Yuri woke up as if from a hazy dream. Every morning felt like a waste of time, dragging on as if the day were coming to an end. A continuous sadness seemed to eat away at his soul.
He took his fur coat from the hanger and opened the small door of the wooden hut. Stepping outside, his long snow-white hair flew chaotically in the fierce wind.
A snowstorm had blanketed the land, with strong winds almost blowing him away. The most unbearable part, however, was the frost; temperatures had plummeted to -30 degrees. In the foggy weather, even the tree in front of him was difficult to see.
Despite the wind, frost, and fog, Yuri remained unyielding. It seemed he had lived a hundred years in such weather, even though he was only 13.
He closed the door of his hut by placing a large stone in front of it and set off barefoot toward the foothills. The snow reached up to his knees, yet he did not seem bothered or slowed down; he continued on his way seemingly without any stress.
After 15 minutes of trudging through the snow, he reached the foot of the mountain, where under a tall pine tree sat a spacious carriage. It was so large that it even had a stove inside. The carriage was drawn by two powerful horses, enormous in height yet beautiful and gentle.
As the stall door opened, a thick voice sounded from inside, "Get in, Yuri!"
Yuri shook the snow off his bare feet and stepped onto the steps of the carriage. Once inside, the snow melted into water, pooling on the floor. Inside was a gigantic man, about four meters tall, wearing shorts and a t-shirt, fanning himself with a fan.
Yuri, seemingly lost in another world, watched the snow in his long hair melt and the droplets fall to the floor. "It must be about 35 degrees in here," he remarked, brushing his wet hair behind his ear.
"37 degrees! I just threw another log in. But is it warm in your shack?" the man replied, pushing the freshly thrown log into the stove with a long sword.
"It's a cabin, not a shack, and I'm not complaining about it," Yuri said, his tone almost defensive.
"Yuri, do you know how lucky you are? How many people wish they were royalty? To sleep behind the warm walls of a palace, especially during harsh winters like these? You lack for nothing; you have everything anyone could wish for. Yet here you sit in your tiny 2x3 meter shack, with two flea-ridden cats and a dog that's as scared as a chicken, perched atop a mountain. Sometimes I wonder if you're rebellious or just foolish."
The man handed Yuri a warm cup of tea.
Yuri bowed his head in thanks and looked out of the small window of the carriage at the snowy landscape. "They don't have fleas," he said softly, almost as if whispering.
The man turned his head to the window on his side, watching the snow seem to try to bury his kingdom. "I want you to come back, Yuri. Both your mother and I want you to return to the palace. I know you've been through trauma, or rather, I don't know what trauma you've faced because you still haven't talked about what happened almost two years ago. But it's time for you to return."
Yuri's father sighed wistfully as he stirred sugar into his warm cup of tea, lost in the scenery outside.
Yuri didn't say a word or make a gesture; he remained silent until the carriage reached the palace gates.
He had been silent for almost two years. It was during that time that he and several other children, some even teenagers, had planned an unforgettable adventure. Some made sandwiches, while others stole knives and swords from the blacksmith's shop. Yuri's task was to steal a horse carriage.
As a small child, Yuri had been frail and sickly; he was very thin and almost transparent. Additionally, he was timid, often hiding behind his mother. It seemed his father and brothers were disappointed in him, especially since Yuri was also a little snitch. He shared everything with his mother, even when he should have kept secrets at the request of his brothers. Because of this, he had been rejected by his brothers and felt the disappointment in his father's eyes, leaving him very attached to his friends.
So, he agreed to bring one of his friends, Zain, into the royal court, and together they stole a horse carriage. With weapons, food, and the carriage ready, the children set off early in the morning on their adventure.
No one could tell how many days they traveled or where they planned to go, but they were found several days later, dead, more than 200 kilometers from the kingdom.
All except for Yuri, who seemed to have vanished without a trace. The army and even the king and queen searched for Yuri for weeks but found no sign of him. After weeks of searching, the royal family declared Yuri dead, and his mother fell sick and never recovered during his disappearance.
Sixteen weeks later, a stranger showed up at the palace door, it was him, Yuri. This time, however, his gaze was cold, and his face bore the marks of all he had endured during his absence.
His body was no longer slender; on the contrary, it had become quite massive and muscular. His right hand was wrapped in a dirty white bandage, so filthy that it had turned a brownish color. A large scar on his chest resembled a wound inflicted by a sword, and his back was covered in whip marks.
The king was furious. He searched everywhere for the culprits, but he didn't know where to look because Yuri had remained silent for an entire year.
After his disappearance, Yuri left the palace and moved to the top of a mountain near the kingdom, spending most of his time there and rarely coming down to see his family.
Given the trauma that Yuri had endured, and with his mother recovering from a difficult illness upon his return, the king agreed to let him isolate himself. Occasionally, the king would climb the mountain to watch Yuri train, amazed at how strong he had become during his time away. In a strange way, this made the king feel proud of Yuri.
Yuri spoke to his family for the first time a year after his disappearance. He didn't discuss what had happened or where he had been; instead, he simply apologized to his family and the families of the other children. Yuri asked the king to provide substantial compensation in rubies to the bereaved families of the children who had accompanied him, stating that these children had saved his life.
After a long journey through the snow, as if the horses were exhausted, the carriage finally arrived at the palace.
"Yuri, my child!" screamed a striking woman with immaculate white hair, rushing towards Yuri and grabbing his cheeks the moment he stepped out. "How was the shack? Did you build a fire?"
"It's not a shack; it's a cabin, and yes, it's quite warm inside,"
Yuri's mom says sweetly "Why don't you come and stay with us, darling? I can get your old room ready for you. We'd be very happy to have you back."
Yuri doesn't respond; he just smiles at his mom. For him, silence is the simplest form of rejection.
Yuri's mother hugs him tightly, then takes him by the hand and pulls him towards the palace door. With a wide, loving smile, she says, "Come on, your brothers will be here soon, and the banquet is about to start. Let's go warm up a bit."
Yuri, pulled by his mother's hand, enters the palace, followed by his father.