Something That Will Bring You Joy.

The days seemed all the same and were passing one after another like frames of silent movies. But in these days there was one moment, one little period that just 30 minutes long, the moment which Lena was waiting with great excitement every time.

She had already got used to dining in the common dining room and noticed that some people periodically disappeared for several days, and then returned. But sometimes it happened that they did not return at all. And it scared the girl most of all.

The thirty minutes of the dinner were her only chance to see Daniel. Even if they couldn't talk much, but those few remarks that they were able to tell to each other were the most precious memories for Lena. She was thinking about his words, his voice, his gaze over and over again every time he was not around. Thoughts about him gave Lena the strength not to go crazy in this gray and monotonous cycle of meaningless actions, which her life had turned into.

Daniel would sometimes disappear for a day or two, and each time the girl was afraid that he would not come again, just like it happened with some of the prisoners she had seen in the castle. And each time her heart was beating happily with relief when Daniel, after another absence, appeared in the dining room and confidently walked in her direction, never taking his eyes off the girl.

His eyes and smile warmed her like the sun. And every day this sun was getting hotter and hotter.

A little more than a month has passed since their first meeting. Lena was having lunch with Polina and Armand and waiting for Daniel to come. But that day he never came. The second day passed, the third, the fourth, but he never showed up.

After each such waiting, terrible thoughts began to creep into the girl's head. And what if he will not show up ever again? What if he disappeared forever, like the others? But she did not even tell him how much she... No, this simply could not be possible. 'He will definitely come. I'm sure. He has to come today,' the girl calmed herself and started eating her lunch.

She lowered her head and did not look around. Lena was lost in her thoughts in the hope that it would somehow prolong those short fifteen minutes that remained until the end of the lunchtime.

A shadow flashed from the side of the girl, and a plate of food fell on the table. Lena looked up and saw Daniel. The young man, who usually sat opposite, this time sat next to her.

"Hello," he said softly and gave her his sunny smile.

Lena was looking at him with wide eyes, she wanted to respond to his greeting, but the voice seemed to have disappeared, and her lips trembled. She turned away from the young man, covered her eyes with her hand, and squeezed the edge of her dress with her second hand.

She felt that she was about to burst into tears. Whether from fear that he might never come again, or from happiness, that he was finally here. Next to her.

A pleasant warmth unexpectedly touched her skin. Daniel stretched out his hand under the table and put it on top of the girl's hand. "It's all right, don't worry," he whispered so that it could only be heard by her and squeezed the girl's palm.

Lena let go of the edge of her dress and tightly squeezed his hand in response. Tears silently flowed down her cheeks. She did not care what others think about her. At that moment, she realized that most of all she was afraid not of what Richard or someone else could do to her, but of the fact that any day could be the last when she sees Daniel.

Armand and Polina turned away and pretended not to notice anything. Lena took a few deep breaths to calm down. "Thank you," she whispered back to Daniel and let go of his hand.

The young man threw a warm glance at the girl and began eating his lunch.

"How are you?" Armand asked him.

"Well, it could be better, but, in general, everything is all right," Daniel replied innocently and winked at Lena.

Only after his words, the girl noticed that he looked paler than usual, and seemed to have even lost a little weight. "In any situation, you can find something that will bring you joy," he added, without taking his eyes off Lena. The girl's cheeks flushed red, and she turned away so as not to be embarrassed even more.

To escape from this awkwardness, Lena decided to straighten her chair and sit closer to the table but didn't calculate the distance, and her knees crashed into Daniel's. The young man's eyes glittered slyly.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Lena replied perplexedly and wanted to move away, but she couldn't. Daniel blocked her leg with his leg. The girl made another attempt, but it was of no success again. The distraction in her eyes made no effect on the young man. He was eating his lunch as if nothing had happened, and a contented smile lit up his face.

'Oh my God,' Lena's heart pounded like crazy. The warmth of his body smoothly passed on to her and caused feelings that were not familiar to her before. She put her hand under the table and pinched his leg.

Daniel twitched his leg reflexively and slammed his knee on the bottom of the table. That's why the dishes, standing on top, immediately rattled. Armand and Polina threw a surprised look in the direction of the couple.

"Oops, sorry," the young man answered and smiled innocently. Lena giggled and pretended as if she had nothing to do with it.

Lunchtime was coming to an end. The girl already intuitively felt how many minutes remained until the end of their meeting. Her face became darker, but she could not help it.

Daniel glanced at Lena, sighed and leaned toward her, "Today, after the bedtime signal, I'll pick you up. Put on something warm, okay?" He whispered in her ear, got up from the table and left the dining room without even turning back.

Lena looked at the back of the retreating guy confusedly, and a knock in her chest echoed throughout her body.

"Huh? What?" The girl repeated his last words to herself, and a wide smile appeared on her face by itself.