Glass Walls (eBook)

Anna Teleki (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
99 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-097172-2 (ISBN)

Infos

 

 'Glass Walls' is a story of fated love, forgotten memories, and a promise that was too important to break.

Essie leads a quiet, predictable life in a small, isolated village. She's content with her routines and the simplicity of her world, a stark contrast to the bustling metropolises she knows exist beyond her peaceful home.

But when a stranger named Zayn arrives to stay for a few months, her perfectly ordered world is turned upside down. He is a man of mystery, his past and purpose hidden behind a wall of silence.

As Essie and Zayn navigate their unexpected cohabitation, they find a connection that transcends words. But is this budding relationship strong enough to overcome their differences and the secrets that separate them? Or are the glass walls between them destined to shatter, revealing a truth too painful to bear?

 

Textauszug

They say it’s never too early to start, and never too late to begin... And maybe they’re right. But somehow, that was never true for you. You were always on the one who didn't get picked, the one in the back row, the one to blame for everything.

It’s time to pull yourself from the tangle of blankets in this uncomfortable bed. Don't you think? It's time to move, just a little bit... Ah, a deep breath. And go.

Nothing ever happens in this neighborhood. You slowly burrow into your thick robe and head out to the porch. A watery yawn escapes you, the bite of the mountain air stinging your nose as you instinctively pull your chin deeper into the collar. It’s cold, but there is work to do. That’s just how it is. You head for the chicken coop, scoop up the feed, and scatter it with a shiver of familiar weariness.

How many years has it been since you swore you wouldn't be like your mother? Ten? You let out a heavy sigh and just watch your house pets. To you, they're pets. You always call the neighbor to slaughter them. You’re not a heartless killer. Oh no. But in this neck of the woods, it's a good thing to at least have some chickens.

You head to the well for water when Popi appears from the flower garden. He hurries towards you, his fur thick and fluffy, and sits down at your feet.

"You at least came back!" you mutter to your calico cat. He just stares at you, then makes a small, protesting meow. "Right? I thought so, too!" you mumble to him before heading to the stable with the water. You pour some water for Phi and stroke the nose of the beautiful black mare.

"My beauty..." you smile, "we're going for a walk today."

A walk...

Phi is an old mare. Too old. She once pulled your father's ceremonial carriage; now, she's a slow, retired member of the family. Popi follows you slowly across the vast meadow. You lift the fabric of your full skirt and simply brush your hand against the wildflowers. You stop and look back at the small house. You can almost see yourself as a laughing child racing through the yard, your mother's apple pie cooling on the windowsill, your father chopping winter firewood. It was always just the three of you here. But back then, there was more. You had a cow and a pig. They were different times, different people.

Now, you let out a deep sigh. There are more than seven billion people in the world, there are metropolises, media, fantasy worlds, but you're stuck here in this little village, at the very edge of it all. You only finished school because you had to. You never knew what you wanted to be when you grew up. You were a waitress, a dish washer, a teacher, a nanny, a caregiver who read to the elderly. And then you waited, you planned, you painted, and now? Now you just... are. You’ve been like this for a while. Tucked away at the end of the world, hidden in your classic little clothes.

"Essie!" you hear your name and turn around. "Essie!" Marié, Mrs. Hamont's granddaughter, runs to you. "Grandma asked me to make sure I gave you this!" The tiny blonde girl stops in front of you and hands you a small yellow note.

"What is this?" you ask, and Marié is already turning to stroke Phi.

"Grandma went to Scotland with my dad and she’s completely overwhelmed. She wants you to take care of her guest."

You look at the small note, confused. 20th, 10 PM, train 305, Zayn.

"Who even is this Zayn?"

"Grandma’s friend!" Marié laughs.

"How long do I have to take care of him?"

"A few months, I think."

"MONTHS?!" The shock hits you completely. Marié just shrugs her small, thin shoulders.

"Grandma said she tried to send him a message but he didn't get it, so Zayn is definitely coming tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Your eyes widen again.

"Tomorrow is the twentieth, isn't it?"

Yes. Tomorrow is September 20th. Your house comes crashing down on you. Your kind neighbor, whom you took care of when she was sick and helped out, is trusting you with a complete stranger. How wonderful. Something is finally happening behind God’s back...

The Train Station

You're not normal. No, you’re not. You're standing on the platform, holding a small sign: Mr. Zayn. Knowing your grandma, who is well over eighty, he's probably some seventy-or-eighty-year-old man she met at a book club or some seniors' outing in the big city.

Shame or not, she even beats you when it comes to modern technology. She has an Instagram where she shares pictures of old recipes, while you, for some reason, despise the very thought of Facebook. You admit it to yourself: you're impossibly old-fashioned. You're stuck in the olden days, in the novels of Charlotte Brontë, still living in Scarlett’s skin, dreaming of the perfect love. Well, at least you’ll have something to talk about with the old man.

Time passes, and ten o'clock is long gone. You look at your watch and wonder. Where is he? His train has been here for ten minutes, and you still have to take care of Phi after you drop him off.

"I can't believe this!" you mutter. "An old man who's not on time? Is that even possible?!"

You grumble towards the information booth, swinging the sign, huffing, when a young man rushes towards you and clutches your shoulders. You jump back, startled, your heart leaping into your throat. He holds his hands up in a placating gesture. He motions tiredly, then reaches into his pocket and offers you a small card.

You don't want to take it.

"I..." you begin, but he holds it out to you again.

"Hello. My name is Zayn Lloyd."

You just read the card again, and take it with a look of utter shock.

"You're Zayn?" you read the name again, and look at the man. The sportswear, the huge gym bag on his shoulder, his nervous smile, and those dark-haired, long-lashed eyes... none of it reminds you of a seventy-year-old.

He gestures to you, but you just give a nervous, head-shaking smile.

"I’m sorry, but... I doubt I was waiting for you." He sighs, puts his hands on his hips, and shakes his head. He looks at you again, then gestures for you to wait.

"Okay..." you mumble. He throws his bag down and takes a notebook from the side pocket. He stands in front of you, and you watch him, terribly confused, as he quickly writes with his left hand.

"I'm Grandma’s friend. I’ll be with her until New Year’s. I guess she sent you to get me..."

You read the note and your mouth tightens. You look at him again.

"You're Grandma's friend?" The words bubble out with a touch of revulsion. The man immediately recoils, a serious look on his face. He gestures again, but then snatches the notebook back from you and writes again.

"Not like that!" he writes quickly, waiting. You just look him up and down.

"Are you mute?" you ask softly. A small, knowing smile appears on his lips, and he nods his head as if to say, "Didn't you figure it out?"

The Carriage Ride

"Well, that’s just great!" you huff, folding the sign in your hands. You mutter under your breath, "I hope you can understand what I'm saying!" You look up at him with a doubtful frown. "Where did you even meet Grandma? And why are you staying with her? Or rather, with me..."

You're fuming when Zayn grabs your arm, stopping you. He looks at you nervously, then pulls out his notebook.

"Oh, you didn't know?" he writes. "Grandma’s son took her to Scotland for treatment. I thought she wrote to you!"

You stand there, your mouth in a tight line. You silently ask yourself, Seriously? This is going to be my life for three months? Zayn holds the notebook out to you again.

"Because of my surgery," he writes, "I can't be near electromagnetic fields for 3 months. I definitely can't use a phone. So I don't know anything!" He draws a small frowny face.

You read the sad little doodle and look up at him.

"Surgery?" you ask. Zayn turns his head slightly, revealing a small, silver button behind his left ear. "Oh!" you gasp in surprise.

He's already writing again. You wait.

"I'll look for another place," he offers, giving you a small smile. "I don't want to be a burden!" The more this man smiles, the kinder he becomes.

"You're Grandma's friend, so you're mine, too!" you say, waving it off, and walk on.

At the horse-drawn carriage, you stroke Phi. "This is Phi!" you announce. "Basically, Philippa, but I just call her Phi."

Zayn listens, smiling nervously. He looks around with interest at the town center and the blue lights illuminating the dark streets.

"Yeah, even behind God’s back, we use solar panels," you laugh, climbing onto the carriage. You motion to him. "Come on!"

He climbs in easily behind you. You signal to Phi, and the carriage moves. The silence is broken only by the rhythmic clomp of the horse's hooves and the creak of the cart. You're just heading home.

"So you had to come to the end of the world for rehabilitation?" you ask. "That's weird. Why didn't you go to the big centers in the mountains, like the Haidin Valley?" You stroke Phi’s harness. "Anyway, how did you meet Grandma? She's not even my relative," you laugh a little. "She's just everyone's grandma..."

You turn a corner. "Hm?!" you ask. You look back and Zayn is busy writing. Oops. You smile nervously. "Sorry!" You turn back to Phi.

You barely feel his touch on your shoulder. He holds out the notebook.

"Yes," the note reads. Below that: "I can't be near electrical devices, no phone, TV, or anything like that." And below that: "I met...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 31.7.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Kinder- / Jugendbuch
• ISBN-10: 0-00-097172-3 / 0000971723
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-097172-2 / 9780000971722