SUMMER STORMS [h.s.]

three

I realized, yesterday I didn't go to the river as I had informed to my family during the breakfast. And that's the first thing I did after getting dressed and preparing my bag.
I felt stupid when I remembered I had brought my earphones, so I could listen to my own music instead of my old grandpa's CD's. I just didn't recall I had them inside my little bag.

"Bye dad!" I shouted before pressing the pedal of my bike with my foot, the bike immediately increasing its speed. It was like a five minute long ride, so I had time to think while the breeze hit softly my face.

I hadn't stop thinking about Trini's grandson for the whole night. As if his persona had my mind mesmerized and it didn't let me leave my thoughts or think about anything else. The solid fact that I was gonna see him again at lunch, I wanted it to happen but at the same time I didn't want his eye wandering rudely on me.

His piercing eyes really moved me. It was hypnotizing, just his whole face was golden. But in most cases, when men have that charming face, they have some asshole personality as well. And everything told me he wasn't an exception.

I let fall my bike to the floor when I arrived, then approached to the water. I took my Rebooks off and my socks, entering my feet in the cold water. The same water that had been frozen during the winter season.
Then I saw two people some long meters away from me. A girl and a boy. I observed better and realized who they were.
Gemma and Harry.

Yesterday, Gemma's presence was different and entertaining. She was a kind lady, and very funny. I exchanged some words with her, and I can say she would be a good friend here.
I noticed I was staring to much, but they were already approaching me. Surely was Gemma's idea, I really didn't picture Harry with that initiative.

I waved at them, Harry told something to his sister. The insecurity I felt thinking that maybe his comment was about me, got me even more nervous. Why was he like that?
I didn't get to hear it, but I knew it was English. And that, was the weird thing about it.
I thought they both were Spanish, just like the rest of the village except for me and my father.

"Hi!" Said Gemma.

"Hi" I shyly said with my head jerked towards them.

I looked at Harry rapidly with the corner of my eye. The staring was on again.

"Can we sit here?" Asked she and I nodded.

"You British?" I asked all of a sudden, but as the words sounded I realized they didn't seemed so strange. It was a way to start a conversation.

"Yeah" she laughs, both sat next to me and with their feet in the water like me, except for Harry. I wondered why they were British, but I wasn't brave enough to say it out loud.

"Oh, well... that's good. Are you gonna stay long here?" I asked her. My mind searching for what I think were good questions so the conversation would be the least uncomfortable as possible.

"I'm leaving tomorrow actually, but Harry will stay the whole month" I looked to him, he was now pretty focused on the grass as he played with it. Turning a blind eye to the mention of his name.
My toes got too cold and I decided to put again my socks and trainers.

My watch marked ten past two and I remembered they had to come back to the village at half past two, and so did I.

"Are you going to have lunch at my's?" I asked them before, maybe Trini had cancelled it.
It could be possible that they privately said to their grandma they didn't feel like coming, so she cancelled it putting any excuse.
But no, they didn't.
"Yes. And I think we have to go now" Said Gemma obviously, Harry looking at her. What if Harry is mute? That's could explain why he never talks.

We got up and started walking back home. The two siblings and me, with the bike by my side, as I moved it from the handlebars.

"What were you gonna do in the river?" Asked the 22 year old girl.
"I go there often to write" I said making sure the bike didn't fall to the side.
"Oh, that's nice. And great place, inspiring" I nodded in agreement.
Harry was looking at me with a curious look after hearing my answer.

The options were reducing and I didn't know what else to talk about, it's hard to have a fluid conversation without seeming you are trying too hard. So I let the silence invade us, until Gemma had a topic to talk about. We had to walk around five minutes more to get to our destination.

"And do you speak Spanish?"

"Sí" I answered.

"Haha, you could teach me, I've always wanted to learn" Said she with a bit of admiration in her voice.

"Sure, whenever you want" I said smiling. Gemma was actually a very nice person to talk to.

My family was quite international, in our house Spanish and English was spoken daily, and when my cousins came even French.

"What do you write?" Asked Harry out of the blue. It was the first time I had heard his voice.

Making me discard the mute option and laugh at myself for such a childish theory. He could, indeed talk. And with a tone that looked like it had been getting lower as puberty had been hitting him during the last years.

"Sorry?" I have heard him pretty well, I just needed time to realize he was talking to me.

He repeated the question without changing his facial expression any bit.

"I write a book every summer, but today I was just writing a short tale" I explained maybe too detailed. I felt like I bored him with my speech, but Gemma reacted nicely saying I had to show her one of my texts.

"Wow, I am so in love with these landscapes" Said Gemma, some minutes after the writing conversation had finished.
Just before the entrance of the village, there's a sunflower field. A big sunflower field.

"Yeah, this is quite beautiful"

I added. Even though I was used to see it every summer, it left me astonished every and each year.
I sometimes escaped here and wrote about those sunflowers. I had wrote a lot of romantic scenes watching how they bent at the rhythm of the soft breeze. But of course, I was not gonna say that out loud.

"They are so beautiful, right Harry?" Said she and Harry nodded still looking at the ground.

We arrived to my grandparents house, I left the bicycle leant over the wall and opened the door for them. Gemma entered and after her Harry, then me.

Seeing his tall and masculine figure attracted me very much, I could even smell his minty cologne.
He was handsome in every way, well physically, because I have only heard him twice and had no idea how he truly was.