The New life. Part one.

Five gendarmes rudely pushed the three young men forward, toward the motor car and several carriages. All three of Monsieur Louis' sons looked like each other. The same red hair, the same eyes filled with hatred for everything in the world. Without taking their eyes off Adelard, who had found shelter in Celeste's arms, they walked slowly past him and without regard for the cries of the gendarmes, they spat directly at him.

"What are you doing?! Have you completely lost your mind?!" Celeste shouted and grabbed a large rock and threw it in their direction.

"You! What are you doing?! How did you let them spit on him?! I'm going to go complain about you! You're not doing your job at all!"

"Okay, woman, calm down!"

"Do you even know who that is?"

"Take them away quickly!" Jean exclaimed, wiping the saliva off Adelard's face. "I'll make you pay for this. In person!"

"Jean, it's okay. I'm fine," Adelard said, looking around and noticing his factory intact.

"Monsieur, all the valuables things remained intact. Except that the slabs and the ceiling were damaged. But I don't think that will be a problem for you," said the fireman, smiling happily.

"I won't just leave it! I'm going to complain! And how else do you call yourselves the gendarme?!" Celeste continued to scream, holding a rock in her hand. Her delicate facial features suddenly turned into a cruel, harsh emotion that could only belong to the rudest, most violent human. But even in this side of her character, Adelard saw only beauty. He didn't care if some guys spit right in his face, leaving an unpleasant feeling on his skin. He was happy and grateful just to know that the most beautiful woman in this world loved him.

"Why are you always so happy? You know, sometimes I hate you for it. I hate you for always seeing only good in everyone. Sometimes I think that if someone wants to kill you, you'll still think that this person is the nicest person in the world," Jean said nervously and kicked the rock that lay in front of his shoe. He just burst into flames, but no one cared. When everyone finally left Adelard with his slightly burned-out factory, Celeste was back to her former, gentle self. Now, Adelard could enjoy the beautiful moon in the sky and that generous gaze that looked at him without any hostility.

"Monsieur, are you all right? Are you in pain? The doctor is already here. You'll be taken to the hospital soon," Theo said, still panicking and throwing himself at Adelard with a hug.

"Everyone loves you so much. It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman," Celeste said, pushing him with her elbow in a friendly way.

"I don't want to go to the hospital. No!" Adelard exclaimed. "Celeste save me. Take me away from here," he whispered in her ear.

"But Monsieur!" Theo could only shout but it was too late.

Adelard ran forward with the words, "Theo, please take care of everything yourself. I'll come tomorrow morning!"

"His factory was on fire. His life's work was in danger. But look at him! Once again a woman got in the way of a genius! I simply have no words!" Jean shouted, but his words went unheard. "Well, let's see what's going on out there. I hope those firemen did their job."

A kind person is always a little lost in this world. A kind person is always a little childish. And the greatest danger of a kind person is that such a person is not afraid of anything. He sees good in dangerous people, in troubles he sees only tricks of fate, which can be easily solved, if you just smile and love life even more. Adelard, a shining example of the kindest man who has ever walked this earth. And as is always the case, there are always evil people walking around such a man. But evil is always good at hiding.

Holding on to the hand that led him only forward, he had already made a vow that he would never let go of this person who had become his light in life. The whole town kept talking and arguing about something, but Adelard simply walked, seeing the back of her head, the small shoulders, the thin waist, the fragile but strong arms in front of him. The sky still held the voice of smoke, but in places, you could see stars.

"What are you thinking about?" Celeste asked.

"About you."

"And what do you think of me? Tell me honestly."

"You've changed me. You know that, don't you?"

She laughed and he blushed.

"You're funny."

"I'll always be funny to you. The important thing is that you always smile."

"You know that's impossible, don't you?! You know that life isn't always about walking and smiling. We are living people, after all. We have to be sad and cry too," Celeste said, deep down, not believing the love that was in Adelard's eyes.

But Adelard simply loved. His love had no explanation, no reason. His love was simply like the most obvious, most ghostly thing in the world.

"I know. But I'm always dreaming. And I am sure that I will make you always smile. I will take all the sadness and sorrow into my soul and keep you safe from it all," he said, stopping on the bridge.

Celeste looked at him thoughtfully, her gentle face still hiding a heavy emotion that Adelard was not yet aware of.

"I can't believe that someone wants to hurt you. This world is crazy. And you're too perfect," she said, angrily remembering those three guys. "They set your factory on fire, and then what? What if they want to kill you?"

Adelard had long ago accepted the fact that he was an insane man and that he couldn't think at all. He had accepted that he was the most naive man in the whole world. Because instead of running around the factory and making a fuss and suing those people, he stood there smiling. All he could think about was Celeste. All of him, as if he had been living for her the whole time. Nothing else made sense. Absolutely nothing.

Blushing slightly at his gaze, Celeste turned away and continued talking. But Adelard heard nothing. He was just in love.

And the moment she turned in his direction to say something else, he bent down and kissed her. It was a light kiss, followed by a long embrace. She was literally drowning in his arms, smelling the ashes and the scent of his body. Now, like a real angel, he shielded her from the world with his shoulders, his wings. "I love you," he whispered a little with sadness and irony in his voice. "Celeste, I love you."

"If you say it over and over again, you can lose all meaning in those words."

"You don't believe me."

There was a moment of silence. When Adelard let her go, she looked sadly at the sky. "Why are you sad?" he asked, taking off his jacket and covering her with it.

"I'm not cold," she wanted to object, but he hugged her even tighter.

"You're cold, I know."

"Your voice makes me shiver."

"What are you thinking about?"

"A lot of things. You won't like my thoughts."

"I love everything about you."

"What if I told you that I killed a man or that I have ten children?" Celeste suddenly asked, wanting to frighten Adelard. But he didn't even move.

"I love everything about you. Just trust me."

"Well then, I have ten children and in the past, I was a thief. For stealing, I was in big trouble."

"Are you trying to scare me?"

"I'm telling you the truth," she said and took a step back.

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "I love you. I am not afraid of you, of your past, of your deeds. I'm not afraid of the fact that you might be truly evil. Because, I love everything about you and am willing to love what I don't know yet."

"You are impossible."

"I've been waiting for you. And without you, my life makes no sense. There was a fire at the factory today, but you know, all I thought about was you. In that moment I realized that nothing mattered to me. Only you. In you I see my future, my life. So let me, always, be your slave."

These words made her smile. She closed her face and sighed loudly. "You're impossible."

"Kiss me," he said, hugging her insistently.

"You are impossible, Monsieur Adelard," she said before kissing him with all her strength.

"For the next ten minutes, don't say anything. Just stand beside me. Okay?" Adelard asked.

The night passed too quickly. No one realized what they had become after that night. But with the first rays of the sun and the pale blue sky, the whole town went to sleep, leaving the two lovers alone. And even the sea stopped stirring. And even the sea slowly began to fall asleep, along with the quiet singing of the waves and the dreaming of the fish.

Adelard and Celeste, standing on the bridge, looking ahead, sharing the beautiful view, sharing the world between them, waited for the ten minutes to pass. They both looked tired and slightly agitated. Adelard was too in love, Celeste was too disillusioned with life and people. But a strong bond had already developed between them. The moment the wind blew, waving Celeste's dress like a flag, Adelard looked at his watch and, taking a deep breath, suddenly kneeled. With that, his face was lifted upward, his eyes filled with fatigue and tears. He had fallen in front of her after a long road, after a long search. He had fallen and decided that he would never get back up on his feet. Looking at him in amazement, she, like the moon in the sky, like the sun among the clouds, like millions of stars in the night background, still could not understand this man. The cool morning and the birdsong were all that surrounded them. Along with the dawn and the smell of smoke that was still in the air, Celeste felt drowsy. But is there sleep when love holds you in its arms?

"Get up. I'm not comfortable with you acting like this," she said nervously. Shrugging her shoulders, she threw off his jacket and stepped aside.

"I beg you to marry me," Adelard said seriously and became cold and too stern. The asphalt and small stones were already hurting him, but nevertheless, he continued to kneel. And he was ready to fall even lower, to look into the bowels of the earth and beyond, to where the eternal fire burns and keeps repeating the names of sinners.

Celeste looked at him still in wonder. There were too many questions in her beautiful eyes. But even such a revelation of feeling did not make her remove her mask of cold-bloodedness and show her true self. Instead of flying up in happiness, as any other girl would have done, she said, "You don't know me and yet say such things. You just want to play around."

"Don't talk like you know me. You don't know me either. But does love exist because of knowledge?"

"I don't like talking about love. It's a waste of time. There are many important things in this world besides love. There is too much suffering in this world. Adelard, you know nothing. Which means you can't love either."

"Why do you say that? Do you want to hurt me? But you haven't succeeded! I love you. I've always loved you. And I don't care what you are, what your past is. I just love your existence. I just love what you are, I love you for being born into this world."

Celeste lowered her eyes down and clenched her hands in her fists and said, "I've seen too much death and too much suffering. My soul is black and there is no room in it for love. My heart has long been destroyed. Do you want to love someone like me?"

Still on his knees, he bent even lower and looking at her little feet, which were in old shoes, said, "Both in darkness and in daylight, among evil and good, among the living and dead, I love you. There is no doubt about that. I simply say what I feel. Why don't you believe me?"

"I believe you. I just can't believe that someone like you fell in love with me for nothing. I'm just a simple woman, after all."

"Don't make yourself a victim and don't feel sorry for yourself. It's as if your words were taken from a novel. Stop it Celeste. It's your fault I fell in love with you. So take responsibility for it. Also, if you don't love me, why did you kiss me? Why?"

Grabbing him by the shoulders, she looked into his too clear eyes and seeing her reflection in them, she flinched but a slight smile ran across her face.

"Are you smiling?"

"Tell me, why do you love me?"

"You tell me first," he said, squeezing her hands tightly.

"Are you so sure I feel the same way about you?"

"Yes. So answer my question."

Watching the seagulls fly over the sleeping sea, Celeste furrowed her brow and let the fine wrinkles around her eyes form a worried emotion. And her answer finally sounded clear and quiet, "I love you because you make me believe in kindness. I love you because you make me forget the past, the pain, and believe in the future."

Smiling, laughing heartily with happiness, Adelard got up on his toes and feet and then, like a child, rolled back and forth.

"I love you because in you I see my life, my future and I just know that you are my everything. My meaning of life. But I can't explain how I feel. But I will always prove to you that I love you." Falling to his knees again, he wiped the tears from his face and asked, "Will you marry me?" To which Celeste answered simply and clearly, like a soldier, like a fighter who was ready for battle, "Yes."