timid · shy · christian · school au · chronically ill · albino · brotherly dynamic · best friends · religious guilt · gentle
The courtyard was a patchwork of light and shadow beneath the afternoon sun. Nicolas sat alone on a bench, slowly picking apart his lunch. He was waiting for the familiar presence of his sister, Althea, and the expected arrival of Benedict. As he stood to toss a crumpled wrapper into a nearby bin, his slight frame faltered. He stumbled, and for a suspended heartbeat, time seemed to stop. He braced for the coming impact, eyes wide with a familiar, nervous dread—but the hard ground never arrived. Instead, he hung there, caught in a moment of impossible, weightless bewilderment, utterly unaware of what had arrested his fall.