Benxamin walked faster as he realized the time, looking at the watch on his wrist.

“My brother is no longer what he was before, he was sociable and laughed a lot.  And his change wasn't just because of our mother's death.  Stella is our aunt, but she is a complete stranger to us until recently.  If you manage to face this game called life, you can be stronger than Marcel and reach Victor's heart.  See you tomorrow.”

That was how Benxamin said goodbye to Lester and entered the apartment. Stella was on the sofa, she barely reacted to seeing Benxamin and went back to sleep. The boy entered the bedroom he shared with his brother, put his backpack on a desk, and saw Victor lying on the bed with a cushion over his head.

“Victor?”  asked Benxamin.

“Everything's fine.” Victor said.

***

Hours later, Lester played in his bedroom. The afternoon was sunny and he really wanted to go out to the park, but he was alone. His parents were at their respective jobs and Diana, his babysitter, went out for a moment with her boyfriend.

The boy's hobbies were watching action and science fiction movies. He envisioned himself writing stories, filming them, and over the years, millions of people would see them in theaters.  It was his biggest dream and he wanted to make it come true.  But Mira and James had other plans for him. They wanted him to be a lawyer or an engineer because having goals like that - according to them - would get him nowhere.

He was looking out the window when he saw someone running around with a dark reddish cap and a green scarf covering part of his face, carrying what appeared to be something insignificant. However, the owner of a nearby store was chasing him asking for someone to stop him.

Although it was for an instant, Lester realized that the thief's physical build was very similar to someone his age. But the freckles on his hands gave him away as he stumbled for a moment and stopped to avoid falling.

Lester didn't know what to do and wondered over and over again: “Was that thief… Victor? Is it a good idea for me to leave the apartment and go find out? Am I doing the right thing?”

The conversation with Benxamin affected him greatly. So, Lester followed his heart instead of using his common sense and made the decision to find out for himself, without having a plan b. He ran as fast as he could when he saw him go to the park -which wasn't very big- and indeed he was there, sitting behind some small bushes.

He hesitated for a moment but decided to ask.

“Are you Victor?”

The person didn't say anything.  Lester paled because he thought he was mistaking him for his neighbor.  He decided to ask again and if he still didn't have an answer, he would run to his house.

“Please, you must go and pay.  This isn't right,… Victor.”

“Leave me alone, Lester,” Victor said.

He then took off his scarf to show his face, but still avoided looking at him. Lester wasn't there to judge him, though he didn't justify his actions, I suspect there was a reason for it.

“Let's go to the store, Victor,” smiled Lester.

Several minutes later and having paid for what was stolen -which were some pencils, a book and the store owner's watch- both guys walked aimlessly.  Lester had another idea and very bravely decided to take the initiative.

“W-Would you like to see a movie? I invite you.  What genre do you like?  Action, horror or suspense... but if you like romantic stories, that's fine with me.”

“You don't have to be like that with me,” Victor said angrily.

That was not the answer Lester was expecting, his hands began to shake. He thought and thought: What was the mistake he had made? He never meant to offend him. Lester just wanted to get closer to Victor.

“But… I… don't… ” Lester said.

Victor returned to the park completely ignoring Lester's excuses and sat down on a bench. He didn't want to cry, though it seemed like it was only a matter of time before he wanted to vent.

***

It was night and he continued there, without saying a single word, he played with his shoelaces killing boredom. He really didn't want to go home.

Suddenly, someone called out his name.

“Victor?!”

His heart began to beat faster since he didn't recognize that voice. Victor decided to pretend to be asleep, but whoever it was approached him with the intention of speaking to him.