And the friendship begin

"Will you not invite me for tea” in front of Valery's house john asked

Valery paused for a moment and shook her head in denial, saying,

"No! Grandma might not like it."

John was surprised, “Seriously?”

"I was late coming home today; she must be very angry."

John laughed,

"How beautiful it is to be angry with someone in love!"

"I don't care," john said, stopping his hands as she opened the door.

"What kind of friend are you? When I'm saying not today," she said, somewhat angrily.

John quickly stepped aside,

"I apologize."

"Oh no, there's absolutely no need to apologize."

"But tomorrow I will invite you for tea," Valery quickly added,

She was waiting for him to move out of the way so she could go home.

"Alright, take care,"

Valery nodded in agreement.

John didn't want to leave; he stood leaning against the brown wooden gate, wrapped in irritation as Valery kept pushing him away until time passed.

The clouds thundered loudly.

Valery pushed him,

"You can go now."

She had become flustered by his gaze.

John laughed and moved away from the door.

Valery watched him go down the street until he disappeared from view; he did not look back.

Valery took a deep breath,

"How much your eyes speak."

________

Although Franz Moon was very happy today that he had received a novel by Van Aersel to publish in his magazine, today was still exhausting.

All day long, while writing email responses and reading stories, he went through various feelings.

Sometimes he thought it was strange; he was supposed to become a great author, but he couldn't achieve that.

He wanted to write the way Van Ersal did, but he couldn't become an author.

He became the unfortunate deputy editor under Churchill, who took all the credit for himself.

Franz closed the file and laptop and leaned back in his chair.

He picked up his mobile phone.

He had received seven calls from Lauren.

He impatiently ignored them and opened the social media app.

In the search bar, he typed after much contemplation,

"Van Ersal."

Facebook was showing various results.

All the pages had been created by Van's fans; his official page was not present.

He scrolled through all the pages in a moment.

There was no picture of Van Ersal.

A very old memory quickly enveloped the room.

Back then, Franz was not only writing articles for a local newspaper instead of that famous magazine but was also their journalist.

He remembered that morning when spring was at its peak and tiny flowers were scattered everywhere.

He had written an email to Van Ersal while sitting in the same garden,

in which he requested that he couldn't afford to Ersal in a writing school and asked if Van could teach him the basics of becoming an author or help him in his journey to becoming a writer.

A bitter smile spread across Franz's lips.

Van Ersal's response was contrary to his expectations.

He had written,

"Franz, you are a failed person who does not want to work hard."

He did not expect such a response from his favourite author, yet he received it.

He became so saddened by this response that the obsession of becoming an author that had been on his mind dissipated.

He quit working at the newspaper and started working in a factory.

And who knows, fate did not want to keep him away from the world of writing, which is why today he was the deputy editor of a famous magazine in London.

It was time to leave; he grabbed Ersal's manuscript in his hand.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back.

It was true that he had never been able to hate Van Ersal.

_______

For two days, he had waited for Valery all day, but she did not come. He was a little surprised as to why this was the case.

Dressed as a clown, he went on stage; there was still a long time before his show would start.

He took a glance at the large crowd of people.

"Why do these people come here?" John asked himself while looking at the crowd.

"To be happy," a voice inside John replied.

"How strange," he answered himself.

"You could have a peaceful home, loving parents, and a caring family, or to be honest, the embrace of a beloved... yet people still seek happiness. I am surprised by their arrival."

John stepped aside.

Many moments passed like this; nowadays, he had to work more at the circus. The reason was that people were on holiday.

People were very happy, and to celebrate their joy, they were looking for new places to explore.

Many foreign tourists had also arrived here.

Everyone was very happy, but despite all this, John's heart was sad.

He was missing Valery, but more than that, he was worried about why she wasn’t coming.

He had even thought about going to her house,

but just as she had hesitated and prevented him from entering her home that day, he didn’t have the courage to go to her house again.

After Valery, he was also worried about his friend, who was fighting for his life on a deathbed.

He remembered the day a few days ago when he learned about the cancer diagnosis; he had cried uncontrollably.

Thinking about Chris's condition made him sad; he had everything, but despite that, he couldn't buy a few moments of life for Chris.

“Life is the most expensive thing in this world”; whenever he stepped out of the hospital, he repeated this sentence.

Stephen was keeping a close eye on Chris, not only because he was John's friend but also because he was a compassionate person.

And a doctor must always be compassionate.

In his turn, he continued to perform his tricks, showcasing invisible magic with the help of his hands, while listening to their laughter, feeling sad inside.

When his show ended, he quickly rushed outside.

It felt as if he had become a mouth of that large hall, swallowing him whole.

Once he exited the circus, he took deep breaths; a light drizzle had begun, and the day was eager to fade away.

He inhaled deeply.

Still dressed in his clown costume, he intended to go to Valery's house.

He just wanted to know if she was okay.

She had been absent for two days.

As he walked towards her house, his heart began to race.

While walking, he wanted to stop and convince himself that he should turn back, but in the next moment, something urged him that he should go just once.

Listening to his heart, he found himself in front of her street. The street had become drenched in rain, and the cold had intensified.

He stood in front of her gate, wanting to knock, but he lacked the courage.

He stood there, getting soaked for many moments.

Finally, the fear within him won, and he decided to leave without knocking.

He had turned a few steps back when the window of Valery's room opened.

John quickly sat down in the street.

The room's light was now on, and the person who opened the window went back inside.

A little while later, he slowly began to rise and peeked into the room.

In front of him, Valery was sitting on a chair, reading a novel with such focus that it seemed she was seeing another world within the words, and John was searching for another world in her eyes.

Outside, the rain intensified.

________