The Safelight River

By Luc Delvaux

Parallel worlds have been mentioned throughout history. It has even been assumed that the Earth was hollow, sheltering other population inside it. When a college student believes he has discovered the entrance to one of these worlds, his adventure and that of two classmates begins.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BadPress
• Release date: May 24, 2018
• ISBN: 9781547525577

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The Safelight River

Luc Delvaux

––––––––

Translated by Guy Bondonneau 

The Safelight River

Written By Luc Delvaux

Copyright © 2018 Luc Delvaux

All rights reserved

Distributed by Babelcube, Inc.

www.babelcube.com

Translated by Guy Bondonneau

Babelcube Books and Babelcube are trademarks of Babelcube Inc.

Safelight

River

Safelight

River

Luc Delvaux

Translated from French by Guy Bondonneau

Copyright © 2017. Luc Delvaux

All rights reserved.

I

Natan Sorel buttoned up his shirt, still incredulous after Alice, the prettiest girl in his A– level class, placed a pendant around his neck.

-  It was my mother’s, she explained; it is my dearest souvenir of her.

-  Why do you give it to me, then?

-  It will bring you luck and so I will be a little with you always.

Natan knew he should have attempted to give Alice a kiss, but he was too shy and remained powerless.

Alice gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before running to the bus stop.

He ran his fingers through his curly dark hair, like every time he was puzzled.

Head tilted to one side, he started walking home again. His hand clutching the pendant on his chest could not let go. He wanted to smile and to cry at the same time.

She really was beautiful. She was slightly taller than he was, slender, with large hazel eyes and long brown hair where blond streaks sometimes shone through.

Her skin was matt, and she sported a beauty spot at the top of the right temple. When she laughed, wide dimples marked her cheeks. Not only was she pretty, but she was smart as well, often getting top marks at school.

Natan was certain that Alice Fresson made more than one boy sigh. Still fingering the necklace, he was dreamingly remembering the sweet touch of her fingers when she passed it around his neck. Why had he remained immobile, like an idiot?

He never had much success with the girls, so Alice’s gesture took him by surprise. On top of that, she had said that this pendant was the most beautiful memory she had left of her mother, whom she lost last year in a terrible car accident. Now she lived alone with her father.

How was he to understand her action? Wasn't that a declaration of love? And not only a love declaration with words but supported by a strong gesture. And he just stood there, like a moron, without even thanking her.

Natan had arrived in front of his home. He climbed the few steps that led to the front door of the small three-storey building. He lived on the ground floor. He did not need to press the doorbell, because as soon as he approached it, the door opened with an unpleasant buzz. He knew that his mother had seen him arrive because, as usual, she must have been posted at the window, supposedly to greet him as soon as he arrives, but more likely to observe the neighbours and the goings on in the street.

Natan gave her a kiss before going directly to his room. He was glad he had buttoned up his shirt, because otherwise, had his mother spotted the pendant, he would most certainly have undergone a third– degree interrogation.

– Well, aren't you coming to eat?

– Coming, just something to put away.

In his room, Natan wondered where could he possibly hide the pendant so that his mother would not discover it by chance whilst cleaning.

She was very kind, but she was also too curious and always treated him as if he were a little boy. Now, that he was a teenager, he needed his privacy to be respected.

His eyes looked around the room, searching for the perfect hiding place. He would of course always be wearing the pendant when going to class, but he did not want to have it on him when at home or going to sports with his friends. Hide it in his satchel? It was an option, but he suspected his mother to also inspect his college equipment. It needed to be a place where his mother knew he was not going into, or very seldom.

His eyes fell on the wardrobe. This is a place she often blames him for never tidying up. He opened both doors wide and looked where he could hide the precious object. He slid the clothes on the rail and saw, right at the back, against the wall, his ski suit that had not moved since the last winter holiday. He slipped into the closet to be able to reach it without having to remove all the other clothes. He undid the collar of the ski suit and lowered the zip a bit. He loosened his shirt collar and wriggled the pendant off, placed it on the ski suit hanger before pulling up the zip and buttoning up the collar.

– Are you coming to eat, or not? his mother called from the dining room.

– I'm coming, answered Natan getting out of his wardrobe.

He was small for his age, and he knew that in a few years’ time he would no longer be able to get into this reduced space. Fortunately, he also knew that his arms would probably be long enough to reach all the clothes from outside the wardrobe.

He straightened his hair with his fingers before going into the dining room.

His mother had prepared sausages and beans. He did not much care for beans. He also preferred to eat later, at about eight o’clock, like his parents, but his mother made him eat earlier, so he could do his homework and go to bed early.

He devoured the meal in about ten minutes flat and left immediately to go to his room. He yearned to get back to the pendant Alice had given him.

Back in his room, Natan opened the wardrobe and slipped in to reach the ski suit where he had hidden the pendant. He unbuttoned the collar and removed the pendant from the hanger. He examined it carefully for the first time. When Alice had given it to him, he had been more focused on her gesture than on the object itself.

The pendant represented a butterfly on top of a globe, wings deployed, much like the American eagle on some banners.

At first, Natan had a slight recoil movement discovering the insect. He had a phobia about butterflies. When he was a little boy, he believed that they were flowers that flew away to go and settle further away. He was persuaded that the flowers were moving by waving their petals and he was running after them with all the strength of his little legs, but often he ended up face down with his knees grazed.

Yet one day he had managed to catch one. He was so proud of himself to have caught one that he held it tight in his hands. He brought it