~8 Gerald

The thought about tea left as soon as it appeared in his mind;the Elder was staring at him.The calculating and strange gaze made him uncomfortable.Luca avoided the stares and looked around awkwardly.

The Elder made a coughing noise and smiled(which looked rather painful).

'Do you have anything to ask?'

'My parents,where are they?I asked the people who were with me earlier.They have no clue('or they are keeping their mouth shut'he thought).And I need to get back home as soon as possible.Mother is waiting for me 'Luca blurted out .

By now the look on the Elder had turned painful and he was no longer smiling.He took a glance around the room and beckoned Luca to follow him.They walked to the very corner of the room and found a mantelpiece which was obviously not present a few moments ago.

On the mantelpiece were a few frames with pictures of a happy family.The boy and the girl in the photo looked about seven.The next picture had no girl;there was only the boy and his parents.They didn't look happy .In the next picture,there was only a boy,and with him stood a very tall and beautiful man.

The man looked majestic with piercing grey eyes and long jet black hair reaching down his lower body. The air around him was mysterious which made him more appealing to the eyes.The slender man stood next to the boy who looked grave..He looked about eighteen in the last picture.

The Elder wasn't looking at the pictures.He was looking above at the portrait of a lovely young lady.His eyes looked glazed.He stared at it for a few moments before returning to the photos of the young boy.

'You see,the boy here,(he pointed to the last picture)is me.That was me after my family's death'

'How...?'

'That's a story for another time my boy, you asked me about your parents.'

'Yes'said Luca.

He didn't want to miss the chance.Locked up(he wasn't)in a strange place for months was not his idea of a vacation;and with his parents absent from his side and strangers around him made him scared and uncomfortable.The stranger at the hospital and all the recent events felt so rushed that he had no time to process what was happening in his life.When he tried to put together the events he felt even more confused.The information he was obtaining nonstop made his brain feel like it was going to explode.

They walked back to the couch an sat down.The sighs of the Elder was making Luca nervous.He has never felt this nervous and anxious about anything.He looked apprehensively at the Elder.The Elder was staring at Luca as if he was searching for his soul.

'We entered you at a hospital right after the accident('so the accident was real' Luca thought).'

'Yes,I remember certain things about the hospital.I regained my consciousness when they were talking about my leg wound.'said Luca

'I see.Well when the EMTs reached the car,they could only rescue you '

'Why?What about my dad'

'We couldn't save him.'