Chapter 1
Even though it had happened more than 12 years ago, to him it felt like it was just yesterday. The memory didn’t vanish, it burned itself down into his mind, and he doubted that he would ever be able to forget this certain day when, until today, he wasn’t anywhere near able to repress these memories.
Summer. He has always loved the summer. He loved spending his time outside, to go on adventures together with his dozens of friends, and to stay up longer since the sun shone bright until the evening hours and therefore enlightened the night.
It has always been easy for him to make new friends or to talk to other people, which made him a very appreciated friend and contact person. If his friends wanted to go and play outside, they always asked him first if he wanted to join them. He was popular, and his very short life of six years went normal until this certain day. The day that had changed everything.
It was a regular Saturday morning, like any other, and his mother decided it was time to spontaneously visit his grandmother. Immediately, he packed the most important things he would need for the long journey into his small backpack. His mother added a couple of socks and other clothes since they wanted to stay at his Grandmother’s place for two days. Then their trip started.
He was looking forward to seeing the old mansion of his Grandma, which lied between a big, adventurous forest and a playground. He couldn’t imagine a place more beautiful than this one anywhere in the world.
The ride didn’t feel as long to him as it used to, he could even feel how he grew up and became more and more patient with time. He had learned to wait and therefore time flew by quickly. His tiny heart beat fast, caused by all the excitement he felt when they drove through the forest that led to his Grandma’s house.
He loved the old mansion that was covered in ivy where his Grandma lived since he was born. He was fascinated by the huge windows that let the sun get inside the cold-looking house and fill it with light and warmth. Also, he enjoyed the playful garden filled with bushes of roses and a small pavilion next to a tiny pond. He knew that the house with many rooms had lived through better times, but he loved everything about it.
The mansion was old, but even though her children have always told her to renovate it so the roof wasn’t literally falling down on her, his Gra