Chapter three
Where they go
As Arthur met Matthew under the willow tree, the sun was just beginning to rise, they looked at each other and they knew that their respective partners would be waking up to find them gone. But for once they didn't care. They had each other and would no longer have to suffer. They would heal, eventually. They know they could never really forget about the years they had spent in a place they weren't welcomed but they knew with help from the other they together would move on, and for that they would live. So together they sat watching through the leaves of the willow tree, the watched the sun rise, glistening off the wet snow, a symbol a new beginning. They may be black and blue now, but soon the wounds will heal. So together the leave, where they are going, they don't know, so long as they are together, they don't care, so they will just go where the wind blows.
As for Francis and Alfred, when they wake, they wake in empty beds, room cold from the open window, and a goodbye note in their hands. They never do learn what happened, or where their boyfriends disappeared, nor do they ever understand why they even disappeared. Then again, how could they understand, if they never felt the pain?
Sometimes it's hard to let go, but sometimes you need to.