Nathanaël jumped to his feet. Proud to have walked through the door with the others, he looked around to celebrate their victory with the others before realizing he was alone.
"What?"
He wasn't just alone. There was no one within a radius of at least a thousand square meters. By the way, this wasn't a room, it was an immense space in which there was nothing but water. Nathanaël's feet were soaked because there was nothing but water where he was. About ten centimetres. A faint ray of sunlight illuminated it and the rest of the place was plunged in an immense fog.
"This can't be true. I'm clearly not in my own world."
Nathanaël moved in one direction, then another, lit only by the faint ray of light that illuminated him. He had no idea where he was going. Water filled his sneakers.
"I don't even know where I'm going. If we've been teleported to different places, I'll never find the other..."
Nathanaël stopped dead in his tracks. The fog had just dissipated in front of him, giving way to a memory he didn't like at all. He saw himself when he was younger, surrounded by many smiling people who seemed to be laughing for a reason he knew very well.
Nathanaël had always been rich. His father had succeeded in life. He wasn't sure how he'd got there, but he was happy to know his father was happy. He had never asked himself what he did for a living. His father often told him:
"Don't worry, son. Since I'm rich, you'll always have plenty of friends."
He said it with a smile. Nathanaël took this as good news. At first, he had no friends. Few people wanted to be with him, for reasons he didn't know. In fact, he never reached out to others, thinking that others would come to him. But no one did. Not until he knew he was rich. One day, he saw a parent say in his daughter's ear:
"This one's rich, Lana. You must be with him."
Nathanaël had smiled, thinking that his group of friends would finally arrive. That his life would be filled with friends. But instead, a series of uncontrollable illusions began.
He'd made more and more friends. Each one more smiling than the last. One by one, they'd come to make friends with the rich man, and Nathanaël would greet them with a big smile. Some even said:
"My father told me to become with you because you're rich."
Nathanaël smiled. He always smiled...always. But one day, he went home with his group of friends. None of them spoke to him. None of them listened to him.
"You know my dad, he has...."
"Who cares? When are we coming?"
Nathanaël didn't understand. Was this how a friend was supposed to behave?
"In five minutes."
Nathanaël walked alone ahead of his group. His friends were talking among themselves. Arriving at his place, they began to scan the house before searching every nook and cranny and enjoying themselves wherever they could. One of them even took advantage of the view to propose to Lana. None of them looked at Nathanaël. Nathanaël was alone. He was watching his friend propose to his first girlfriend. His lover, Lana.
"Am I not at home? I never said he could propose to Lana. I told him I liked him. Wasn't I clear enough?"
Nathanaël didn't understand. Was this how a friend should behave? Everyone stared at them in wonder. Nathanaël tried to forget and enjoy his day, but he couldn't. No one cared about him. He ran to catch up with the others, but nobody cared about him. He had become invisible. They were home.
Nathanaël huddled in a corner playing hide-and-seek. But during the game, he heard two girls talking, thinking he wasn't there.
"The house is so nice. We should come back more often."
"Yeah. He's so stupid, Nathanaël. He really thinks we're his friends. What's he thinking? I'm here for the house."
"To think he tried to grab me earlier. I'm still shivering."
The tears fell from his cheeks. Nothing could stop them now. Nathanaël had realized that none of his friends were there for him. They were all there for his money. For his father's wealth. He understood the power of this dangerous thing. He remembered his father's words:
"Don't worry, my son. Since I'm rich, you'll always have plenty of friends."
This was not true. He had no friends. He only had freeloaders who resented his wealth. Sitting on the ground, his head in his arms between a black bin and a wall, between money and loneliness, there was this child who thought he had friends who appreciated him and who had just seen the truth behind his father's words.
After an hour, no one had come to get him. He just stood there. He came out of his hiding place, the trace of tears on his cheeks. He went downstairs. On the way down, he realized that his father was talking to Lana's parents. They were laughing with a glass of wine in hand. He wasn't even worried about him.Nathanaël went quietly to his room.
"I really didn't have to see this again."
Nathanaël stood there in the fog, staring at his atrocious memory. The fog dissipated beneath the memories, and the people who appeared in it seemed to dissipate with the fog. A second ray had illuminated the scene. Nathanaël had seen everything, convinced that it would change. Unfortunately, nothing had changed. He continued to hang out with his friends, who weren't looking at him. He lost his smile and even his entourage, so much so that they went to his place.
He grew and grew. Making more and more friends. He believed in real feelings for some. He played the role of an angel, always smiling and always ready to help others. He never showed anyone that he wasn't as happy as he made himself out to be. His warm smile hid a rich boy. That was enough for him in time.
But one day, something caught his eye. Another boy who seemed as lonely as he was. He peered into the fog in search of this boy. He wasn't ugly or perfect. He was quite handsome. He had a blank stare and was quite muscular. He wasn't really alone when he was with his friend, but as soon as they were in a group, his friend forgot all about him and he became as invisible as a leaf. He knew people, but nobody saw him as important.
He had no close friends, and sometimes you got the impression he was sad. He often walked alone....alone.
The Nathanaël in the memory was looking for this boy in the fog. Nathanaël watched him. He ran in all directions and the black-haired boy disappeared and appeared in different places. The Nathanaël of the fog thought that maybe...for once...for the first time...someone could be...his friend.
"Grab him."
Nathanaël began to look for him too. Looking for this person who could perhaps be the first. Both were looking for him as if their lives depended on it. Being under the same beam of light, they chased the fog away with their arms and watched every move. Some people began to appear around them. They were looking for Nathanaël's attention.
"So, Nathanaël, when do we come to your place?"
"You can lend me a hundred bucks. Can you?"
"Buy me that on my birthday, will you?"
"Can I have a ride in your car?"
Their eyes were covered in fog. Nathanaël didn't want to look. He was looking for the boy who was alone, and in the distance, he caught sight of him. He was walking in an unknown direction. The two Nathanaels rushed to catch him. The two of them ran, trying to avoid all the people who were after their money.
"Where are you going?"
"Don't you have a hundred bucks?"
"Can I come or not?"
Neither of them stopped to listen, but the foggy Nathanaël fell as one of the people grabbed his foot. Nathanaël turned around.
"Go ahead. I should have talked to him first anyway, and you know it. I thought he'd be like the others. I thought he'd only be after my money. But remember what Mom said: despite all our difficulties, at least one person will be there for us. "
Nathanaël continued to run, all the while demoralizing himself. He'd had a hard time leaving himself behind.
"After all, I'm just a memory, aren't I?"
For Nathanaël it wasn't just a memory. It was him. He hadn't changed. That's why he was chasing the boy that day, and why he was still doing it. He reached him and grabbed his shoulder after a mad dash through the water. Marc turned around.
"Nath?"
"Gotcha."
"What's the matter?"
"Will you be my friend?"
Marc seemed surprised by the sudden proposal. His eyes lit up and it took him a while to reply, coming to his senses. After a long moment, he smiled.
"Of course."
It was the first time Nathanaël had seen him smile so much that he could see his teeth. He realized that he'd made a friend that day. A true friend.