Kindness and generosity. Part two.

Seeing all the tenderness that was in those green eyes, Gaspard still remembered how to cry. But the tears did not want to come out, they were just somewhere inside the heart, making him experience severe pain.

"Everything will be fine. Here, you need to gain strength. The doctor will come soon and you will feel better," Adelard said and heard Arthur's clear voice. "I'll leave you. Rest and sleep. Don't be afraid, you are safe here."

Gaspard didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think about at all. After all, he had met such a person for the first time in his short life.

The moment Adelard left the room, Gaspard was able to cry. But these were just a few drops of tears that left an emptiness in his soul.

"Something happened to Monsieur Adelard?!"

"No. But I think he needs help."

As soon as Adelard went down the stairs, Arthur literally attacked him with surprised eyes.

“What happened? I saw a doctor at your house and immediately pictured you lying in a pool of blood,” he said, hugging him too tightly and this hug was too brazen for a few days of friendship.

“I'm all right,” Adelard replied, remembering the dream where he was bleeding. A slight panic wanted to overshadow his mind, but the young man who might have fought for his life did not let him fall into anxiety.

"Monsieur Fabian, please follow me."

"You have a beautiful house. It's so cozy. Not like those rich people. Their whole house is empty and looks like one big toilet," Arthur said, laughing loudly. And only now, noticing Nicholas, he exclaimed, "So you are the legendary Nicholas!"

“Monsieur,” Nicholas said politely and opened the door to an empty room that served as a guest room.

Still clutching his glass, Gaspard sat up straight and looked out the window. He didn't even notice that four people literally burst into the room at once.

Dr. Fabian put on a slightly annoyed look and looked at Adelard.

"Monsieur, how are you feeling?" he asked, thereby frightening the young man.

Not feeling any confidence in people, he clenched his hands into fists and, without taking his eyes off his savior he simply remained silent.

Dr. Fabian, putting the valise on the bed, set to work.

Dr. Fabian was a tall, elderly man who always had a thin white beard and too blue eyes. Perhaps this was the only thing that made his appearance memorable. But otherwise, he was an ordinary person who had a family and an old cat named Happiness.

“Let me hear your breathe,” Dr. Fabian said.

“It's okay,” Adelard whispered, smiling, as if this young man was his child.

"He's like a scared beast. I'm afraid to even imagine what happened to this young man. Just look at him. What are these wounds? Someone wanted to kill him?"

"Monsieur, could you shut up?"

Throwing a displeased glance in the direction of Fabian, Arthur went to Adelard and rested his head on his shoulder, thereby surprising Nicholas and André.

Continuing to listen and then examine the old wounds and scratches, Dr. Fabian took the solution out of his bag and began to treat the fresh wounds, which immediately began to bleed.

But Gaspard didn't even make a sound.

"And you are a strong young man. You have serious wounds and it is a miracle that there is no infection," Dr. Fabian said.

"Will he be all right?"

"Yes. He'll be fine. How old are you? You're too young."

Gaspard, desperate to endure the sharp pain throughout his body, replied, "I'm twenty."

"You are young. So everything will be fine with you." Now, turning to Adelard, who was ready to hold the unfortunate young man's hand for support, Dr. Fabian said, "If you want to be responsible for him, you need to treat his wounds with this solution several times a day. And also, take these pills. And a sedative won't hurt either."

"Do you really want to leave a complete stranger at home?" Arthur asked in a whisper.

"Look at him. I can't leave him."

"You're just impossible."

"And yet, your new friend is exhausted. He needs to drink more water and eat more. And of course he needs rest and peace," Dr. Fabian said, catching Nicholas'slightly angry glare.

"Thank you Doctor. Thank you so much," Adelard said, squeezing his hand. "If you're not in a hurry, would you mind staying for dinner?"

"No thanks. I have one more patient. Monsieur Adelard, if I were you, I would not bring different people home. You know that there are a lot of diseases and infections in the world," the Doctor whispered, now, catching the approving look of Monsieur Nicholas.

"I know."

After waiting for everyone to leave, Arthur went up to Gaspard and began to examine all of his wounds, which were well covered with cloth.

"What happened to you?"

"Arthur, I don't think we should be here. He needs rest. Come on."

"Wait. I just want to find out."

Coming to his senses and feeling a certain surge of strength, Gaspard was able to look around and examine the room in where he was.

It was a spacious room with wooden walls and a similar ceiling. The small window was slightly open and the sounds of a distant town could be heard.

Brushing his black, curly hair back, he touched his face and then took a deep breath, replied, "I think you know what kind of person I am. A simple wanderer trying to survive. And these wounds are the result of hatred. If this does not bother you, then sometimes, in order to earn something, I have to do everything that a person's fantasy tells me. Different men often spend time with me and in the end do not pay anything and just leave. But although they don't just leave, they beat me up."

The moment Nicholas quietly turned on the lights throughout the house and the room where they were brightened, Adelard was able to see the face of this young man better.

It was a beautiful face. Yes, there was no doubt about that. Big black eyes, curly hair, a neat but bruised nose, an expressive look that hid intelligence and courage behind it, all this indicated that once, this man lived in prosperity and happiness. And what happened next was unknown to anyone.

For a while, there was silence in the room. Arthur, tired of standing in one place, sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed heavily.

"You need to eat. Maybe you want something specific?" Adelard asked.

Arthur laughed, Gaspard smiled for the first time in this house.

"I still don't believe," he whispered.

“And I don’t believe it either. It seems you and I encountered a real angel,” Arthur said, having already become a friend for this young man.

When Adelard himself brought a tray with a rich dinner into the room, Gaspard became convinced that he had died long ago and now, his soul was in a beautiful place called paradise.

"I brought a little bit of everything. I don't know what you like."

Placing the silver tray on a soft blanket with patterns in the form of sea waves, Adelard lit another candle and pulled a chair to the bed, took a mug of tea in his hands and handed it to Arthur.

Gaspard, feeling terrible hunger, could hardly restrain himself, but knowing that after so many days of being hungry he could not eat all this, he took a few sips of the soup which was the most delicious in his life.

"There's nowhere to rush. It's all for you," Adelard said, looking tiredly at his hands and thinking about something, but not about a stranger who was sitting in the spotlight and holding a plate of vegetable soup in his hands.

“Life can be so strange. I’m convinced of this several times already. But after meeting Adelard, I realized that life is always strange,” Arthur said, watching the green tea leaves swirl and smoothly fall to the bottom of the mug.

“I agree with you,” Gaspard said quietly, thinking sadly of Adelard’s act. But he did not find the courage to say what he was thinking and feeling at the moment.

"In general, we are all no different from each other. We are all the same. And we want to be happy under the warm Sun and under the beautiful Moon. And we want to notice only beauty and in the end, to know that life is beautiful." These words were spoken by Arthur.

Suddenly, they all plunged into a sleepy state, into melancholy, and even Gaspard, remembered that sadness, the only thing that he inherited from his parents.

Resting his head on the pillow, he closed his eyes and continued to listen to the sound of the wind.

The night was quiet, calm, and Adelard's voice was too soft to be true. And Adelard's voice was the only hope for which Gaspard lived all this time.

"Adelard, I expected that we would spend this evening differently. But you surprised me a lot. You have a good heart. Which means that it will be hard for you," Arthur said, eating the apple.

Noticing that Gaspard had already begun to fall asleep, Adelard carefully removed the tray and said, "Stop saying the same words over and over again. Arthur, you better tell me when you leave and why did you burst into my life?"

Going to the window, Arthur breathed in the cool air, which already carried the shades of the morning. And Adelard, on the other side of the bed, standing next to the sleeping man, repeated the name to himself. And repeating the name of that girl, he knew it was so hard to be in love.

And now, walking on different sides of the room, they were like two angels around this sleeping young man.

But only after a few questions and answers, Arthur answered the first question, "I burst into your life to save you. Yes, Suzanne asked me, but nevertheless, I always wanted to save you. More precisely, to protect you. I am here to take you with me."

"Do you really think I'm a madman who always needs to be rescued? But from what?"

"From your kindness. And from people. Adelard, I respect you. Well, Suzanne loves you. And we share one interest and that is to save you at any cost. Look at yourself. What are you doing? Do you think people will understand your kindness? No. They will not understand. Consider that I told you the whole future."

"You and Suzanne are alike. But what am I going to do in New York? Do you think I'll be a different person there?"

"Yes. The planet is one, but in different places, you become different. And in general, maybe it's strange, I have only known you for a few days, but nevertheless, I have a bad feeling about you."

"I understand everything. But this is my home. Tell Suzanne I'm not going anywhere."

"Are you sure?"

"Why can't I be sure of this?"

The conversation was getting weirder and they both knew about it. Reality was distorted under their words, and Adelard presented his future in front of him and there was no reason to worry. After all, ahead, he saw only her, only a girl named Celeste. And that was enough to start living as his heart told him.

When the wind left the empty streets, rain came to the place, which quickly plunged the whole town into silence and freshness. The window remained open and no one even thought about closing it. And at that moment, when the thunder reminded everyone of itself, Gaspard woke up and grabbed Adelard's hand with horror. There was a horror in his eyes that Adelard had never seen. But he calmed down as Adelard squeezed his hand back and nodded his head in a sign that everything was fine. But the window continued to be open.

Arthur, on the other hand, left them long ago and now, he was sitting lazily on the couch on the first floor and thinking that soon he would have to leave. There were a million thoughts in his head. But each of these thoughts was about only one thing, about Adelard.

And at that moment, when Nicholas passed him and lingered at the vase of flowers, Arthur asked, "Tell me, is Adelard happy?"

Nicholas, a man who was never surprised by anything, replied immediately, "Yes. He is happy."

"Is that all? Is that all you can say?"

"What else do you want to hear?" Nicholas asked coldly, looking at his reflection in a round mirror that hung over a small table with flowers.

The living room was dark and only one candle burned in the very corner. The dark green hues continued to talk about sleep, and Arthur began to fall asleep without noticing it. But his thoughts were stronger.

"I just can't understand him. I have never met such a person. I admire him. He is a great man. And I would like this great man to be always happy. And it seems to me that happiness was created specifically for Adelard. It is for him and no one else."

Nicholas laughed softly. He felt funny that this man does not hide his feelings and does not even know what it all means.

"Does it make you laugh at my words?"

"I see that Adelard has found himself a good friend."

"But I'm leaving in a day. And I really want Adelard to leave with me."

"But you do understand that he has everything here. Here, his whole life."

"A man is not a tree," Arthur said, resting his head on the pillow. "I'll stay here. Right on this couch. And I'm not going anywhere."

"Good night, Monsieur."