In the heart of a wide valley surrounded by green mountains, lies the town of Haemor. Its houses are made of wood and stone, and its narrow streets are filled with the scent of fresh bread and the sound of laughter. A simple town, where its people live peacefully, farming their land and exchanging what they need with love and natural order, without written laws.
The smell of soup spread through the small cottage, sneaking through the open window and drifting over the nearby fields, where Bilor played with a stick, moving pebbles as if in a fantasy battle.
Inside, Linar sat by the stove, holding a small leather ball in his hands, threading the final stitch. His hand moved with confidence and calm, and his chest filled with a warm feeling. He was making it for Bilor, a small surprise for his son, who had been asking for a new ball for a while.
After finishing the stitching, Linar looked at it silently for a moment, then smiled, slowly rising to hide it on one of the wooden shelves.
Outside the cottage, Alin's gentle voice called:
"Bilor! Come, darling, food is ready!"
Linar leaned out the window and called:
"Bilor, come, it's time for lunch!"
Bilor ran toward the cottage happily, entering quickly, breathless from playing. He sat with his parents around the table, and the conversation between them was simple and warm. While eating, Bilor suddenly turned toward the shelf, his eyes widening in surprise.
He pointed and said:
"Dad! Is this a ball?"
Linar smiled and replied gently:
"Yes... I made it for you."
Bilor jumped from his seat, ran to the shelf, and grabbed the ball as if he had found a treasure.
"It's beautiful! Thank you, Dad!"
Alin smiled as she watched the scene, then added:
"After lunch, let's go to the garden. What do you think? The weather is lovely today."
Linar nodded in agreement, and after finishing lunch, they all headed together to the public garden in the heart of Haemor.
The air was fresh, and the sky was clear. A light breeze passed through the trees, and laughter echoed around. Bilor was running, throwing the ball into the air happily.
Linar sat under the shade of a tree, watching his son play, a slight smile on his face. In his heart, he whispered quietly:
"I wish this day would never end..."
---
Chapter 2: A New Day
That night, Linar stood in front of the ball and said to himself:
"What a beautiful day. Maybe I'll be like this for the rest of my life."
But there was an unclear sadness in his heart. Then Alin, his wife, stood and said to him:
"Was yesterday so beautiful that you shed tears of joy for it? Just don't act like that, Linar, and don't stay up all night. You have work tomorrow."
Linar replied:
"Alright."
Then Alin went to sleep, and Linar stepped outside to get some thread from the tailor. When he arrived at the shop, the tailor was in the middle of closing, and said to him:
"You finally came."
Arian, the shopkeeper, smiled and added:
"Hello, you're a bit late. I'll get you some thread."
They talked a little about the past, and Arian said:
"Do you remember our younger days? Everything was easier and simpler. You used to come every week and ask for new thread, and we had time to talk about everything."
Linar smiled and replied:
"Yes, you had everything in your shop. You always provided what I needed quickly. Those days were filled with beautiful memories."
Arian smiled and said:
"That's true. Our lives were full of work, but we enjoyed the simple moments, like this. Who would have thought everything would change like this?"
Linar replied, feeling nostalgic:
"Yes, our days were better in their simplicity."
Then Arian smiled and said:
"I needed to get out a little to relive some of those good memories."
Linar agreed and said:
"Yes, of course."
After that, Linar left the shop, and Arian went to close it. Linar returned home, smiling.
When he entered, Alin asked:
"Where have you been?"
Linar replied:
"I went to get some thread from the tailor. He asked me to make him some clothes."
Then Linar went to bed.
---
Chapter 3: The Last Day
The day begins in a new calm. Linar woke up early, ready to sew some clothes, while his wife, Alin, prepared breakfast as usual. The day seemed ordinary, but after preparing his tools, Linar decided to help Alin prepare breakfast. He smiled at her and said:
"Since I delivered the clothes yesterday, today is a holiday for me."
Bilor was still asleep. After a few minutes, he woke up and joined them for breakfast. They sat together, laughing and talking like any happy family. Linar asked his son Bilor:
"It seems like you liked the clothes?"
Bilor looked at his new clothes and answered:
"Yes."
Linar said:
"You should thank your friend Arian, he gave them to me for free for you."
Bilor replied:
"Okay, I'll thank him."
After breakfast, Alin sat down to rest while Bilor went out to play. Linar went to the market to get some food. After a while, he returned with a small bag. When he approached Bilor, he said:
"Today's lunch will be delicious because your mother is cooking it!"
Bilor ran inside to tell his mother. Moments later, Linar opened the door to enter, but someone opened it from the outside with force. Linar stepped back, and four strange men stood before him.
One of them said in a calm, ominous voice:
"Give us the necklace, Linar, and no one will be harmed."
Linar froze in place, glancing quickly at the room where Alin and Bilor had entered. He said in a trembling voice:
"Go... to the room."
One of the men grabbed his arm while two others went toward the room. Alin's screams were heard for a moment, then silence filled the air.
Bilor was dragged from the room by his hair. One of the men pressed his neck and said:
"Is this your son, Linar?"
Then he cut a part of his throat, and blood fell to the floor. Linar couldn't bear the sight, he kicked the man holding him and rushed toward one of the others, trying to grab a knife. But he was pushed hard into a shelf full of glass and tools. He fell on it, and things shattered.
In a moment of confusion, Linar saw fragmented images... Alin's face, Bilor smiling, and then... the ball. It was the ball he had sewn with his own hands, but it was transforming before his eyes... transforming into "Boo."
Then one of the men approached and said in a cold tone:
"It seems the necklace affected you, Linar... Sorry, but it's too late."
He drove his weapon into Linar's chest.
---
After a while, Arian, Linar's friend, was in his shop. He was selling some items, but on a small shelf behind him, a mended soft ball sat... It was Boo. It was placed there silently, not for sale.