2. Mr. Frank

That night, Aiden slept with Yan and Juls in the back room, although the room was quite small.

The smell of herbs greatly disturbed the boys' sleep, and they tossed and turned constantly on the cots Mrs. Lily had set up for them.

While Juls and Yan were more accustomed to sleeping among plants, herbs and flowers, the same could not be said of Aiden, who kept sneezing so violently that he thought the shelves on which the bottles stood were about to fall over.

Yan was a heavy sleeper and snored loudly with his mouth open, a thread of drool dripping from his lips.

Juls heard Aiden sneeze and addressed him. "Are you allergic to any plants?"

"I do not know," he answered dryly, in a voice that showed no emotion. He continued to stare into the emptiness of the semi-dark room, lit only by the same roses he had seen at the entrance to the shop.

"Where are you from?" asked Juls, curious to know more about the boy who had left no information about himself.

"I do not know. It's complicated."

"If you do not want to talk about it, that's fine," whispered the girl, still staring at the dimly lit ceiling. "I live with Yan and his family, I was adopted by them when I was five, how time flies...".

Aiden did not know why Juls was telling him these things, but he listened silently anyway, and then let out a few words. "It must have been hard for you too."

"It was at first. But Yan's family welcomed me with open arms." Juls' voice began to tremble slightly. "I want to be a healing sorceress or a naturalist, you know," she sighed. "I want to be able to save people and nature. Do you think I have too rosy an idea of the world? "

"Maybe. But that does not mean it's wrong." Aiden spoke as if he was carrying a heavy burden on his shoulders. "At least you have a dream, a family."

"From mid-September, Yan and I will attend Magicae White Magic Academy in the Focus region. His father, Mr. Frank, is a very generous man. He works as a healer in the school's infirmary." Juls paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to express her idea without sounding too pushy. "If you do not have a place to go, you could sign up with us, what do you think?"

Aiden was silent, no one had ever offered him a place to stay before, but most importantly, no one had ever offered him friendship the way Juls was doing right now. "I think so."

"Of course it's just a suggestion, you do not have to..." She did not have time to finish the sentence, which was immediately interrupted by Aiden.

"I do not have to," she paused, then whispered to herself. "Starting over...the new me..." she murmured as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier.

The next morning, Aiden was awakened by a general chatter from the other room. Judging by the sun's rays falling fiercely through the only window without a curtain in the back room, it must already be late morning.

He looked around to find that he was alone, then got up from the cot and ruffled his hair, wondering how short it had become, finally looking into the shop.

Mrs. Lily stood with her arms folded, staring with an annoyed expression at a crowd of women and girls of various ages clustered around one man.

"Come on mom, do not do that! You know Dad is a man who is loved by everyone. " Yan's smile unfortunately did not infect her mother, who was casting more and more disparaging glances at the other women.

Mr. Frank was a very young and handsome man, he had light brown hair and big green eyes like two gems. "I brought some sweets for breakfast," the gentle smile and the delicate and calm movements brought serenity to all those who looked at him. He placed the tray of pure fruit candies on the counter and then turned to the women around him. "My dear ladies, if you need a particular potion, I can serve you today."

The raging crowd of women began to shout and crowd around the shelves. "I want a potion for good humour," another woman randomly took the first potion from the shelves. "I want this one, how much is it?"

Lily snorted and looked up at the ceiling in disappointment. "At least business is better on the days he comes home."

Yan grabbed a large cream pie, sinking his teeth into it and getting his whole mouth dirty, then noticed Aiden's presence at the back door. "Good morning Aiden, come eat!"

Aiden walked with small steps toward the others and remained silent. He met the gaze of Frank, who smiled kindly at him. "You must be the boy who came aboard a raft, they told me about you a while ago," he held out his hand to him.

As Aiden returned the handshake, he suddenly felt the heat go through his entire arm, as if he could not move. Frank's eyes continued to smile at him, then the man released his grip. "So, are you going to study white magic with my children in September?" his gaze was fixed on the boy and he was waiting for an answer from him.

He could not explain why, but Aiden saw something strange in that look from Mr. Frank, something that made all his hair stand on end. He nodded.

"You know, Frank, as I mentioned before, he's alone and has nowhere to stay. I am sure he'll be comfortable with us," Juls explained, adjusting the straw hat with pink flowers that the man had just given her.

"I hope so," Frank's smile was very different from Yan's, almost disconcerting. Aiden did not understand how all the ladies could fall at his feet.

Without saying a word, he took a piece of candy from the tray and devoured it in one bite.

It all began on that midsummer day. Aiden still did not know that what would happen to him next would completely turn his life upside down.

And so he, Juls, and Yan spent the entire summer together.

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