Disclaimer: Disclaimed
For the first time in his life, Alois Trancy was happy.
Blue butterflies and thornless white roses. He and Luka ran through the field, snatching at the fluttering insects, laughter bubbling from them like the brook that murmured through Paradise. And at sunset, they lay in the meadow and watched as the sky streaked red and orange and faded to black with speckled stars.
"Jim?" Luka asked. They were lying in the field, a honeysuckle blossom in each of their mouths.
"Yeah?" Alois shifted to meet his brother's eyes.
Luka's face was worried, and unease shot through Alois.
"What is it?" he asked, reaching over to pluck a strand of grass from Luka's hair.
His brother grimaced. "When is this going to end? I mean, when will the dream be over? We're going to have to wake up soon, right?"
Alois laughed with relief. That was it. That was all Luka was worried about.
"No, Luka," he said freely. "This is forever."
"You mean you'll promise to never leave again?" his brother asked.
Alois smiled, and Luka smiled with him.
"That's right."
For the first time in his life, Alois had everything he ever wanted.
Not only did he have Luka, but there were also other children in Paradise, pure souls who had once been subjected to the ferocious and determined hatred that had preyed on Alois but who now were just peaceful, joyful children suspended in the golden age of youth.
"Thank you," he had said to Hannah, the creator of his Paradise, as Luka and the younger children played a game of hide-and-seek.
She smiled, tenderness sparking her usually dull eyes. "It's the least I can do. You deserved more than life gave you, so much more. All of you did."
He hugged her, breathing in her scent of wild cherries, and she kissed the top of his head.
But the days that Alois anticipated most were the ones when Claude came. The former butler would row down the river in his rickety black boat, Alois would run to him and fling his arms around Claude's neck, and Claude would look at him with affection in his eyes - eyes that reserved that gaze only for him. They would lie in the orchard, Alois's head resting on Claude's chest, and the latter would murmur stories from his days of travel and living. When dusk had settled, Claude would take his leave, and Alois would not be afraid of the incoming darkness because he knew that Claude would be back and that he would never be alone again.
Because for the first time in his life, Alois knew he was loved.
