yellow tram was stumbling through the city. Around the market square, in front of the hospital and by the school. The pupils, however, were nowhere to be seen, as they were all somewhere in the big block of flats nearby enjoying their morning, sleeping in. This was no different for young Felix Zevean, who was taking in his last glimpses of dreams before he heard the door bang. - Get up, boys! No time to sleep around; it’s moving day! – pulled awake by his mother’s sharp voice. Moving day. The least awaited day of the year. Felix looked over to his little brother Eric, who was yawning and struggling to get out of bed. He didn’t understand Felix’s logical reasoning of how they grew up in that neighbourhood, knew it like the back of their hands, had their schools and friends there… Unfortunately, he and their sister Angela were fooled by the most evil and calculative manipulation. “If we move to the countryside, we can get a dog.” Dirty tactic, used by parents to get children on their side. But Felix couldn’t be moved by some furry animal; his heart belonged to the city. As he looked out the car window, he was awaiting the worst. And soon enough the familiar streets were left behind, and the glamour of the city turned into a suburban calmness that made Felix want to jump out of the car. It didn’t take more than an hour until they arrived at their new home. Goodbye, tiny two-room apartment right by the school; welcome, wide yard and big garden house with two rooms. And a half. What an upgrade. Arriving at this new place, which would end up changing all their lives, the Zevean family had different things on their minds. Frank, the head of the family, saw living space for his children and the chance for a quiet family life. Felix saw early mornings, long train rides back to the city and the most boring village on earth. And Eric… he saw the post. -Felix! Felix! Look at this; these are all for us! – He came running into the yard with a big stack of letters in his hands. -What are these? -Felix took a look at them. “Love letter from Hanna” “Kisses for the boys from the city from Alice” “At half-past three, me and my sister are going to run past your house, but DON’T LOOK! -love, Kitti” Felix felt a bit better, realising he still had some of the city glamour in him, and if for nothing else, this village was good for picking up girls. - Wait, Felix, it’s almost past three already!! The girls are about to come. Felix and Eric wasted no time running to the front gate and hid behind the bushes to spy on their new admirers. After a few minutes, two young girls showed up, covering their faces and laughing as they ran through the street.Yes, the girls in this particular village liked the boys from the city very much. For most of them, these two young boys were the closest they’d ever seen to something as fancy as the capital and where they lived. Well... let me tell you about this village. Long, long ago, between the Mountains, just out of reach north of the capital but not quite there yet… there were two small villages. These villages were so small that even after they united, they barely made a modest town.After entering the town from the capital, you could go three ways in search of exploration. To the left, there were forest-filled fields and farms. Straight ahead, through the main road, there was a small church, some local bars and, at the end of the road, the brick factory. If you decided to turn right instead and go up the hill, you would see a sea of old family homes on dirt roads that fence the road from both sides. Then some shops, a school, and after the train crosses the road, it’s mostly empty fields. This was the magical town called Tilia, where the Zevean family has just started a new chapter on their journey. They lived on the right side of the hill, on the corner of Alder Street that led the way to the train stop. As the day was coming to an end, Felix still had a bitter taste in his mouth about this town and decided to spend his evening outside alone before being stuffed into a tiny home with his four other family members. Walking through the garden, he had to acknowledge that it was a wide and green garden with trees and lots of grass. “There is no way I’m going to be cutting all this f*****g grass,” Felix thought to himself. Their brick-shaped yard had a big gate on the side and a small entry on the top. Felix headed that way and climbed onto a tree to look at the streets of his new neighbourhood. There were no tall buildings, no yellow tram and no passing people on the street. Instead, old houses, dirt roads, and one girl in a green skirt walking from the train station towards Felix’s house. The unknown girl walked with small but fast steps through the street, carrying a basket of red fruits. Her blue eyes shined from under her brown bangs, and she matched her green corduroy skirt with a green sweater. The first beautiful thing Felix saw in the village. His ego fuelled by all the love letters he had received, he whistled over to her as she got closer. The girl, however, walked past without as much as two flinches towards him. She turned around the corner and disappeared from Felix’s eyes.