Arseniy

Quiet evenings on a bench in your yard after walks with Arseniy were always the most memorable, filled with atmosphere. Long, joyful walks were exhausting, and at the end, you always returned to your yard, calmly settling down on the cool surface of the bench under the lantern, illuminating the entire yard with its cool light. It had become a tradition.

Today's walk turned out to be even longer than you'd planned. It was already dark when Senya walked you home, stopping again at his favorite spot to make sure no one bad would harm his princess along the way. The cool evening breeze had already chilled the wood of your favorite bench, but you still settled comfortably on it. You pulled your bag over, pulled out your favorite book, and opened it, finding the bookmark. Arseniy leaned back wearily, looked at you with peace, without saying a word, and prepared to listen, knowing you'd understand that he longed to hear your quiet, gentle voice. As soon as you began reading, he closed his eyes, as if you weren't reading a boring description of the landscape where the novel's main couple was currently located, but were singing a lullaby directly into his ear, like the fairy of his dreams.

You turned to a new page and continued to trace your finger across the lines, when a fluffy white speck of light floated gently down from the sky. The tiny butterfly landed directly on the page where your finger had been, spreading its wings and showing them off. You paused and slowly brought your finger closer, making no sudden movements or making any loud noises so as not to startle the cute insect.

“Senya,” you called quietly, picking up the moth that had caught on your fingers in front of Senya, who opened his eyes and turned his head towards you upon hearing his abbreviated name, and brought it right to the guy’s white-gray hair.

Arseny leaned forward, and the moth climbed onto his hair, blending in. You smiled, Arseny smiled back and leaned even closer, his hot breath falling on your face. He also spoke in a whisper, either afraid to scare off the night visitor, or you, or this quiet one.