CHAPTER-4 UNCLE DROVEK

I jumped off the bike.

I was so excited that I barely heard Dad calling after me.

"Hazel, slow down!"

But there was no way I was slowing down.

I ran straight toward the house.

Dad had said there was a surprise waiting for me.

And I was absolutely convinced it was Daniel.

My puppy.

Grandma had taken him with her four months ago, and I hadn't seen him since.

I missed him every single day.

Sometimes I even looked through his old photos before going to bed.

So the moment Dad mentioned a surprise, I immediately decided that Daniel had finally come back.

I rushed into the living room.

And then...

I stopped.

The smile slowly disappeared from my face.

Because Daniel wasn't there.

Someone else was sitting on the couch.

Uncle Drovek.

"Oh."

That was all I managed to say.

Uncle Drovek smiled.

"Hello, Rachael."

I immediately frowned.

"Uncle, my name is Hazel. Not Rachael."

"Oh."

He slapped a hand against his forehead.

"Sorry. Sorry."

To be fair, he got my name wrong every single time.

Every.

Single.

Time.

I still couldn't tell whether he did it on purpose or if he genuinely forgot.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I'm fine."

That was a lie.

I wasn't fine.

I was disappointed.

I wanted Daniel.

Not Uncle Drovek.

Honestly...

He kind of scared me.

And the reason was a diary.

A few months ago, I had been walking down the hallway when I noticed that the door to Uncle Drovek's room was slightly open.

There was a diary lying on his bed.

At the time, he was in the bathroom.

I know I shouldn't have touched it.

But curiosity is a very real thing.

So I quietly slipped inside.

Picked up the diary.

And opened it.

Everything inside was written in Russian.

I couldn't understand a single word.

I kept flipping through the pages until something caught my eye.

Three names.

Just three names.

And one of them had a large cross marked beside it.

I stared at it, confused.

Why a cross?

What did it mean?

I was still looking at it when a voice suddenly spoke right beside my ear.

"Don't touch my diary again."

My heart nearly stopped.

I spun around.

Uncle Drovek was standing behind me.

I hadn't even heard him leave the bathroom.

One second he wasn't there.

The next second...

He was standing directly behind me.

Looking straight into my eyes.

And for some reason...

I was terrified.

I ran out of the room without saying a word.

After that day, I never touched any of his things again.

And I never told anyone about the diary.

Not Mom.

Not Dad.

Nobody.

I honestly thought that if Uncle Drovek found out I'd told someone, he might kill me.

Okay.

That probably sounds stupid.

But I genuinely believed it back then.

Later that evening, I noticed something else.

He kept taking medicine.

Morning.

Afternoon.

Evening.

I lost count after a while.

But I was pretty sure he'd taken at least seven or eight different pills.

Eventually, I asked Dad about it.

"Why does Uncle take so much medicine?"

Dad was quiet for a few seconds.

Then he answered.

"Because he's sick."

"What kind of sick?"

Dad's expression became serious.

"He has pancreatic cancer."

I immediately fell silent.

Cancer.

I'd heard that word before.

And from what little I knew...

It was never good.

"He's in India for surgery," Dad explained.

"Treatment is too expensive in Russia."

"Oh."

I slowly nodded.

Then I asked the question that really mattered.

"So... how long is he staying?"

Dad shrugged.

"A few months, probably."

My heart sank.

A few months?

I had assumed he'd stay for two or three days.

A week.

Maybe two.

But months?

I immediately remembered the diary incident.

That meant I'd have to see him at breakfast every day.

See those strange eyes every day.

And remember that I'd read his diary every day.

My mood instantly dropped.

I went to my room and started playing with my toys.

Besides, my homework was already finished.

And honestly...

I was still pretty happy.

Because Reyansh had given me a friendship band.

I was probably looking at my wrist for the tenth time that day.

The bunny band.

I don't know why.

But every time I looked at it, I smiled.

Maybe because it was cute.

Or maybe...

Because Reyansh had given it to me.

No.

Definitely because of the bunny.

...

Probably.

That's when I felt it.

Someone was watching me.

I looked up.

Uncle Drovek was standing in the doorway.

And he was staring directly at the friendship band.

"Who gave you this band?" he asked.

"A friend."

I answered casually.

"Which friend?"

"A school friend."

But he didn't say anything.

He just kept staring at the band.

A few moments later, he asked again.

"Who gave you this band?"

This time I answered.

"Reyansh."

For some reason, the moment I said his name, my cheeks felt warm.

I was probably blushing.

Uncle repeated the name quietly.

"Reyansh..."

As if he wanted to remember it.

After that, I ended up telling him everything.

How we met.

How we became friends.

How kids at school made fun of him.

How he had a scar on his face.

And how he gave me the friendship band.

I kept talking.

And Uncle kept listening.

But the more I talked...

The more serious his expression became.

Then suddenly, he asked:

"Does he have green eyes?"

I stopped.

"Yeah."

I blinked.

"How do you know that?"

He didn't answer.

He just stared at me.

The room suddenly felt strangely quiet.

A moment later, he slowly stood up.

Then he said:

"I'm sorry."

I blinked again.

"Sorry?"

But he wasn't smiling.

He wasn't joking.

He looked completely serious.

"Sorry for what?" I asked.

He never answered.

Instead, he gave me a strange smile.

Then walked out of the room.

I watched him leave.

Then I looked at the friendship band.

Then at the doorway.

Then back at the friendship band.

And there was only one thing I couldn't understand.

Why had Uncle Drovek apologized?

And why had Reyansh's name changed his expression so completely?

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