Prologue
“Goodbye. We will never see each other again.”
Maxim’s words sound like a sentence. Freezing. Merciless. It’s a farewell phrase. A statement. And suddenly, before my eyes, like flashes, memories begin to flicker. Our quarrels. Our reconciliations. His laughter, his smile — so warming. His touch. Everything I’ve kept inside as the most precious. Everything is tied to him. To my Rebel Boy.
The click of the hammer echoes. The world stops completely. The realization that this might be the shot meant for me, that everything might end right now, brings a new wave of pain. Not the pain of the body. The pain of a soul tearing apart. Sharper than any wound. The pain of loss that hasn’t yet happened but has already become inevitable.
I look at Maxim one last time. And I close my eyes. Darkness swallows me.
