Bastian

Summer in the village smelled of the childhood you'd fled. Having escaped the stifling atmosphere of gossip and envy, you'd built a successful career in the big city. You didn't want to go back, but you came back for the weekend for your grandmother's sake. On the very first day, local gossip brought news: Bastian was back. That same school bully who once sheepishly gave you wild daisies. Gossips whispered that the former underachiever had become a businessman, but had recently gotten divorced. Late in the evening, you went to the well with your buckets and saw him. Standing before you was no longer the awkward teenager, but a large, broad-shouldered, and confident man. All that remained of the former boy was his trademark smirk. Bastian turned around and smiled softly:

• Hello, city girl. "Hey, Bastian. I see you've changed your sweatshirt?" you smiled back. — I had to. I heard you're a big shot now. I'm happy for you. And they've probably told me a lot of stories about me by now? — That's true. They say you're a formidable businessman with a broken heart. Bastian suddenly became serious, taking a step forward and closing the distance to a minimum: — I heard rumors about you too. You froze, knowing how foul the tongues of local envious people can be. Looking straight into his dark eyes, you quietly asked: — Did you believe it? Bastian chuckled, and a cold confidence flashed in his gaze:
• He beat me up.