All Chapters of The Brightest Shadow: Teenage Days: Chapter 111 - Chapter 119

The spacious hospital room was flooded and bathed in the golden beams of the afternoon sun; excited to witness the tender reunion of mother and son. Belly-deep laughter smoothly filled the atmosphere, contagious and joyful. The golden, glistening rays shamelessly landed on the bed, there where David and his forever-joyed mother sat hand in hand. The Impossible had become possible; the unthinkable, real. David’s eyes locked onto his mother’s, and just like that, his heart broke, prompting a waterfall of tears to stream down his cheeks to reveal his sadness that was intertwined with excitement that he failed to express better. His heart throbbed as his trembling, sweating hands refused to break contact from the hands of a woman who had given him life. The weight of years of struggle, of pain and uncertainty, seemed to melt away, replaced by an overwhelming sense of gratitude.The doctor had discreetly slipped out, leaving the two to their precious moment. The silence between them w

A bird chorus filled the whole room, sharply yanking Travis from his deep sleep. The first thing that greeted him was a sharp, hot, and piercing pain that pulsated in the middle of his head. There, his heart hammered itself against his wobbly chest wall as he felt the pain start to spread throughout his brain.His ears throbbed with pain as if someone had been pulling them. Standing up straight on the bed, Travis clutched at his hair while he took deep breaths. The room around him was swirling, as if on a merry-go-round.There, he tried to open his eyes, but the morning beams of the sun were just too sharp, too demanding of him to keep his eyes closed. A groan escaped his dry, chapped lips as he maneuvered to calm his wild heart, but nothing came of it.One more time, he tried to at least open his eyes, and this time he could. Nothing stayed still, walls seemed to be in the embrace of shadows that kept on dancing in his eyes. Everything he saw was either standing still or just swaying

Eyelids tremble as sleep starts fading into thin air. With a jolt, Travis woke up, feeling the threads of last night’s dream brush away into the back of his head, where he might have to use his energy to recall its details.For a moment, he did not know where he was. His cheek was tightly pressed against the cold floor while his hands spread in all directions. Timidly, his eyes opened and were swiftly welcomed by the glistening beams of the morning sun, which lent a hand in chasing away his sleep.Standing up straight on the floor, Travis shivered as he looked around him. Relief washed in when he realised that he was in his bedroom and nowhere else. For some reason, he felt the need to get away as soon as possible, not after last night’s dream.Yes, he did dream a lot! “Mother was warning me. She wants me not to show my weakness.” He whispered through clenched teeth from the cold. He shook his head and listened to his body; he examined every corner, if not all, of his body. No, there

Later that night:A finger rhythmically tapped on the table, filling the whole room with ominous air. Arthur sat in a chair opposite his grandmother, whose head was leaning back on the chair, looking up, lost in thought.Her eyes were closed while her chest heaved, releasing the heaviness from her lungs. Right there, Arthur’s eyes were glued to the tongues of the fire, which were vigorously crashing into each other in the fireplace, not far from where he sat. From the fire, he shifted his glance to his grandmother, whose figure was slightly buried in the dark.He watched as the brightness of the fire illuminated her fairly wrinkled face, her pursed lips that were painted by a deep crimson lipstick, and a forehead that was decorated by the wrinkles of deep thought. “Just what are you thinking?” Arthur silently asked, whilst his eyes glided down on his grandmother’s figure, reading and following all her steady, yet anxious movements as she swayed in the chair.His eyes dilated as he beg

BACK TO SCHOOLMorning came hastily without warning, but that alone was enough for Travis, whose heart could not stop jingling with mirth. Today, the schools were reopening, and for the first time in his life, he was happy to go back. There, he knew he would be free, no watchful eyes on him, and most importantly, he was finally going to see his boyfriend after so many days without contact.“He must have his reasons. Afterall, his mother is sick and needs his attention now and then.” Pacifying his heart before it went wild, Travis thought whilst getting himself dressed in his school uniform. Looking at himself in the mirror, he paused to smell the sweet scent on his blazer, and his mind quickly recalled David’s smile.He knew he had to hurry and leave; there was nothing left for him to do in the house.All thoughts of the disconnection between them flew out of his head as he rushed downstairs quietly, to be sure the owner of the house did not see or hear him.“Travis.” A familiar grave