A Lunatic

Percival, the once golden boy of Windwatch, looked completely different now. His eyes were tired and bruised, his lips chapped, and his skin deathly pale. This winter was undoubtedly the toughest he'd ever faced.

It was so cold, the kind that seeps into your bones, numbing your whole body.

Percival looked down at the bracelet on his wrist, the one Eulalia used to wear, now tight on him, chafing his wrist red.

He stared at the decorative little lock on it. The lock remained closed, unbroken even if it were to be burned in a massive fire. But why couldn't it lock a person just as tightly?

Clutching the lock, a sour sting rushed up his nostrils, his eyes welling up with discomfort.

Head bowed, he curled up like a hedgehog, his body shaking under the strain as he pulled at the bracelet.

The driver sneaked a glance at Percival in the rearview mirror and sighed softly.

The drive to his family residence took two and a half hours, half an hour longer than usual, arriving at twelve-thirty, rig