Looking at the words on the screen, Luca stared at the keyboard and then wrote, ‘It really is.’

The message was sent as the train departed the station, and Luca rested his head against the glass of the window, feeling a wave of fatigue gnaw at him as the scenes in front of his eyes began to blur. The train ride felt long as Luca rested his eyes, his brain still buzzing with alertness.

…

It was the late afternoon, nearly past suppertime as Luca exited the train and called for a taxi, using the same number for the Glendale Taxi Company that he had come to know from his last trip. As he began to type the number in his dialpad on his phone, the number appeared in his previous call list, and he did not hesitate to call the number again. 

After speaking to the taxi company and requesting his taxi cab, he ended the call and sat on a bench within view of the street inside the train station. It was hot outside, and he did not feel like sitting in the heat when he could enjoy the cool air indoors for another moment. As he sat, he felt into his pocket again and pulled out the small, pearl cross. The pearls were not all even in shape, but fairly round, glowing with a faint lustre. 

Are these real? Luca pondered as he held up the cross to the light, peering at the brooch with a squinted gaze. The pearls reminded him of Lousia’s saltwater pearl necklace that she treasured so much. He had always thought the pearls were ugly, even as a child, but seeing the pearls on this brooch, he felt they were of better quality, but still tasteless. 

While he wanted to throw the brooch away, he felt the item must have been pricey, especially if it were made with real pearls. Instead of throwing it away, Luca felt he could at least have Felix bless it before he brought it home to give to Lousia. At least then the poor energy of the old woman would dissipate from the jewellery. 

As Luca pondered to himself, he saw a yellow taxi cab pull up to the front of the train station. He hurried and stood up, adjusting the strap of the duffel bag on his shoulder as he hurried outside, approaching the cab with the same font reading “Glendale Taxi Company”. When Luca approached the passenger’s side door, he was about to talk to the driver before the man said in a gruff voice,

“I didn’t expect to see you again here, kid.” Surprisingly, it was the same man that had picked up Luca months ago. “You’re not going to Leighwye again, are you?” A half-finished cigarette hung from his fingers, the windows rolled down to the base of the door. 

Luca, holding his bag strap, smiled and said, “Yep, I’m going back to the orphanage.”

The driver sighed, flicking the burnt ashes of his cigarette out the window as he said, “Get in. I’ll take you there.”

Luca thanked the man as he opened the back passenger door and sat down in the seat, fastening his seatbelt after he put his duffel bag on the seat next to him. Once he was buckled in, the driver began to drive forward, taking them away from the 

The radio was turned so low, it was difficult to hear the words of the bluegrass song playing, but Luca did not mind the silence as he stared out the window, leaning his head against the surface of the glass. It was hot inside the taxi, but with the window in front rolled down, a cool breeze drifted through the cab, easing Luca’s discomfort a bit. 

The closer they drove to town, the more Luca noticed things had changed in the past six months he had been gone. He could not help but sit up in his seat, his eyes glancing over the outside of the town with a raised brow. It was strange. There had never been such large-scale construction in the small town before, but now there were machines everywhere, including excavators and forklifts, all full of heavy equipment. Currently Luca could not tell what they were building, but it included digging deep into the ground around the city limits, and Luca found himself growing more and more curious as he watched a group of construction workers placing steel beams into evenly-spaced holes in the ground. 

“I wonder what they’re building.” Luca said aloud, attempting to curb the quiet tone of the taxi.

The taxi driver looked out the window and said with a frown, “Whatever it is, it’s nothing good.” 

Luca was curious. “Why do you say that?”

The driver flicked the remainder of his cigarette out the window as they entered town, the taxi slowly passing by the various familiar businesses and other buildings. “That’s not city workers. That’s a private construction company.” The driver turned down the radio, which had already been silent most of the ride and continued, “Some bigshot must have bought up land here and is planning to renovate the place. For small towns like this, that’s bad news.”

Luca nodded his head, thinking to himself, I should ask Felix and Ms. Lowell when I get back to the orphanage. They should know what’s going on. While he was morbidly curious, he felt the driver’s current temper was poor, and he did not want to further aggravate the man. 

After a short distance down the dirt road, the pair finally stopped the taxi in the short driveway of the orphanage, stopping near the mailbox. While the parking lot for the church was empty, the driver seemingly refused to pull in farther, making Luca shrug as he opened his door and stepped out of the taxi. 

Once Luca’s feet were on the ground, the driver turned back to Luca and said in a low voice, “Hey, son. If you ever need to leave town, you call me first, okay? I’ll give you a special rate.”

Luca felt a little awkward, but he decided to accept the older man’s goodwill. “Ah, thanks. I’ll do that then.”

The taxi driver frowned and repeated, “I mean it. Stay safe, son.”

After stepping back from the cab, Luca waved to the strange driver and began to walk to the front of the orphanage, each step flattening the pristinely-cut green grass under his feet. The air was full of the scent of freshly-cut grass, wildflowers, and pollen. It was the scent of the countryside, a scent Luca had found himself growing to miss over the past few years. While Luca walked, the door to the orphanage office opened, and he saw a tall figure step out. 

“Felix!” Luca waved as he ran forward, ready to greet his friend. 

Standing on the porch was a familiar light-brown haired figure. As they saw Luca approaching, the smile on their face grew, appearing innocent and angelic as they opened their arms and greeted their old friend, wrapping the shorter man in his arms as he rested his nose on Luca’s shoulder, as if inhaling his scent.

“I missed you, Felix.” Luca said, wrapping up his old friend in a large hug.

Smiling, Felix responded in the same loving tone, “I missed you too, Luca.” The arms around Luca tightened, his eyes falling dark with a deep, obsessive love as smelled his darling’s sweet, bright scent that he had missed in the past months. 

…

Had enough done to post another chapter! Working on getting YMtK's next update done soon, but so far I'm struggling with work and other life things. I'll be working hard to get this up and running as much as I can in the meantime.

Thanks for your patience~~ >y<