I didn't quite know what compelled me to ring his doorbell again, three days after the conclusion of the case had been filed up, and all parties notified. Somehow, I had trouble accepting that this man I'd seen only twice would leave my life forever. I wanted to see if he was well before I walked away. Wanted to exchange a few true words with this gentle man without the burden of his accusation hanging upon his head.

Third time's the charm, right?

The door swung open, revealing a woman with a heavy jacket. Curly hair, tanned skin and a wary expression.

- "Yes?"

Taken aback; I had not realised Mr Jensen had a companion, I was about to state my purpose when Marcus appeared by her side.

- "Oh, hey! Let her in Nadja, it's Elena."

The brunette woman gave Marcus an odd look and took a step back with reluctance. Guilt, shame and worry oozed from her, and I had trouble understanding what was going on in her head right now. I stepped in to to greet Marcus politely when he suddenly drew me into his arms and squeezed the life out of me. Stunned, I struggled to breathe when I heard footsteps in the corridor. Stuck in the teenager's grip, I locked eyes with Lucas who stood a few feet away.

He, also, was wearing a warm jacket. His chestnut strands were slightly disarrayed, revealing the curve of his high cheekbones and strong jaw. And most of all, giving me a good view of his amber eyes. A gleam of tenderness passed within their depth, and I could catch a sudden wave of gratitude and … fondness directed at me. Like a soft blanket landing upon my shoulders, it mingled with Marcus exuberance and swept me off my feet.

- "Thank you!"

Frozen on the spot, I was starting to feel lightheaded when Lucas closed the distance in a few strides.

- "Marcus, you're squeezing the air out of her."

- "Sorry, sorry!" the teenager exclaimed as he released me.

Finding myself without support, I suddenly wobbled. Lucas' hand landed at my elbow, his sharp features worried. Curiously, I wanted very, very much to lean into him. Damn, I had not realised how much sleep I'd lost on this case. The idea of a fifteen-hour nap felt more and more appealing…

- "Are you all right?"

Lucas's smooth voice called be back to reality, and I nodded sheepishly.

- "Erm. Yes, thank you. I wasn't expecting such a welcome."

- "What? With the stunts you've pulled and clearing my father's name, what did you expect?"

Marcus' excitement created a buzz of energy around me, and I smiled.

- "A standard 'we're good' or 'thank you' is usually what I get."

- "Way underrated," he scoffed.

His statement brought a smile to my lips. That kid was so much fun to be around; I hoped he would settle more often with his father, if only to help him shed the nightmare of the past weeks. Behind me, I could feel his girlfriend's gaze boring holes into my back; she certainly wasn't happy to see me, and I wondered why she seemed so hostile.

And I, for my part, wondered why I cared so much.

- "We were about to take a walk, do you want to join us?"

Nadja mentally scoffed behind me, and I accepted with a cheesy smile. Yes. A walk would clear my mind. And so, half an hour later, the three of us walked Fanny in the forest behind. Nadja held Lucas' hand possessively, and I kept my distance as we conversed. There was something uneasy in that relationship, and I wondered why the woman seemed so insecure and so aggressive in the first place. Several times, she interrupted our gentle flow with snarky comments. I sighed; pushy, again. Exactly like his ex-wife.

Well, none of my business.

Lucas told me that Theo had visited, and apologised profusely. He was still hurt; I read it easily enough in the lines of his face without having to use my gift. I wondered if the village would forget, and if Lucas would forgive…

- "You know, if someday you want to consider doing something different, we could use people like you in child services."

Lucas addressed me a shocked look. Perhaps because I was advocating for him to work with children after the accusations laid out at his feet. Perhaps because it might mean moving away from his village, and he wasn't ready to consider that possibility yet.

- "Thank you, but I'm good here."

I nodded, keeping my thoughts to myself. Especially since Nadja was glaring at me.

- "They gave him his job back, now. He doesn't need another."

Her pissed off tone reminded me of a she-wolf struggling to keep her mate, so I just responded gently and shut my mouth. Lucas, stuck between us, fidgeted slightly. Seeing that I was making them comfortable, I elicited to join Marcus and play a game of throw with Fanny for a while. The forest was dormant; it awaited the first snow fall to ease into hibernation.

At last, we took another path, our feet scrunching over dead leaves, and I felt the quietness of the forest lull me into a state of deep contentment. I could understand easily Lucas' fondness for the outdoors. If I was more addicted to the seaside, walking into this pattern of tree trunks and orange ground soothed my mind.

Seeing that everything was in order, I got ready to bid them goodbye when Lucas stopped me before his house.

- "Wait, please. I have something I meant to ask you."

Nadja stared at me for a second before she disappeared in the house without a goodbye. Marcus gave me a check, and took Fanny inside to wash her paws, leaving us both in front of Lucas' white house. When the door eventually clanged, Lucas took a step forward. He was so damn tall that I had to arch my neck.

- "How did you know I was innocent?"

His question struck a chord, and I slammed a few protective walls in place to keep myself from selling my secret.

- "What do you mean?"

The former teacher gave me his most intimidating stare, and my breath caught in the intensity of his golden-flecked eyes. I was hopelessly trapped.

- "You knew I was innocent before you even took my computer, didn't you?"

- "You are certainly perceptive."

I felt the corner of my lips twitch and I struggled to keep it from forming a full smile.

- "I need to know, please."

- "Why, Lucas?"

It was the first time I used his first name, and it created a bond between us. Some sort of bubble, intimate, where the outer world could crash and burn.

- "I…"

I could feel, as much as I saw, how difficult it was for him to say those words. But the man needed to express himself on those past hurts, else it would fester. He was closed up like an oyster, and I already couldn't even feel anything from him. Lucas had shut the door, and I wasn't about to force my way in.

A wicked idea came to me, and I pondered upon it for a moment. Could I take such a risk?

- "I won't judge you."

Silence. Lucas' eye roamed the ground, his tongue darting over his upper teeth in a sign of nervousness. After all, he was going to become a random guy, a person of the past. There wasn't such great risk to confiding my secret to a man that gossiped less than a tomb, right?

I steeled myself, and braced for impact.

- "Once I tell you how I knew you were innocent, you won't believe me."

The revelation piqued his interest, and Lucas levelled me with an inquisitive glance.

- "I doubt it," he murmured.

I shivered; the cold, possibly.

- "So …?"

A great sigh escaped his lips, as if he was expelling all the weight of the world.

- "Theo is my best friend, and he couldn't believe me."

- "He wanted to. He was just afraid."

Hope gleamed in his eyes before a sombre expression overtook his beautiful features.

- "And Nadja … she doubted me as well. And three quarters of that damn village. I've lived here all my life, damn! I even saved Theo from drowning a month ago ! And those people believe I could…"

There were tears sliding down his cheeks now, and he wiped them angrily. My chest ached for him, and I had to swallow the bump in my throat to explain what had happened.

- "Your village has fed on fear, the parents were not rational anymore. It happens in small places like this, and you were the perfect victim because you don't rebel and don't express your emotions much."

- "Uh?"

The moist that lingered in his eyes caused them to glow; It was mesmerising.

- "You are very closed off, Lucas."

His anger spiked so strongly that I felt its iciness pierce my body.

- "So what, it makes me an abuser?"

Is that what he concluded from my words? That he was responsible for this mess because of his character? Damn, when had I messed up so badly ?

- "No! No. But it allows people to assume because you don't contradict them…"

His features morphed slightly, and I pressed on.

- "There is nothing you could have done, Lucas. Even with the authority I had, and proofs, and Denise, we had to struggle for days to get them to see the truth."

Acceptance came faster than I thought it would, or perhaps he just stored that information away because there was something more important for him to share.

- "OK. OK. So I want to know. No one, in that damn village, except for Marcus' godfather fucking believed me. How come, you, a stranger, just accepted my innocence?"

I took a very deep breath, and locked my eyes with his.

- "There is no turning back from what I'm about to tell you."

- "I don't care."

I shook my head in dismay; Lucas needed this more than air to breathe, and I was about to shift his world irremediably. Maybe he would send me on my merry way…

- "I … I am what people call a medium."

A thousand tons of lead landing upon his head might have had the same effect, for Lucas watched me, stunned. So I endeavoured to explain.

- "I can catch feelings and images coming from another person. You were devastated that day, but not ashamed. There is not an ounce of perversion within you, Lucas. So I knew."

- "Well … erm."

His face was blank, assessing if I was crazy or not, probably. And there was nothing more to say; Lucas lived in a tight community, and went to church. To the Christians, mediumistic skills came from the devil himself… So, this was the moment I turned around, and big him adieu, right?

- "You don't have to say anything," I told him. "I know this concept rocks people's reality so I'll just leave you in peace"

Panic flashed in his eyes.

- "No, don't… So what am I feeling now?"

The challenge, of course. Charlie, my husband, had asked the same questions when he discovered my peculiarity. It was my turn, now, to feel desperate; the need for acceptance swelling in my chest.

I closed my eyes, and tried to pinpoint whatever feelings leaked between the cracks. They were faint, and well-guarded, but I managed to get a glimpse of the turmoil inside.

- "You are … very sad, in general. Both from the situation, and from hurts of the past. Heartbroken by the lack of trust, and slightly angry…"

My eyes flew open.

- " … at me?"

Lucas' cheeks flared and he dipped his head like a boy caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Given his build – 6 feet tall, and broad shoulders – and the sharpness of his features, the sight was almost comical. Yet … it hurt, but this was my reality; people were always destabilised by my gift.

- "I understand Mr Jensen", I said softly. "It can be uncomfortable to have people like me around."

His eyes widened rather comically.

- "Ah, no… It is not… I just wish you had told me, because I thought I was getting crazy."

I blinked; this was unexpected. And he was so sheepish that he went on:

- "Your input would have come handy, but I understand why you couldn't tell such a thing. We live in a rational world after all"

I swallowed thickly, put off by his easy acceptance. And a great turmoil of disbelief surged in my veins, so much that I wanted to share who I was…

- "Sometimes, I see things that I don't want to know. But in my line of work, you can imagine it comes handy."

- "Because you know who is guilty, and why."

He was so bright! And probably as justice oriented as I was, especially after what happened to him.

- "Yes. And I know where to search, and what to search for."

Another nod of realisation; this is how I had got him out of this mess in the first place. By diving into his emotions, I had known to look the other way. By interrogating Theo's family, I had found where Klara had heard and seen those things.

- "It is … somehow liberating", he said.

I cocked my head aside, surprised by his choice of words.

- "What is?"

- "To talk to you. You can see the whole of me without having to pester me. I've got nothing to hide."

My eyebrows knitted, touched by his genuine sentiment.

- "Not even your fondness for Carlsberg and milk chocolate?

Lucas grinned, his sharp canines peeking under curling lips. He knew where my information came from, and didn't seem upset that I had taken a peek in his mind. Even Charlie used to put limits and ask me not to pry. But this man was offering everything he was, everything that roamed his mind without a single hesitation, because he knew and accepted what dwelt inside. Extraordinary.

- "That's a first", I mumbled, completely in awe of Lucas.

It was as if I was seeing a human being, a man, for the first time in its entirety. And it was … beautiful.

- "For me too."

His soft voice shook me out of my contemplation and I laughed, invigorated by his genuine joke.

- "You are pretty peculiar."

A set of golden-flecked eyes peeked at me under his fringe.

- "Good or bad peculiar?"

My smile broadened, splitting my face.

- "Good peculiar, Lucas. I am glad this case is closed, you truly are a gem in this world."

Shock registered on his face; he looked so lost that, on a whim, I initiated contact. My mother instinct, perhaps. My arms opened to draw him into a mighty hug and Lucas's long limbs folded around me, engulfing me whole. I literally melted against his tall frame, my breath catching in my throat. It felt so simple, so natural… Trapped against his chest, I squeezed him once, my heart beating a mile a minute. He smelt of wood and home. Too much time passed, and the socially acceptable was about to become awkward when he released me.

Immediately, the cold air greeted me and I felt like an abandoned child. Alone, standing in the wind. Bereft … like a piece of wood drifting on a river. But I had to let go, so I gave him my card – just in case – and nodded.

- "Have a good life, Lucas."

I left him behind, and I wondered if he felt as dazed as I was. Probably, because he just lifted his hand in farewell and stood there until I disappeared on the main road. One last look into my rear mirror, and he was out of my life.

Or so I thought.