30 Little Boy in the Snow

Facing reality is a necessity to survive in the adult world. No one can be protected by a lampshade for life, unless this life is very short.

Rafał wanted to live long and be happy. Therefore, he had to stand on his own feet and face adversities. He had to accept that there were people who would be hostile to him, and he had to hope that there would be people who would be kind to him. Just like Damian Radosz was kind to him.

Or just ‘maybe’? Brylski smiled as he remembered the event from a few moments ago. When he saw a shadow creep into his room through the balcony, he felt an almost paralyzing terror. It was an instinct that took root in his heart because of the past. But now Rafał was no longer a helpless child, now he was a strong man. So he clenched his fist and, without switching on the light, started towards the stranger.

The actor opened the curtain and saw the silhouette more clearly. He even recognized a face. Unless he could understand why Radosz was sneaking into his room through the balcony, the fear vanished from his heart. Without any thought, motivated by another instinct, Rafał ran to save him when Damian lost his balance.

Then all of them, caused by the fall, fused together. Feeling Radosz's heartbeat, feeling his warmth and looking into his eyes, the young actor knew that Damian was not caused by bad intentions. Someone with bad intentions would have anger or contempt, hatred or greed in their face. Damian's face expressed anxiety and concern.

How strange it was to see such a face, and how pleasant! The misunderstanding cleared up quickly and in Rafał's heart remained a wonderful and so alien feeling that someone cares about him.

***

The little boy, cold and naked, stood with his head bowed, staring down at his bare feet on which snowflakes fell.

“Mom, look, snowman” a girl in a pink jacket and a red cap shouted resolutely, running happily to the boy who was only a centimeter taller than her. "Mom ... it's not a snowman, it's a boy!"

“What are you talking about, little daughter?” A woman asked warmly. Snow crunched under her feet. “Oh God, Jarek, it's really a boy! Live boy!”

A warm jacket wrapped the boy's cold shoulders and strong hands lifted him from the ground and hugged him tightly. The boy remembered Andersen's fairy tale about the Girl with the Matches. He closed his eyes.

“Boy, can you hear me?” That voice belonged to a man. A good, nice voice right next to his ear. A caring voice. “Boy!”

The boy heard him but wouldn't answer. The warm jacket and warm shoulders reminded him of Andersen's fairy tale. Help always comes too late.

***

Sometimes, however, help comes on time. Sometimes a good person shows up just in time to lend a helping hand.

Damian caught him as Rafał fell to the ground. Damian gave him first aid when he was burning from overheating by the sun. Damian followed Rafał when he suspected he had been attacked by three attackers and had the clear intention of helping him in his time of need. Even now, Damian broke into his room (sort of) because he was worried that something had happened to Brylski.

There are good people in this world and Rafał had the opportunity to find out about it.

Damian, Damian Radosz - the young actor began to repeat these words in his mind. They sounded strong, but also pleasantly soft, as if they accurately reflected the man who was wearing them, who had courage and strength, but could be caring. It would be good to have him as your friend.

A warm, dreamy smile wandered on Brylski's lips as his head touched the pillow again. If he fell asleep with good thoughts, maybe that night he would no longer dream of the boy whose bare feet were falling with snowflakes.

***

Anita Janiszek was pounding on the door so hard that there was a serious risk that she would break it. With the phone in her other hand, she was just thinking about asking a hotel employee to open the door, when luckily it opened and, yawning widely, a sleepy, disheveled Rafał Brylski, still in his pajamas, appeared in it.

"Why are you doing..." a wide yawn that lasted a few seconds. “Such a noise first thing in the morning?” He asked rubbing his eyes and yawned again.

“In the morning?” Anita was furious, but the sense of relief was greater in her than anger. Rafał was alive and well and only slept so deeply that it was difficult to wake him up. “It's after ten!”

"But today I have a day off and I was supposed to rest," he reminded her, letting her inside.

"You could have warned me," Anita admonished. “Do you have any idea how worried I was?”

“I wasn't planning on this!” Rafał defended himself and yawned again. “Who's planning to oversleep? Can you be good enough and scold me after I take a shower? I feel uncomfortable with myself.”

Anita waved her hand casually.

"Go," she said, though less sternly. It is true that she was still angry with Rafał for scaring her so, but she was really relieved to know that he was okay. She could worry ten times more, as long as Rafał felt calm and well.

If someone asked her what her attitude towards Brylski was, she would reply that she loves him like a real brother. If anyone insisted on details, the girl would add that she loves him like a little brother whom she feels the need to look after. Anita, however, knew very well that the phrase ‘I love him like my brother’ did not reflect her full love. She herself could not accurately define her feelings. She suspected, quite often, that maybe she was romantically in love with Rafał, but it was not that feeling either. Her love for him was something that probably had no definition.

Anita Janiszek and Rafał Brylski grew up in the same neighborhood. They went to the same primary school. Rafał was two years older than her, but only slightly taller than she was. He was the smallest in his class, and adults often thought he was younger than her. Anita did not pay much attention to him than to other classmates who were not in her class. Six- and seven-year-old girls are not interested in boys yet. In fact, most of them treat boys like air, like to play only with other girls.

Until one winter evening, returning with her parents from pre-Christmas shopping, wearing a pink jacket and a red hat, six-year-old Anita saw a very thin snowman in front of one of the houses in the neighborhood. When she ran to see it better, she thought it was a Christmas angel figurine because it looked too human and had lovely golden curls. But in the end, Anita recognized that this was a boy who went to the same school as her, only a different class.

When the girl's parents saw the boy standing in the snow, they immediately took him to the hospital, where they spent almost the entire night.

Tired Anita fell asleep in the arms of her mother, but did not complain that she wanted to return home. She knew something important was going on and she had no right to complain. She also knew that she had done something good, because her dad praised her and her mum tenderly caressed her head, but six-year-old Anita did not understand the seriousness of her act. She just enjoyed the praise. She didn't understand what it meant to save this boy's life, but it was thanks to him that she got praise from her parents. At that point, she began to like the boy a little more.