Perhaps I was inadvertently making progress and regaining his trust, bit by bit. He seemed to be trying to prove some sadistic point by allowing me freedom to leave. He was loudly stating that whether I chose to stay or go, it didn''t truly matter because he had an entire stable of disposable women to rece me with at his beck and call.N?velDrama.Org (C) content.


    It was such a contradictory and ludicrous game he yed. If he was truly trying to im he didn''t care if I left for good, then why did he make me tear up my own passport before our journey? Perhaps he was certain that no matter where I ran, I had nowhere permanent to go and could only inevitably return to the mansion, utterly dependent on him. I guess that knowledge alone satisfied the sick bastard''s ego.


    Ha! What a deranged mind game was this? Some twisted way to train obedient pets? Or perhaps it was merely his idea of fun - learning just how to instill discipline and loyalty in his mindless human ythings. Or maybe in his demented perspective, we were all simply pests to be toyed with until he grew bored.


    But I didter leave the grounds of the gaudy mansion for my own reasons. I simply walked straight out the gates and eventually found an old bicycle to borrow. Utilizing my uncannily urate memory. wasn''t difficult at all for me to navigate through the surrounding forest and locate Lucas'' grave in a remote clearing.


    I parked the bicycle a respectful few feet from his grave and started to clear away the weeds and overgrowth from the makeshift mound of earth marking his final resting ce. I worked steadily, feeling an odd sense of calm.


    I wasn''t scared at all to be out here alone. In fact, I found myself almost reflexively chatting with Lucas about the most random, inconsequential things, just like when we were little children and he was alive. Talking to the silence was strangelyforting, like he could still hear me.


    My heart felt heavy with a mncholic ache at the happier memories of him, which were now overflowing behind my eyes and threatening to spill over into tears. But I watched what I said carefully, mostly just recounting our times together and rying stupid jokes or anecdotes that I knew would have made Lucasugh uproariously I hoped he wasughing wherever his spirit now resided. Because I had no doubt that Dn almost certainly had someone tracking me without my knowledge during this unsupervised o 9. Or maybe there was already some kind of locator or recording device nted on me or in my belongings.


    "You remember that time when I first saw you?" I smiled heartily. I imagined that Lucas smiled back at me like he always did, waiting for me to narrate how our first meeting had unfolded again. "I was stuffing my face with all the nice food in your kitchen like the glutton that I was when you wheeled in and stared at


    me."


    He wouldugh uproariously at this point, just like he did when I first told the story years ago. I could almost hear the warmth of hisughter echoing through the trees.


    Then I covered my face with my hands, feigning embarrassment. "Goodness, I hate to imagine what a slovenly sight I must have looked like back then."


    In my mind''s eye, he would give me that long, thoughtful look of his that always made butterflies go wild in my belly and my face flush red. Then he''d smile that beautiful, crinkly-eyed smile and say in that kind. voice I loved so much, "You looked cute, Syd. As cute as can be."


    Hours slowly passed as I sat there, reliving our happiest moments together and making new imaginary


    memories with Lucas to fill the void of his absence. I tried my best not to dwell on those agonizing final days where heid bedridden and miserable in the hospital. By the time I finished carefully clearing all the weeds and growth from his grave mound, the sun had set, casting long shadows through the trees.


    Not wanting to leave just yet, I decided to make him a little flower wreath before departing, just like the ones I used to make for him when we were kids. I gathered some wildflowers growing around the area, even using some of the weeds I had pulled up. Tired but focused, I sat cross-legged on the forest floor and started weaving the flower stems together into a simple circlet.